Be Like a Lion

I have a bit of a problem with certainty.

The moment we decide this is who I am, this is what I believe, this is how I live — life seems to develop a wicked sense of humour and move the goalposts.

Because life evolves. We evolve.

Get over it.

Or, better still, get with it.

There is a strange loss of freedom in clinging too tightly to one path, one belief, one version of ourselves. The energy required to defend it can become greater than the joy we ever got from choosing it.

It's the life of a sandcastle.

Impressive against the tide, perhaps, but bloody exhausting to defend from the sea.

And the sea is coming anyway.

Once the bridge over the beautifully crafted moat falls, you're left clinging to your little fortress while life carries on around you.

Okay, maybe the metaphor is too abstract. Like my A-level art, apparently.

So I think my message here is simple. Certainly not right, but perhaps consoling.

Be like a lion.

A lion doesn't spend its life defending an old version of itself. It moves with the landscape, responds to what is in front of it, and remains free enough to change direction.

That feels more human to me.

And perhaps that's the point: not to become fixed, fearless, or certain, but to stay alive to the moment — strong enough to stand your ground, and free enough to leave it.

Mmmm lush, I love that idea and when reality calls me from my lala land of nice words, what actually does that mean???

Graze. Wander. Bask in what IS.

Then strike.

Don't lose your spirit living like the mule, carrying the weight of monotonousness because somebody, somewhere, decided this was the correct way to live.

Restore your energy in the knowns. Not the knowns. Your knowns.

Mine change, but today these are the ideas that fuel my being:

I commit to live from love .. I forget, and it’s always in the remembering that more love exudes. 

Everything new arises from the unknown; be brave and wander. 

Purpose is only ever born in the moment.

Angels fly because they take themselves lightly - stop being so serious. 

Your life is a reflection of how you feel, so prioritise feeling good.

Everything works out in time. There is, after all, only one end.

I love to love and have fun. When I'm feeling low, usually one of those things has gone missing.

You cannot get your life wrong. You can only resist your becoming through discipline born from artificial ideals.

Fear makes us lose time pursuing other people's routines. The path well trodden.

Everything I do and everything I create is a product of my BEing. So perhaps that's where my attention belongs: who am I being?

Life isn't happening to me. I'm not happening to life. Life is living through me, guided by my preferences towards more life.

Experiences appreciate. Things depreciate.

There are only three things you can do with money: spend it to add value to your life now, save it to add value to your life in the future, or GIVE it away.

What people think of me is none of my business.

We each live in a separate reality created through thought. No thought, no experience.

The more I love, the more I live.

I wholly agree with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, "My only measure of success is how much time you have to kill."

These are some of my knowns.

Not truths to defend. Places to rest. And perhaps most importantly:

Not everything that moves needs chasing.

But when something does stir you — when curiosity, love, opportunity or sheer aliveness whispers go — pounce.

Write the piece, take the exam, be present at the meeting, love your craft. Unbounded. 

Give it everything. The unique interpretation of everything you have experienced and learnt is yours alone. Let it fly from your fuelled-up self. 

And then bring yourself home to bask.

Rest. Wander. Love. Play.

Prepare to pounce again when opportunity arises. And through your being, it always will.

Perhaps that's the balance I'm looking for.

Leave everything to be, and nothing to chance.

When you're tired, rest. When you're hungry, eat. When you're lonely, love more.

Honour your truths, but hold them lightly.

Own the triumph of those moments when you gave yourself completely to something, without binding your effort to the result.

The results were never yours anyway.

The moment was.

And you were there for it. Boundless..