Why do we choose to do certain things at certain cross junctions in our lives? Why do we make that choice when it goes against everything we understand to be true? Why do we surrender our logical mind to follow the dictates of the heart?

Why do we rebel?

What are we even rebelling against? Is it worth it?

These are questions I asked myself as I made a decision that went against everything I had known to be true. So why did I do it?

I questioned the validity of my choice well before I made it. I even knew full well what I was walking into. No one forced me. I was not coerced. I was not persuaded. I was not even quietly coaxed into submission.

All my inner guidance told me was, “This is the path that is right for you. There is no other choice for you–and even if you were presented with the alternative, you will choose not to walk that path.”

Cryptic, prophetic words…. that came true.

---

“Your struggle has not gone unnoticed,” he tells her.

When we struggle alone–does someone notice? Why struggle? Why not choose the easy path? Why not walk on the path that everyone will tells you will get you ‘there’?

I had not met a rebel in the true sense of the word till I met her.

Before I met her, the word ‘rebel’ conjured up an image of someone who disrespects society’s laws and ends up sitting in a jail cell. To be a responsible adult is to do what is expected of you and do it well. But that in itself was a jail sentence. A prison of one’s own making.

While most of us settle into day jobs that bring us no pleasure but allow us to pay the bills, the artist’s quest on earth is different. He or she heeds his calling and hears The Voice of the Universe.

It takes tremendous courage to be still enough to hear that gentle whisper. We all hear it from time to time. But we’re too busy living in two worlds–the world we call ‘reality’ and the world we inhabit only in our imagination. Our imagination is where our secret desires and longings are created in our mind’s eye. We live our lives in fear of actualising these desires–or at the very least embarking on the journey that leads us to the realisation of these desires.

But the artist’s quest is different.

He or she manifests this vision in the world–no matter what it takes. The struggle is real. It is torturous. It is also immeasurably liberating. Allowing the creative impulse to flow through you as you give birth to a creative work is immeasurable by any modern economic standards.

Are you doing work that is ‘useful’ to society? The answer may well be no. But if your work is good–and I mean really good–your work can awaken society. Awaken it from its long overdue slumber.

You think those people who work in offices–I was one of them, mind you–you think they wake up each day with a sense of purpose?

They are doing what they have been told to do. It lures and lulls them into a sense of security. The ego feels safe. And then, a crisis emerges. A crisis that shakes this false sense of infallibility to its very core. No matter how safe or stable we think our lives are–we are just teardrops in the ocean. We will get washed along and washed away.

Even if we are hardworking individuals, we can still be lazy. I’m not talking about the people who are living off others financially. I’m talking about the people who think that they have ‘succeeded’. No offence meant to anyone. I was one of those people.

I sat in a nice chair. I had money to buy all the things I wanted. I was supposed to be happy, but when the money arrived–so did a different quagmire of unforeseeable problems.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, I didn’t realise that the ‘there’ I had arrived at was just about to come crashing down before my very eyes.

Where did I get this ludicrous idea that material comforts are a final destination? I’m old enough. I’m not going to blame anyone. My complacency may well be the product of a sense of having achieved something tangible by societal standards, but there I was–resting on my laurels and refusing to move on. I had–for all intents and purposes–made ‘it’.

And then I met a woman who turned my life upside down. Or should I say–right side up?

The mature artists do not merely create, but embark upon a pilgrimage of the soul. This deep connection and spiritual relationship one feels with the Creator requires utmost trust. Trust that one is guided by an Unseen Hand whose presence can be felt, but never fully known.

If you ask me, it is not failure we are afraid of–but success. If we succeed in the pilgrimage of our soul–then we will have nothing left to imagine, nothing left to dream of, nothing left to soothe our pain at night.

But when we trust the guidance we receive from the Unseen Hand, we know that each hard won footstep is a pilgrimage. We may walk the journey alone, but soon, we realise we have found companions who will walk with us and never abandon us at our darkest hour.

For they, too, want the journey–the journey with the Unseen Hand.

About Us

At Sanatanco, we believe that words are a priceless gift. A gift as valuable as the diamond we either receive or give as a gift to that special someone we want to spend the rest of our lives with. The Universe has gifted us with a powerful and potent gift. We owe it to the universe to use this gift wisely—not to harm, but to heal.