Sunday 24 August 2014

On Enthusiasm

“I wept because I was re-experiencing the enthusiasm of my childhood; I was once again a child, and nothing in the world could cause me harm.” 
Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage

A few days ago I wrote down a sentence in my journal; 
     "I don't have more answers than before but I do have more understanding and clarity."
What kind of understanding and clarity? You could ask. I would probably disappoint you with no answer to that either. However, the difference is that it is no longer frustration for me. It is no longer a driving force for me, collecting answers in my shelf. I can continue in this journey, exploring, discovering, and creating out of the pure enthusiasm without the need to follow "my own preordered plan for the life".
It is a nice blend of a free will to continue and grow, willingness to take risks and learn, and surrendering to the God's will and plan.


If I was to define enthusiasm, I would most likely say it is a decision and practice of surrendering to the beauty and love that surround us at any given moment wherever we are. It is the world seen through children's eyes.
Originally, the word has a Greek root, en - one with, and theos - the divine.
That would mean that everytime you feel enthusiastic (joyous, inspired, excited, eager, ...alive!), you are one with the divine and from that place you can see the world as it really is.
And yes, it is a decision and a practice because our own free will tries to make sense and reason almost any of our endeavors.

Feeling enthusiastic is thus the rememberance of our Home!

...and sometimes that can be a bit tricky as well. Especially when we try too hard to "remember" more, when we try to recreate those "same" moments of bliss, when we look back instead of to the present moment.

"As such, enthusiasm is not a mood that can be willed or forced. Rather, it is the ripple that follows the stone. It can be felt after we immerse ourselves in life." Mark Nepo

Whenever I felt the lack of enthusiasm in my life, it was because I was looking for a way to throw that stone to water myself. 
It is the same as asking yourself a question "What is my life's purpose?" and expecting the answer as specific as the question you ask.

"Start with a table of leg. Give it your full attention and love. Polish it, paint it, look at it as the leg of a table, not the table it might be one day. Then, when you feel you are done, move on to the next part and do the same. The whole universe will work with you on the table, you work on the leg first though."
a dear friend of mine said when I asked her how to start...



"I already learned to walk every day in gratitude, giving thanks for the blessings on their way and keeping my heart and eyes open to notice them in whatever way they presented themselves to me. You know, miracles do happen! We just miss them sometimes looking for what we expect." Camino Called Life


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