Whisperings

From the inside out

In my last post I wrote about ‘love in business’ - not simply loving the work that I do but loving the business that is the vehicle for that work.

I don’t have much of an update since then - mainly because I’ve spent at least half of the time on holiday in Dingle.

I am grateful that at the end of that last post I said I would share the lines or rhymes that helped me understand, more than conceptually, that

‘work is love made visible' [Khalil Gibran]

And while I am grateful I also have a slight feeling of trepidation about sharing these words. They are raw, unpolished and come from the inside out. I suppose all of our words come from the inside…

I never expressed myself in this way until quite recently. David Whyte says that poetry is the act of overhearing yourself saying something you didn’t know you knew.

Is what I write poetry? I don’t know. That isn’t what matters here. What matters here is that this way of expressing myself helps me and at times surfaces things I didn’t know I knew.

My soul is whispering to me
You’ll thrive once you commit to be
Fully yourself in all that you do
It’s a business advantage if you do that too

You can release your doubts, worries and woes
Take a step and see how it goes
I know it goes against the grain
But it’s the root of this unseen pain

The tension you’re experiencing inside
Is nothing to fear, nothing to hide
It isn’t there to hold you back
It’s there to signal you’re on the right track

And although this might be hard to believe
There’s no silver bullet or way to relieve
Other than seeing it for what it is
Your heart’s longing to release your fizz

There is reassurance in these lines. I feel it again today as I read through them. And it ends with a beautiful call to action. And that call to action is what prompted the next one:

I invite my heart
Into my art
Now my heart is inviting me
To clear the pain I do not see

My heart is beyond clever
At the centre of each endeavour
A silent partner if you will
Never absent, never still

I’m unaware of what ails
Unwilling to go off the rails
I’m willing to go into this void
And not attempt an override

I know you’ll let me feel
What it is that’s next to heal
And from there we’re ready to go
Into the energy of the universe in flow
 

I get a sense of hopefulness from this one. And it led to a more light-hearted maybe even tongue-in-cheek effort the next day. There is a sense of partnership, that we are in this together.

This is a deeper yearning
To help increase what I’m earning
And more than that to help us all
Be understood and not live a life too small

It isn’t always easy to know what we really want
And so this poetry becomes my daily prompt
To help us both align and take steps
That brings alive what stirs to reps

For once we’ve got that beat
We can really stir passion with heat
And before you know it you and I
Will be living life on a healthy high

So if you can share what stirs
So the intelligence of life can see our gift as hers
We’ll set about to deliver our sacred tasks 
And clearly communicate them to anyone who asks

And the next day brought more grounding

Connect to the love within your heart
It will guide you to play your part

You have access to wisdom beyond your thoughts
You’ll connect dots and come up with all sorts
Of possibilities, of ideas, of insights
Listen and wait for the one that lights
You up on the insides and shines through you
In a way that others see it too

When you feel that, follow its wanting
It’s the guidance of your soul, not taunting. 

This has a universal message. It is expansive, impersonal but also somehow personal.

It is a jumping off point to a more personal one - the last one that I wrote before publishing this article.

Work is love made visible
Helps me feel invincible 
In a non-egoic way
But a way to begin each day
Reminding me of a higher self
And my purpose that’s been on the shelf
Like a book waiting to be read
It’ll be too late when I’m dead
I’m ready and willing to express my soul
And to fully step into my unique role
It’s time to fully play my part
By connecting to the love in my heart

Reading through all of this today has been a timely reminder for me. Helpful after coming back from leave - like breadcrumbs that I left for myself. There are two more pieces I’m going to share. I’m also going to record an audio version of this post. Listening can provide a different perspective.

Time to put strategy in service of soul
Before you know it, I’ll be on a roll
My business is a vehicle for my soul to express
And not a part of me to repress
There is a cost to holding back
One of doubt and one of financial lack
There’s a profit in playing all out
And this is what my soul cares about

I’m in conversation with life
Tired of bending and of strife
Excited by what lies ahead
Knowing I’m held in good stead
This doesn’t stop the odd wobble
Which can lead to a squabble
With myself which is draining
And can lead to me restraining
Myself from standing resolute
And sensing what is absolute
That life is co-creating with me
Helping me to be who I’m to be

To love the work that we do it helps to also love the business we run. I didn’t really ever think much about the difference. This has changed…