Walking on the surface of life is merely an illusion.

 I have been spending some time at my cabin lately. I mainly use it as an art studio or a as place to go in order to be away from the world sometimes. It is located at foot of a mountain in a remote valley and so there is no internet access. This means I am not tempted to go “online”. The quietness forces me to hear and listen to my own thoughts. The “noisiness” of daily life can often drown out our “inner voice” and the inner voice has always something very important to tell us. For it is who we really are and not whom we think we we are. What lies within us is far more real than what lies on the surface. 

The outer world shouts loudly while the inner voice whispers softly

Therefore it is easy to ignore. Why it should be like that I do not know, for sometimes I wish the inner voice would shout loudly so as warn me that I am going to make a bad decision in life. Imagine walking in a busy city. The noise of the traffic is so loud that you can hardly hear yourself think. Then a fog descends upon the city. The fog is so dense that you can hardly see your hand in front of your face. I want to cross the road but I can not see exactly where the cars are or how fast they are moving. I can see their headlights but I can not tell if there are two cars, three cars, or if it is a motorcycle. And yet I must cross the road. And so, even though it is dangerous, I risk my life and try to dodge the traffic. My inner voice begins to whisper to me; “Don’t do it. Wait until the fog has cleared so you can see where you are going.” The problem is that the loud noise of the outer world drowns out the whisper of the inner. And so I ignore it and make a decision that could possible lead to my doom. The danger of living in a noisy world is that one can become used to it. After a while the fog and the incessant noise becomes normal and you can forget that you even have an inner voice.

This is why I make time to have, what I call, “quiet time”. 

I want to give priority to my inner voice in case it has something important to tell me.
Just to make it clear, I am not saying that I hear voices. I do not have schizophrenia. I am talking about the voice of our conscience, or what is more commonly called, the soul. Whatever you belief system, I think you know what I am talking about. If you do not then you should be concerned and get yourself to a quiet place today and try to connect to your inner voice. 

Living only on the surface of life is merely an illusion. 

A person walking on the surface of the water may seem like a miracle, but at some point they will realise that it defies reality. At that point they will sink and possibly drown.

Considering much has happened in my life recently, I decided it was time to have some precious “quiet time”. My small cabin overlooks a large lake and from the main window I often watch the Cranes that visit there. These tall majestic birds walk with a delicate grace with their slim long legs.


And as I watch them, the other day, I noticed that they appeared to be walking on the surface of the water. One of the birds opened its wings to get its balance, and in that moment an image for a painting popped into my imagination. I began sketching down ideas of a design immediately.




Working furiously, my paint brush moving almost on its own,  I had completed a small watercolor in about three hours. I may use it as a sketch for a larger piece I am not yet sure. What I am sure of, is that I felt so much better within myself after I had completed it. And I am sure that this inspiration came direct from my inner voice.

 It was telling me to remember my core nature. That I am an artist and was created to create. It is good to have many interests in life, variety is important and makes us more rounded and interesting. But it is more important to know who we really are.
So if you sometimes feel that you have lost touch with yourself, make time for quiet time.
Give priority to your inner voice and listen to what t has to say.
It has your best interests at heart and it will never lie to you.   

Thank you for visiting my blog and I wish you a warm welcome back next time.