Think, dear sir, of the world you carry within you... be it remembrance of your own childhood or longing for your own future. Only be attentive to what is arising in you, and prize it above all that you perceive around you. What happens most deeply inside you is worthy of your whole love. Work with that and don't waste too much time and courage explaining it to other people.
Rome, December 23, 1903
Letters to a Young Poet
Oh yes. This tells me to listen to that small, still voice. Be true to my Higher Self and quietly go about my business without fanfare.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice, here — working with what is inside of of oneself without the need to constantly justify it to other people. I'm also interested in this statement that what is most deeply inside of us is worthy of our whole love. That, I suspect, is a large order for most people.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me there is a duality in thinking in regards to being in the moment, as I think Rilke refers to here. There is a focusing in on the now, but then there is also a letting go of control and even dissection (perhaps) and allowing the authentic self to be, to experience. I've been racking my nut over this for years. I can't figure out how exactly to be present like this, holding on and letting go at the same time.
ReplyDeletexo
erin
"Work with that and don't waste too much time and courage explaining it to other people.." i love how independant Rilke's thinking was - in a time when it was even more important than nowadays to please everybody
ReplyDeleteListening to that voice requires time alone. To ask ourselves questions. Time to reflect, to listen, to remember. How many of us give ourselves that time without turning on the radio, without switching to our favorite TV program, without grabbing a book to read and become immersed?
ReplyDeleteThis is a great reminder that we have riches inside us which we need to haul out and examine regularly.