‘Whether it is the godhead or not, I feel this great force, this untapped power, this dynamic something within me. This feeling defies description, and [there is] no experience with which this feeling may be compared. It is something like a strong emotion mixed with faith, but a lot stronger’

Striking Thoughts, Bruce Lee

Photo Credit: Nik Gaffney

 

 

‘So this, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?’

Look, I don’t know what’s hidden within you. I have no way of knowing such a thing. You yourself may barely know, although I suspect you’ve caught glimpses. I don’t know your capacities, your aspirations, your longings, your secret talents. But surely something wonderful is sheltered inside you. I say this with all confidence, because I happen to believe we are all walking repositories of buried treasure. I believe this is one of the oldest and most generous tricks the universe play on us human beings, both for its amusement and for ours: the universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.

The hunt to uncover those jewels – that’s creative living.

The courage to go on that hunt in the first place – that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one.

The often surprising results of that hunt – that’s what I call Big Magic.’

Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert

Artwork credit: MysticMamma

 

 

‘We all have shame. We all have good and bad, dark and light, inside of us. But if we don’t come to terms with our shame, our struggles, we start believing that there’s something wrong with us – that we’re bad, flawed, not good enough – and even worse, we start acting on those beliefs. If we want to be fully engaged, to be connected, we have to be vulnerable, we need to develop resilience to shame.’

Brene Brown, Daring Greatly

Photo Credit: Erkan

 

 

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “you become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real, you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

The Velveteen Rabbit, Marjery Williams

Photo credit: Renee

“When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision – it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

Audre Lorde