Once, I believed that none of the words formed in my mind held enough value to take up space in the outside world.
Now, here’s the 100th blog post, marking thousands of words I’ve written and shared.
And why would you care about this?
To see that, as much as you don’t care about this milestone in my life, as little attention as you pay to what others do, is exactly how much focus people give to your work as well.
Before this sounds like the coldest words one can say, let me explain.
People Filter Life Through Themselves
For some reason, it’s easy for us to enter those places in our mind where we become overly critical and self-conscious of the work we do, thinking how others see in it only what it lacks – therefore, what we as individuals lack.
What we don’t understand at that moment is that people don’t observe your work from the place of contemplation about you – they filter things based on what they can get out of it. People select things based on how much of what they need at that moment can be found in what they are seeing in front of them.
Observation is not done in isolation. It is context that enables insight, and in this case, context is always, “How does this relate to my life?”
In essence, even when others look at your work, their focus is deeply on themselves.
Whether or not others find value in your work is entirely up to them. All you can do is create to the best of your ability and let go of whatever comes after.
The Eyes That Never Look Away
If you’re concerned about negative judgments, here is a quote from Nikola Tesla that says everything we need to know about those: “When you understand that every opinion is a vision loaded with personal history, you will begin to understand that all judgment is a confession.”
So what does all of this mean for you?
It means that not only is the stage yours, but that the auditorium is reserved for you as well.
It’s you alone in the seats, watching the show from the beginning to its ending. Others only fleetingly walk through the space far at the back.
People see your work at one moment and the next one continue to go on with their lives, leaving you far out of their sight.
The only pair of eyes whose focus is permanently fixed on you is your own.
In that sense, to hide yourself so that others can’t judge you, to keep all your work far from the eyes of others, is never of service to anyone – especially not to you.
Growth Happens In The Open
While you focus on what they could think of you, you miss out on the magic of exploring your creations, observing the way they behave once let loose into the free world, and learning and growing from it all.
While you focus on what they might think of you, you miss out on seeing that nobody’s looking at you in the first place – they look at themselves through the prism of the work you share with them.
Every single thing we observe and perceive is being assessed from the place, ‘Where do I fit into this?’
How our work does in the world is never a reflection of us, but the one who gets in touch with it.
Yes, there are standards of quality, but the only way to achieve them is through practice. And not just practice in absolute privacy – it has to be released into the world at one point. Only that way does it reach another level of realness required for the creator to continue its growth.
The One Approval That Matters
Nothing is ever only about what goes on the outside. Often, it’s much more about the subtle notions that are being refined below the surface.
The growth that was earned through this writing practice was far larger and deeper than the mere refinement of the craft.
What those hundred blog posts did was give me my voice back.
Those thousands of words uncovered my purpose and direction in life.
When everything else seemed to fail, they offered me a reason to get out of bed.
Maybe only a few pairs of eyes ever saw any of those, but the one who was always present and attentive was I.
My eyes witnessed how I showed up every day to type those words out, even when I still deeply believed they didn’t deserve to be released.
My ears listened to the new frequency that was being played with every word I put down.
My soul was being soothed with every finished piece I saw in front of myself.
The eyes that never look away
While the world pays very little attention to you, the one person that keeps watching all the time – is you.
The one pair of eyes that always scans where your attention, time, and effort go are your own.
The one head that pays close attention to the extent that you live, or hide, is your own.
The single person for whom you should write those words, for whom you should try to offer some substance to their days, is yourself.
The single soul you should grow to like and love is your own.
Purpose Is service to All
Your own watchful eye that can’t be turned off, it keeps score of how much you are there for yourself.
While some may find ways to see this as a cleverly disguised hedonism and selfishness, it couldn’t be further away from that. Finding purpose in your days, finding something to live for, is what removes any need for hedonistic temptations.
More importantly, it’s the very opposite of selfishness, because once you come in touch with something that offers substance to your days, that very act fills you with endless energy in a world that tries to drain it from you on every corner.
Now your cup is overflowing and there is so much to give to others.
We serve others, when we know how to serve ourselves.
The sacred work
Answering your call is salvation from not only your personal daily misery, but is a force that has the power to influence lives around you.
So your writings, your music, your paintings, your woodcrafting, your passion for whatever – isn’t just some silly hobby.
It is divine.
It’s a source of vitality.
It is sacred and should be treated as such.
So go out there and become obsessed with it.
Pay no attention to who pays attention to it.
You are the protagonist of your life.
And the pen for writing the story is in your hands.
