Some additional thoughts on creativity from Brother Franco
Late at night it occurs to me that within each of us sits a silent demon who prevents us from fulfilling our true talent. For many of us, this demon sits in blissful silence without our being conscious of its presence. For others, who may be more introspective, we are sensitive to its presence. Either way it sits there in the deepest recesses of our consciousness, lurking in the shadows doing its damage.
And what is this demon about? For each of us it is exclusively our own creation. Somewhere in our lives, some event or experience, created a latent destructive tendency that feeds our demon's existence. What do we do about it? The answer to this question will define the amount of success we achieve in our lives.
The real issue here is not whether you will be successful, but will you reach the success you were uniquely created for. My assumption here, based on years of experience and observation has led me to believe we each have a unique talent meant to be and in that realization, we make our contribution to life and to the time in which we live.
In some lives, the demon is obvious and clearly destructive. However, this is not the case for most. For many, their demon hides in the darkness, never being completely destructive, but still doing its damage.
One unerring sign that your demon still remains in control is the nagging feeling that something is not right, even though by most standards, you and others believe your life to be successful. The feeling, however, may not always be there. For many, it lurks in stillness, its presences keeping you locked in place, a silent and effective brake to complete fulfillment.
Your particular demon may seem to have a life of its own - its existence independent of yours, as if it were a different being or presence. However, nothing is further from the truth. Your demon exists because you allow it to exist. For each of us, we are the ones who give it its power; we feed its existence by our lack of courage to embrace completely our unique talent and allowing it to exist.
Why is a lack of courage always the culprit? More than likely because when we allow our unique talent to exist openly with in full bloom it, exposes who we are. For many, this will seem and sound strange.
However, when we are willing to be fully introspective and be honest with ourselves, we come to understand that when we live to the fullest, we reveal to the world who we are. The masks drop away, and the real self stands alone.
What awaits those who have the courage to fully live? I would like to say obvious success. Unfortunately, that is not guaranteed. To live fully and openly has its risks, and some are very real and not always easy to face.
However, we do know this: The sole chance to be complete is to allow your unique talent to prosper. This is the only road to true contentment. Please note the word contentment rather than happiness - happiness is for the immature. For those who have experienced life and know its perils, we are quite willing to seek contentment as our goal.
Brother Franco
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