On Emptying

To be human is to live through a myriad of emotions as we voyage through our lives.  Coming to terms with these emotions, I feel,  is a must for the human condition.  Avoiding and building layers around ourselves to become a 24-7 world simply deflects what our heart tells us. 'we need to seek space to find out who we are'.  

mmmmm

We are surrounded by inspirational people , places, works of arts and music. We can dip our toe into the ocean of ideas and come into contact with people who have had the inspiration or overriding desire to express the human condition in many forms.  

My favourite artist is Rothko, my favourite music is African, my favourite subjects are mathematics and music. I love poetry, the world's greatest poets do not waste one word.  As Dana Gioia said 'Poetry is the art of using words charged with their utmost meaning'

Lenses on our lives are made through the simplest of activities. The clearer the lens the more you will see humanity and this world for what it truly can be.  

Purity of thought, clarity of words, how we relate to others and what we give to humanity define us.  Running, for me, has allowed me to see this  in an uncluttered and simple manner.  We do not need to make our lives full to live, we need to empty to be! 

A poem by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body 

Love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

Are moving across the landscapes,

Over the prairies and deep trees,

The mountains and the rivers.

meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue sky,

Are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

The world offers to your imagination,

Calls to you like wild geese, harsh and exciting-

Over and over announcing your place

In the family of things.