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"Until One is Committed"

Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one Elementary Truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:

That the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events - issues from the decision. Raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.

--W.H.Murray

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"The Initiation"

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring with your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story your telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray you own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even if it's not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from God's presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the moon, YES!

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, for the children. It doesn't interest me how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments…

~Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder

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"A Life Force"

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action,

And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.

And if you block it, it will never exist though any other medium and (will) be lost.

The world will not have it.

It is not your business to determine how good it is; Nor how valuable it is; nor how it compares with other expressions.

It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.

You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.

You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.

No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction at anytime.

There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest keeps us marching and makes us more alive than others.

By Martha Graham to Agnes DeMille