by Courtney Mills, Chasm Editor
There’s a tension in life, a push and a pull. The pushing of a dream, an idea, a passion gaining traction. The pulling of fear, of doubt in both in your own abilities and the validity of said dreams.
How do we as artists, creators, pioneers and game changers exist in this tension?
A life in the tension, in the contradiction, is one that I have been learning to live. The fact is that we may never find the perfect balance - but should we? Is the pilgrimage to a balanced life really the reason that we are on this earth?
Whilst living a zen mindset seems to be all the rage these days, I find it hard to believe that the goal of our time alive is to be in a constant, neutralized state of “om”. Aren’t the ups and down of life - the failing and learning and succeeding, the thrill of the unknown, the healing and growing through disappointment and brokenness, the joy of breakthrough - all what makes us human?
I know that it’s incredibly cliché, but I really do believe that life is a constant climb. Sometimes our feet miss a step and slip down the path a bit and sometimes we reach a plateau where we need to catch our breath for a moment before we continue on. Yet it is always an upward and onward journey. We can’t expect it to be a perfect process and our feet will hurt from time to time, but that will make the view on the peak more rewarding.
But why wait for the summit to see the beauty below? We need to practise constant gratitude and wonder. Are you just a few metres up the mountain side? Look back at the steps you’ve made already in thankfulness. Look up to the distant peak full of excitement of all the new things you’ll discover along the way.
There’s a promise that awaits us all, and we should not let the search for stability get in the way of uncovering it.
Sure, the pushing and the pulling is often uncomfortable. But is resisting comfort worth the risk of realizing your dreams from the mountaintop?
It is for me. And I truly hope it is for you.
[ please feel free to now listen to "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus in deep introspection. Not required but highly recommended ]
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