Friday Poem: Dissolve the malice
A Reflection on Resilience, Creativity, and the Quest for Meaning Among 8 Billion Souls
For years, fear held me back from fully embracing creativity, art, and the deep-seated desire to uncover my uniqueness among the world's 8 billion souls
“The little man that defends himself” inside my head, the most brutal critic I faced, has always diminished my attempts to create as “amateurish, irrelevant, and lacking enough quality to be published in any public forum.”
This internal critic diminished my confidence, whether I was writing, painting, or capturing the world through photography. I never felt sufficient.
Admittedly, there were moments of accomplishment, but life's obligations, work, and a tendency toward self-deception often intervened.
My aspiration was simple: to earn a modest living through my creativity, enough to support my family and myself. This desire isn't unique; today's creative class is witnessing a renaissance, with companies valuing creativity as a vital asset.
The advice from others over the years was consistent: "Don't do it for the money." And they were right; that's the true spirit of art.
Recent life events have led me to this juncture, where I'm ready to commit fully. But, as Russel Nohelty rightly said here on Substack:
Today, with a significant opportunity ahead in the form of time, I'm prepared to quiet the "little man" and embark on this journey of creation, understanding, and self-realization, ensuring my family's needs are met without compromise.
So, without further ado, here is the poem that epitomizes this new journey.
Dissolve the malice
"If you were not afraid,
What would you do?
In a world without the sticky cloak of fear,
What would you do?
If everything indicates doing the opposite of what should be,
What would you do?
Close your eyes, in silence,
fall asleep until the lucid becomes the sincere
Open your eyes, with a scream,
turn the sincere into the genuine,
use the truth as friendly fire.
Close your eyes, whispering,
imagine the world that does not yet exist,
inhale, breathe, dissolve the malice.
What would you do? If you were not afraid"
Have a great weekend, everyone.
By any art necessary.
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I really love the idea that breathing can help dissolve the inner malice, the sour tincture that we apply to ourselves, from within. It’s a struggle, though, it brings relief and then the effect eases and retrieves, like a wave at sea. And then, again, to remind yourself to breathe with intention. I am learning, that if it doesn’t require effort - it probably won’t work. It’s sad, that effort for yourself is most touched by resistance. I wrote this a while ago, it’s meant to become a song:
Have you been hiding
The comfort of fighting the urge to do things
Resistance is sweet