Post 8: The True Reality of Life?

“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.” ~ L.R Knost

I’ve always loved this simple yet profound words from author L.R Knost. As much as we try to understand and comprehend the human experience sometimes simple words say so much. How to define that which is indefinable? Poets, musicians, writers ,actors, dancers have all in their own way tried to express and share the human condition. That’s why the arts have always been so important in life. It’s a way to connect and share the meaning of life so we all feel less alone in whatever experience we may be going through. 

I have a saying: “When not living the dream, dream”. For most of us our daily lives are filled with the mundane routines of getting through the day. We rarely have moments of pure bliss when we are living to our fullest potential, the peak experiences of life if you will, when it seems we are living “the dream”. As sure as night turning to day these highlights or peaks fade and go and we are left in that in between the amazing back to ordinary. It’s in those moments we can “dream”. It’s the nature of life, this reality. We cannot always be high, as much as we want to, just as we can’t always be low. There is a season to everything. Remember that life is made up of all the seemingly inconsequential things you do each and every day. 

I often feel as though society pushes and demands that we are always in a state of success and achievement. We celebrate this and aspire to this and if we are not living up to this expectation we suffer from anxiety and often depression. But it’s in the space between, the down times the reflections and contemplations that are equally important in the pursuit and process of achievement. Setbacks and so called failures are all part of the process. But more often than not there is this desire to do more and force a process, when at times the best thing to do is stop, breathe and just be to allow yourself to be inspired from a genuine place. Trust your intuition, the all inspiring guiding force that is deep within your soul and whispers to you. Too often the quick fix and trying harder is counter productive. The mind and ego will resist this but there’s a wisdom of the heart that knows.

So, appreciate the good times, the success, the moments of flow. They never last. And don’t resist the bad times, the setbacks the times when things are not seemingly working out and it all falls a apart. To embody it all is to embody the very essence of creation, of life, of being human and alive.

“Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.” ~ L.R Knost

Rob Ipsen