I posted this picture on Facebook with a caption "Inspiring one another to write" and was greeted by a suprise comment under it.
"For every time I read this the meaning flows, like a poem or a song, and what I understand interacts with various translations (Bing-translations) of words. I like the meaning, the various meanings it offers me and I try to bring a thought to my own writing, to my own language.
As I celebrate with you what I can not fully understand.
And this time around, when I re-read this now - I realize that I too have a story from my childhood, from my beloved grandmother's house about a broken tusk.... As the thoughts, the connections go back and forth between us, from your country to my country, my continent to your content - and back again. Thank you!"
This stream-of-consciousness insight from my beloved friend Maria Sundfeldt of Sweden, shot through me a "lightning flash" of inspiration.
Only the other day I had been celebrating our inter-connections and how our collaboration of fine art could create way more meaning for the world, than each of our individual journeys in isolation. Since that day, I have found so many "chance" connections that I have stopped believing in chance itself. There has to be a purpose! A profound one. Our own, directed by the highest part of our collective being. I had introduced the concept as Mutual Inspiration Monday - in tune with all the Throwback Thursdays and Flashback Fridays that have become a weekly ritual on social media. We stand on the shoulders of the best that is behind, to take our great leap forward. And we do this in synergy.
I am reading this wonderful comment over again and each phrase stands by itself ringing out a resounding message as I strike it, ever so gently, with my metaphorical gong.
In particular, "As I celebrate with you what I can not fully understand " comes back over and over to tell me that we understand a mere fraction of all that we embrace and experience. Not only Maria with respect to a celebration of Ganesha's birthday and the legend of his broken tusk - a tale from a country and culture that are several thousand miles away from her in physical distance, yet joined to her at the heart - but each of us with respect to even the simplest tasks we carry out. We celebrate even as we don't fully understand. And we inspire even as we are often not aware of doing so!
The streams and rivers of understanding do flow back and forth between continents and countries, girdling the universe with their dynamic network and taking us to new levels in our journey towards fullness.
And I want you my dear friend Maria, to share the story from your grandmother's house about the broken tusk. It will be the subject of a sequel to this post.
Stay with us readers as we share our tales and write them in consonance.
Cannot wait to read Maria's tale and I so love this concept of collective consciousness. They bring so many thoughts and tales under one giant sized umbrella :)
ReplyDeleteI am eagerly waiting for her to share it. And I love being under this giant all-embracing umbrella :)
DeleteI love this thought so much, about mutual inspiration Mondays! And thank you for this reminder of the elephants tusk and my grandmother's house. This tale from my childhood does not carry the kind of meaningfulness that would make a it important to write it down, or read it for that matter. But I can tell you that two small wooden elephants just now moved from the island in the outer archipelago to my window, here on the peninsula.
DeleteI am so delighted to hear of the elephant "migration" from the island to your window. Elephants are great protector. I am particularly happy there are two of them. This matches my pair of elephant lamps which we light for the lamp festival later in the year, that also symbolize that kind of steady radiance and protective energy(associated typically with a brother, but I would extend it as I did for Raksha Bandhan to the supportive sibling bond). Ganesh will be happy as his birthday approaches. Celebrate the day (17th) with some nice sweets!
DeleteThis is brilliant!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ashesh. I find myself drawn back to my old posts now and somehow I find many new friends connecting. It feels great that my words speak to you.
DeleteOf course, the celebrations themselves have an intrinsic point to them. It is very simple and rather unthoughtful. The grand idea behind a celebration then, is to celebrate. Suspending all your worries for that moment. Whatever the original idea behind the day was means next to nothing to an era that has outlived those days. Yet surely, it is wise to stop for a moment to contemplate the meaning behind it all. Incredible writing as always, ma'am. And I must confess, I do not find your comments section all that strange to jabber in anymore :D
ReplyDeleteThank you thank you - welcome to the space. Once you break the ice you'll want to keep visiting. I have becoming quite prolific of late as I have a bunch of new offerings in the pipeline and am clearing the backlog first. I tend to be a manic writer - I get into a frenzy and pour out my thoughts and then I go silent. Hoping to be more balanced now.
DeleteI have comment moderation but your comment will appear immediately provided I'm not asleep. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.