In the last chapter, we discussed how breath is our most basic, most reliable gateway to goodness and presence. We all have access to the innate capacity of the universe to nourish and restore us.
But breath and presence do much more than that. It is also the way we access our unique genius and the broader universal genius flowing through us.
David Lynch, in his 2006 book Catching the Big Fish, writes: “Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They’re huge and abstract. And they’re beautiful.”
This is perhaps something like what we call intuition or inner callings. Deep down within us, beyond and beneath the thoughts is a knowing that we can feel in our gut. A quiet voice guiding us, instructing us on how to move forward, what to create next. And we can only truly access its full message in the absence of thoughts and worries.
From this lens, presence becomes doubly important. It is not only how we fill our own energetic cups, but it is also how we access the creativity and inspiration that guides us toward the contribution we are here to make in the world. It is how we remember and reclaim our unique creative power.
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book The Antihero’s Journey: From Burnout to Real Contribution in Polycrisis Times. To read other excerpts, go here.
