by Sean M Kelly…
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not be false to any man.” William Shakespeare
I sat alone having my breakfast at my mother’s, and turned on the television. There was a group of academics discussing a story by Tolstoy entitled, The Death of Ivan Ilych. I had never heard of it before. It tells the story of a man, Ivan, who, during his life succumbs to the ‘hypnosis of social conditioning’ and lives a life that everyone else expects him to live. As his life is coming to an end with terminal illness he begins to question how he has lived. He asks himself, ‘What if in reality my whole life has been wrong?’. He wonders if he was ever true to himself. The only time he remembers being true was when he was a child. He dies with a feeling of deep regret.
Life is hard! Life is difficult! We create a life, which is often so full of ‘stuff’ that we spend the rest of our lives working to hold on to it, only to realise at the end of it… that ‘the last suit we wear doesn’t need any pockets’! All those years we struggled to hold on to everything could have been spent nourishing that which brings us joy.
So often we believe that to find our ‘joy’ we have to change that which is ‘without’ – move to a bigger house, buy a flashier car or build a bigger business. These things may be important, but by following our own truth we find a greater joy and create more fulfilment in our lives. Ironically, what we used to chase after comes to us easily and by then… well… it really doesn’t matter.
When we follow our heart, we find our passion. What we do, we would do even if we didn’t get paid. Getting paid is a bonus! Once we find our passion, our life is neither positive nor negative, it is a continuous revelation of whom we truly are. It is a journey of joyous manifestation. It is a journey of continuous heartfelt gratitude for the growing number of wonders in our life.
As Ivan Ilych lay dying, he was tormented with the question, ‘What if in reality my whole life has been wrong?’. Unfortunately for Ivan it was too late. If you are reading this, you still have time; time to follow your heart, time to create a more fulfilling life for yourself and a better world for us all.
An Invitation to Follow your Heart
If you were to follow your heart what would you do? What has your heart always been whispering to you to follow? What talents do you possess? What are your gifts? What one step can you take this week that would be following your heart?
As William Wallace’s father said to him in ‘Braveheart’:
‘Your heart is now open, have the courage to follow it’.
About the Author:
Sean M Kelly is an accomplished international musician, author, trainer, coach and inspirational speaker. He has been inspiring and training people to use more of their inherent potential and pursue what they’re passionate about since 1992. He has performed and delivered workshops in many countries around the world. He currently lives in his home country of Ireland. You can find more inspiration, wisdom and learning opportunities on his website http://www.seanMkelly.com
For a Free Dare to Dream online course and more inspiration click this link: Lesson Plan Life
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<<>> I met this amazing man down at salt pan creek where I live,his name is Graham,he had been there since 3am in the freezing cold just wandering around in the dark on his own,behind him he was pulling a shopping trolley the type that has a handle that you pull behind you,in it he had some clothes and a golf club sticking up out of it.We shook hands and we introduced our selves to each other then he to my dog Max,this alone was incredible as my dog has always been a one person dog and would not tolerate anyone touching him other than myself,Graham reached out to pat Max as I quickly began to warn him but he was quicker and to my absolute shock Max for the first time ever let this stranger touch and pat him.The ice was clearly broken we sat and talked for hours,he poured out his soul to me,I just sat and listened and what a story he told he came from a very well to do family from Miranda quite a wealthy one,he told me about his father and all the times they would play golf together,he began to cry,his father had died some months prior from cancer,he had lived with his dad, he nursed him during his bout with cancer,in the end he said he died a terrible painful death.It obviously had a profound effect on Graham,He began to drink very heavily to the point of blacking out,his sisters then threw him out of the home he had known all his life and sold it from under him,he was now homeless his only friend his dog was put down and Graham had reached the end of his journey or so he had thought,looking back I think Graham was going to end his life that day,but after I told him what had happened to me about my seeing hell and hearing and feeling thousands of trapped souls screaming for mercy but finding only more pain and knowing it was for all eternity did he take notice,I watched his face change as I spoke he had a kind of tortured look like he new now that taking his life would be no escape, I then told him about the sky tearing open and a flock of gold like the sun but transparent,ANGELS with wings appearing and pouring in from this tear,they flew down and surrounded me on the ground,I could see Grahams face change to a more relaxed but amazed appearance,I told him how they then spoke to me without speaking and them showing me my life in kind of a movie,I told him how ashamed I was like I was before god and being judged I told him how they gave me a CHOICE I could go to where the screams are coming from or I could change my life and begin again,I chose to change my life, I then at that moment became aware of a warm fuzzy feeling washing all the cold from within my soul that had been apart of me for so long,I only realized later what the fuzzy feeling was,it was love,Yes love God’s love.Now I had never been a religious person or ever went to church and even now I am not perfect,but I am alive and feel compassion where before I had none,feel love where there was only a cold void.I believe it was this that made me so acutely aware of the creatures and souls that are all around us but that I had never seen before,I truly was blind and could not see even before the cataracts.After I told Graham what had happened to me,he clasped both his hands on mine as if saying thank you ,he seemed to be glowing now where before he was grey and like death,we walked back up the track and shook hands,I watched him walk off into the evening sunset sure that he had changed his mind. I often wonder how he went.
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