This resonates. . .

The Creative Life

Some say the creative life is in ideas, some say it is in doing. It seems in most instances to be in simply being. It is not virtuosity, although that is very fine in itself. It is the love of something, having so much love for something—whether a person, a word, an image, an idea, the land or humanity—that all that can be done with the overflow is to create. It is not a matter of wanting to, not a singular act of will; one solely must.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Women Who Run With the Wolves

The Cat

Unconcerned, my extremely well-adjusted cat
Walks through the room purring like a, like a, like a
Cat, the cat she is.

Playful beyond belief, the cat finds ever-new
Ways to entertain herself, making inventive mischief a
Trait of character.

At last worn out, this exceptionally unexceptual
Cat jumps into my lap, settling down
For a nap.

The cat does well, very well at simply
Being what she is:  a cat; There seems a lesson here--
To be a man, and only that.

Happy?

Comparative international studies. . . report that once a nation has achieved a moderate level of per capita income, further increases in wealth bring only slight increases in perceived well-being. . . . Beyond the minimum level of income essential to meeting basic needs, the authentic relationships of strong communities are a far better predictor of happiness and emotional health than the size of one's paycheck or bank account. . . . Over the last half of the twentieth century, inflation-adjusted U. S. gross domestic product per capita tripled, yet surveys indicate the self-reports of satisfaction with life have remained virtually flat.

From David Myers, "The Secret to Happiness," http://www.yesmagazine.org/, summer 2004 as quoted in Brian D. McLaren's latest book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis and a Revolution of Hope, pages 210-211.


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