Written by Rev. Cyrus Kung
Have you ever been struck with a deep sense of knowing, of bliss, of energy that wells up from the deep parts of your gut, your soul, your insides. In my experience, this welling up of energy is the mark of inspiration, it is a feeling of overwhelming pressure surfacing within myself exclaiming and waiting, to be let out and expressed in my external world. But this energy is all so often elusive, it is not there when we want it and comes sometimes when we are not ready to explore it, let alone express it.
There is a longing within myself to embody creativity as a part of my whole life, to allow for inspiration to take control of my will, my affections, my being, my me-ness.... Is this not the longing of the broken artist, always searching for the next place of inspiration, of the great union and intimacy of the divine energy of creation and creativity?
Well.....
As we find ourselves well into the 3rd year of the covid-19 pandemic, time for me has felt like it has been over taken by the opposing energy of a sloth, whilst at the time seem to be speeding up like a stampede of bulls. Where have these three years gone? And why do we feel so drained? So energeticless...
who knows....maybe it has uncovered the need that we all probably require some more therapy...
Like many in the world the pandemic has shaken much of what we understand to be important. It has shocked us in to contemplation of our own lives and invited us to ponder a little more deeply and reach for meaning a little more proactively than before. Today I want to lure your curiosity into exploring this invitation. I want to invite you to explore this place of restlessness, of instability by directing our attention to what inspires us. OR to be more concrete what has inspired us these last three years. What energy of deep yearning is being pressurised and beginning to surface today.
What has inspired you?
How might you capture this surfacing energy and present it to the world around us?
What are you going to create in 2022?
Some more reflections....
I am still pondering the two later questions but today I want to share with you all, three things that have inspired me in the dawning of 2022.
Solar Power - Lorde (Album)
This album has one particular line that has captured a deep sense of unknowing and mystery I wrestle with daily. The process of coming to terms with deep longings of belonging and a desire to make meaning and categorise the world around us.
The outro of Track 6 - Secrets from a girl (Who’s seen it all) captured for me this sense of emotional turmoil and the chaos of life. How do we slow down and let life be what it is.... sit with the moment...sit with the emotions... and then.....well....
“we can go look at sunrise by euphoria mixed with existential vertigo.”
Solitude - Hafiz (Poem by 14th Century Persian Poet)
Don't surrender your loneliness so quickly.
Let it cut you more deep.
Let it ferment and season you
as few human and even divine ingredients can.
Something missing in my heart tonight has made my eyes so soft,
my voice so tender,
my need for God absolutely clear.
Hafiz
We have all faced loneliness, the expanding plague of the 21st century, in which infinite networks as the fulfilment of every lust and gluttonous gift of immediate connection is deceivingly laid at our fingertips. Reading hafiz has challenged me to see loneliness as not just a 21st century phenomena but an invitation that has traversed human history and drawn us to experience the true fullness of our humanity. The energy that bubbles from these musings have me chasing the beauty in the grief we experience not only as individuals but in communities and globally in crisis and instability.
Deep - Sarah Su (EP)
This EP took me on an adventure it guided me from a search for the unknown out there and invited me to wonder more about the unknown and mystery of what is in here.
Life is an adventure, it is grounded in the thrill of engaging in a new story every moment, who knows what tomorrow may bring...that is the excitement and mystery of life. In a culture that values travel and new experiences what does it mean to live in a time where the search for new experiences is limited by borders, walls and lines drawn in the sand. What does it mean for us to live the fullness of the adventure of life when we can not leave our homes and travel so freely.
Well... why is it that we search for adventure?
What is it that we are trying to find?
For me adventure is about learning, exploring and discovering places that welcome me as if I am home. Theresa of Avila writes in her work the interior castle:
“This magnificent refuge is inside you. Enter. Shatter the darkness that shrouds the doorway. Step around the poisonous vipers that slither at your feet, attempting to throw you off your course. Be bold. Be humble. Put away the incense and forget the incantations they taught you. Ask no permission from the authorities. Slip away. Close your eyes and follow your breath to the still place that leads to the invisible path that leads you home.”
The invitation to explore the adventure of the depths of ourselves, are not bound by walls, or by borders. It awaits our journey every moment. As each moment comes and it goes there is an invitation to explore the depths of our interior life and the home in which we are invited to discover, tour and make our home.
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