Passionate Theme of the Day: Pregnant with Possibilites

“The final mystery is oneself.”~Oscar Wilde

“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don’t let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.”~R.I. Fitzhenry

“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."~Eden Phillpotts

Inspiration is a funny thing. You can seek it out. But it often eludes you. Chase it and it runs from you. It becomes a game of cat and mouse. Sometimes you just gotta simmer for a while. Read books of a different genres (Candy Girl author Diablo Cody knows how to tease, titillate and spin a yarn - I’m also finishing Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership by Joseph Jaworski as well as Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth - interesting mix, eh?).

Enjoy the aural pleasure of some new music, (Vampire Weekend, Nicole Atkins & new Tristan Prettyman) or watch cool video’s from my favorite online crush – TED.

There’s one TED video that’s pushed my buttons recently. Since showing it to my public speaking class last week, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. Here JJ Abram’s shares the story of his Mystery Box. (Go watch it now!) Take 18 minutes and listen to this master story teller share his passion for mystery, talk about his grandfather and biggest fan, and infect you with his love of magic and things left unsaid.

This video’s got me simmering in a pool of mysterious, magical, inspirational deliciousness. As an Aries, I tend to be an open book. Even been known to say, “Mystery is overrated.” Yet, the older I get the more intrigued I am with not knowing how everything is going to play out.

As a recovering perfectionist, control freak and over achiever - learning to let go of the reigns and get out of the way of my own success has been a pot-hole speckled road to say the least.

Where is that pot-hole-speckled-yellow-brick road leading me next? This much I know for sure - I’m moving to Arizona near the beginning of June. I will no longer be teaching at LU, and have absolutely no freakin’ idea how I’ll be earning my keep. But for some wacky reason, that’s completely OK. Sure, I get freaked out every now and then, but the stars are aligned, the synchronicities are showing up and all signs point to the desert.

I’ve still got plans for a major PMP overhaul, but that’s second to my first focus, writing my book. In a few weeks, I’ll be launching the DLMP blog where I’ll be discussing topics based on the theme of the book. But back to what I loved about the JJ Abrams video.

He uses the example of this magic mystery box that he got as a kid at a magic store in Brooklyn, as an analogy for life. He says that each and every one of us is a mystery box. Our life is one big question mark. I dig that. Do you? As personal development fans, we tend to get caught up in the “how to do” side of life.

Yes we can live from intention and focus on how we want our days to go. Of course we can set goals to get us from A to B to Z. Obviously we have choice and free will to help us navigate the waters of reality (whatever colors we choose to paint that reality with is up to each of us). But at some point after all the commitment, planning, strategizing, and getting things done…we have to let go and let it be.

There’s plenty of room for commitment, planning, and strategizing. Just as there’s room for romanticizing and philosophizing. And then there’s what I call the X factor. It’s kind of like dating. Sometimes people look good on paper. Maybe you even see a picture of them and speak to them on the phone. But until you meet them in person, you don’t know if that chemistry is there. That magical, mysterious quality that’s either there or it isn’t. 

We don’t “click” with everyone. Just as each experience we perceive as being “right” for us on paper, in our grand plans, isn’t always the experience that will help best serve our learning experience on this planet (which also helps serve ever other person’s learning experience as well).

Life is kinda like that. We have to create space for the magical, the mysterious, and the chemistry of the Universe to come into play. We have to make room for it. Open ourselves up to the flow of it. Invite it in. Entice it with focus and passion and desire.

So yes, we need to focus on “what” our hearts desire. But we gotta leave the “how” up to whatever you call that Divine presence – God, The Universe, Creator, The HP (higher power). We’d do good to follow the advice of Henri Frederic Amiel and

“Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the ploughshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring...”

We live in interesting times. The technology of today allows us to explore subjects we’re curious about with the click of a mouse. Blogging and social networking allows us to expand our boundaries of friendship and business partnerships.

Our digital global village has created possibilities that never existed before this time in history. All of this can lead to infinite possibility, magical connections, the intersection of mysterious crossroads, and inspiring conversations, e-mails and discoveries.

Wrap your arms around yourself and embrace the big-ass question mark that is YOU. Be gentle with yourself and your unfolding. Allow space for some mystery and magic to roll through and open up doors you weren’t even aware existed. Because they’re all around you.

We just can’t see them with these human eyes. Close them. Now you have a blank canvas. Stop trying to control when, where, why, how and with how much pressure, nudging and grasping. Sink into the comfy cushions of your desires and simmer for awhile. Hold your focus.

Now open your eyes again. See? Right there…just up ahead. There’s a sign. A song. A poem. A magazine article. A chance encounter. A bumper sticker. A link to a website. An e-mail. A conversation with a “stranger” at the airport. A question from a 3-year old at the grocery store. A compliment from a new friend. A book recommendation from a colleague. A snippet of conversation overheard on an elevator.

Magic. Mystery. Inspiration. It’s all around us. Our future is right before us. One step at a time. One conversation at a time. One moment of stillness. One deep breath. One new sight. New sound. New awareness. Look…it’s here. NOW. Enjoy!

Peace, passion and inspiration abounds.

Much love,
Kammie K. - Mystery Maven, Master of Magic, Instigator of Inspiration

ps...incase you don’t feel like linking to the video: