Moments of Insight & Curated Content #12 February 2024
A monthly email for paid subscribers with curated reads, videos, podcasts and other content which have interested or inspired me this month.
Hey Friends,
On Irish television on Saturday, Booker Prize Winner Paul Lynch discussed how he began writing at the age of 30 after having a moment of insight while travelling in a taxi in Italy:
‘I had this epiphany that the life I was leading at that moment was a lie and I was meant to be writing fiction. And I was to give myself permission from that day on and that meant permission to fail…. and the interesting thing about that is that I had never written fiction before. I hadn’t written a word of fiction so how did I know I was full of stories?’
I love this. I believe we all secretly know what we are destined for. It is in these moments of insight, the seeds already sown in each of us begin to make themselves known. The obstacle we face is rarely the knowing but the accepting of that knowing. It can seem impractical, fanciful, or too scary. To suppress this intuitive sense of something you should do or leave it un-investigated may seem like an easier choice but it is regret in the making. Rather, we must learn to trust this inner wisdom when it reveals itself. It is directing us towards an unexplored part of who we are waiting to be nurtured with an investment of courage and time.
I agree with Paul that you must give yourself permission to fail. To have greater purpose in life or work means you must take a risk and change something. So many people are seeking a greater sense of purpose today not because they don’t know what they are seeking, but because they are afraid of what they are seeking. In my experience, the first iteration of acting on such moments of clarity will rarely bring you success in traditional metrics. But to consider that a failure is to miss the point. By taking the risk, you are bringing a new part of yourself into the light and turning it into solid form. This is the point. You will become more whole as a result of taking the risk.
We must challenge the modern discourse around purpose which suggests things are only worth doing if they can be monetised. This is capitalism meets purpose. Solely committing to projects and aspects of yourself that can be monetised is a very limiting way to live your life. It leaves little room to become the person you are destined to be. Your curiosity, your desires, your ideas, and passions are inner signposts of what is seeking greater expression in your life. To tap into these ideas widens the path of life you are walking creating space for the person you are to become. I can’t guarantee this approach will lead you to win the Booker Prize, but I can guarantee it will lead you to live a more fully expressed and expansive life. And, in many ways, that would be the real prize anyway.
Until next month,
Fiona x
After the paywall, ideas on cultivating greater wholeness and making the most of the second half of life and how ritual can help us overcome the distraction economy…
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