I think of you sometimes And sometimes I smile And sometimes I fall Sometimes I channel it And sometimes I withdrawal Better—I suppose Than not having anything To move or respond to at all.
Helping busy people do inner work.
I think of you sometimes And sometimes I smile And sometimes I fall Sometimes I channel it And sometimes I withdrawal Better—I suppose Than not having anything To move or respond to at all.
If you burned away everything you knew about yourself… what would remain?
This was one of the most remarkable questions I was asked while at Burning Man.
Worth reiterating: if everything I knew about myself…
…was burned away—what would I have left inside?
Before you read my answer, I encourage you to pause here and think about how you would answer this question…
Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you’re done…
The answer I came up with (which didn’t come quickly or easily) was everything I had when I was born:
Which made me think: a lot of what we carry with us in identity/ experience/ education is worth burning.
Not everything, of course, because there is a lot in identity/ experience/ and education that we carry that’s worth protecting.
But, there’s a lot that extinguishes our curiosity; deadens our liveliness; contaminates our innocence; removes our immediacy; and kills our compassion.
And that, is where the real inner work begins.
Not in trying to add to what’s already inside… but in working to subtract—to burn away—everything that’s corrupting what’s already there.
How would you answer this question? I’d love to hear. Simply send a reply :)
If you can’t:
…You aren’t free.
No matter what your work title, bank account, or social media feed might otherwise suggest.