Feelings – The Divine Influence Within Us

There is a bountiful spectrum of inspiration to draw from in life. One way to channel inspiration is from the divine influence within us, commonly delivered in the form of a feeling. Each one of us gravitates to colors and smells we like– or do we? It’s no secret that we are heavily influenced by marketing, economics, and cultural upbringing, so it might be fair to contest that our natural inspiration can become manipulated, arresting our core development.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to become a cartoonist, but a teacher said that cartoonists usually possess an aptitude for drawing, and since I had no discernible ability, I was encouraged to do something else. Then I boldly announced I would become a writer! Another teacher concluded that I had very poor language skills and offered a similar contention: “Writers usually possess a facility for words, and you are an immigrant with poor language skills.”

My observation about life is that society only nurtures aptitude, and is very resistant to give a person with a feeling an opportunity to develop that calling if they do not possess immediate ability. This deep feeling you have is discouraged as a mere whim and replaced with a focus on something productive you can do today. The establishment does not want to foster a feeling you have for something with no apparent skill in because it is not immediately productive to make a living now.

There is nothing wrong with developing your aptitude into a career. However, I believe this can be a riddle, a distraction to lead you away from developing something deeper within the self that has not yet been given a chance to come into its own might. After all, there is a growing trend of bright people graduating from college who decide to go back in search of deeper satisfaction from that original feeling they abandoned long ago.

For many years, I was flogged with a lot of dispirited criticisms and less than enthusiastic comments about my writing efforts and my child-like illustrations. Heedless, I continued exploring and nurturing my inner feeling.

Eventually, I was privileged to sell my drawings and writings at Sotheby’s and Christies and invited to participate in world-class art shows where my illustrations and pithy writings were praised for their honesty and charm.

What I impart to people today is quite simple: if you come to my house and I see you have an incredible aptitude for playing the drums, I will ask, “is there any other instrument you have a feeling for but no aptitude? The harp you say – but you were told you sucked? Why don’t you sit before the harp, take your hat off, stay a while and see what happens…”