Supernova of the Soul

During the day, drowned in the incessant flow of sensory input we tend to forget ourselves, blocking the inner light of our soul which shines through the intellectual lens of the mind. But in the wee hours of the morning, like now, the mind is especially clear. Thoughts spring up from the depths of the mind unimpeded, untainted in the glory of their inherent wisdom.

I've been awakened early by a stubborn mosquito which had been buzzing around my head, rudely dragging me out of my peaceful slumber. Unable to sleep again, and being a bit too early for me to start the day, I had wandered back to my grossly neglected blog. And in the sacred silence of early dawn, thoughts began the flow.

How remarkable is this creative wellspring that lives within us! How unceasingly resourceful it is! I've always believed that if we are capable of allowing our minds to be quiet, creative thoughts will naturally arise. It is the inherent tendency of nature to be creative and we are but its instruments of expression.

As plants grow from the their nourishing soil, bearing their beautiful bounty of fruits and flowers, so does the human mind taps into the silent womb of creativity, bringing forth all the possibilities of life. To live is to be a true and authentic vessel of this creative force. It is this vital force, this sacred flame that drives us and make us who we are.

How true we are to the commands of this inner voice depends on our willingness to listen. The world draws us out into its many distractions; we end up having our energies dissipated, serving the many false gods of the material world.

Even the simple act of procreation is but nature's gross form of creativity. Form materializes, form dissolves. And this eternal dance of the universe continues with its myriad expressions. Nature cannot help herself but to create and in the process destroys existing forms so that newer ones emerge.

Every atom in our body are forged in the cauldron of stars. Stars explode and die, spilling its rich ingredients into the interstellar space for suns and planets and ultimately biological life to emerge.

We are all stars awaiting our supernovae. What kind of creative ingredients do we cook within our soul so that our inevitable extinction become the source greater possibilities? We just need to listen. And in that listening, we hear the stirrings of a supernova.

The Cycle of Creation

A moment of reflection before the year ends. Stop. No cliche remarks about how fast time flies, please.

That shall be my New Year resolution (if any is needed at all): avoid cliches. It is difficult to be fresh and original everytime in whatever we do or say. But it is the nature of life to be constantly reinventing and regenerating itself.

Life is defined by regeneration. The old withers away to be replaced by the fresh and young, sprouting from seeds of hope. The universe is creative. On one end of the spectrum, it is creativity at the physical level: reproduction and procreation. On the other end, artistic and scientific creations.

To cease creating is to die. To work is to create. Everyday I strife to create something new. The mind continues learning because it is like a tree that draws in water and nutrients from its surrounding to produce new branches, leaves and flowers. Nature is constantly creating and recreating itself.

It is our duty to continue learning and creating. The businessman creates new opportunities for material wealth to manifest; the poet puts new combinations of words and imageries to evoke deep thoughts and feelings; the engineer imagines new structures, to be shaped out of matter and energy to accomplish ever more challenging tasks; the painter fuses colours and forms to unleash fresh visions of the world.

We honour life by creative work. All work is creative. The housewife who cooks and sweeps the floor is an artist whose masterpiece is a harmonious household, filled with happy kids and a loving husband, brimming with a love that is like sunshine.

We welcome the new year, like an artist welcomes the sight of a fresh canvas. Smell the fresh paint on the palette, pick up your brush, mix your colours and apply the first stroke on the blank surface:

Let there be light.