A Life Worth Dying For

Posted on Jun 11, 2014

iStock_000014655957SmallI haven’t posted in quite a while now. I’ve been other places doing other things, not the least of which has been having surgery in both my eyes. I’ve missed you. And today, with a moment to catch up and look back a bit, I have a question I’d like to share with you.

What kind of life are you prepared to die for?

My husband and I are staying in the US for three months, exploring what it feels like to live here now. He is English and has never lived in the USA; and I, though I am American through and through, have not lived here in almost 13 years. Our base is at some friends’ home in Colorado, but right now we are nomads, visiting relatives in Texas during my recuperation. This seems to be the first day I’ve had in a month just to remember who I am.

On such a day, it’s a luxury to take five minutes and watch the latest inspiring TED Talk, which I’ll share with you below. But both Ian and I are moved by it, right here in this study room in the local library. New York Times columnist David Brooks questions whether we should be living for our resumés (to build, creative and succeed) or whether it might be more meaningful to live for our eulogies (to connect, develop and make a difference).

Brooks moves me with his description of the two domains of human nature: the external world of creation and success with the internal world of personal meaning. He and Joseph Soloveitchik, the theologian he quotes, see the two at fundamentally at war. And it’s been my experience too: my deepest heart calls me to act; my survivng self falls short.

My vision for The Wheel of Creativity has always been to link the two. For me, and for the great artists I have known, creation from your deepest place of meaning is the most divine of all human acts. Have a look at this video and tell me what YOU think. Then go out today and live your life CREATIVE. That’s the surest way I can imagine to die happy.

TED Talk: David Brooks

 

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