The Freedom to Create

I came across a quote from a book recently. The book is called "The Tao of Success: The Five Ancient Rings of Destiny" and it is written by Derek Lin.

"Everything is meaningless because that is exactly how it should be. It has to be that way because its void is what frees you to create your own meaning. The emptiness of a vessel is what gives it usefulness. Existence is a blank slate that invites your creative contribution."

What insight! I like what he said - You create your own meaning. It is also the same thing that Eric Maisel writes about frequently concerning the creative life -the philosophy of meaning, which he calls Noimetics.

We are creating our lives on a daily basis, mostly unconsciously. This is our dysfunction, the dysfunction of humanity trudging along without awareness. Before we can create our own meaning, we must first know who we are. That we are more than our forms, our sensations and perceptions.

Eckhart Tolle writes about the transcendence of thought. That in fact, there is a dimension within us that is independent of thought, infinitely vaster and wiser.

In art, we are taught about positive and negative space, the space around the object we are viewing. The Japanese call it ma - the interval, or pause, the experience of place. The vessel that holds the water, the sky that frames the tree. When we become the interval, when we become the space, we align ourselves to our essence. And from that place, we are able to contribute our creativity, the service that brings peace.

***

The fruit of silence is prayer.

The fruit of prayer is faith.

The fruit of faith is love.

The fruit of love is service.

The fruit of service is peace.

The Simple Path by Mother Teresa of Calcutta