Words of Inspiration

Today while packing I found again this poem... I had written it down to bring with me when I left to come here... I think it is one of the most inspiring pieces of writing I have come across in terms of a way of living and moving through the world...

May it inspire you also... :-)

To An English Friend in Africa – Ben Okri

Be grateful for the freedom
To see other dreams
Bless your loneliness as much as you drank
Of your former companionships
All that you are experiencing now
Will become the moods of future joys
So bless it all

Do not think your way superior
To anothers
Do not venture to judge
But see things with fresh and open eyes
Do not condemn
But praise when you can
And when you can’t, be silent

Time is now a gift for you
A gift of freedom to think and remember and
Understand the ever perplexing past
And to recreate yourself anew
In order to transform time

Live while you are alive
Learn the ways of silence and wisdom
Learn to act, learn a new speech
Learn to be what you are in the seed of your spirit
Learn to free yourself from all things that moulded you
And which limit your secret and undiscovered world

Remember that all things that happen
To you are raw materials
Endlessly fertile
Endlessly yielding of thought that
Could change your life and go on doing so forever

Never forget to pay and be thankful
For all the things good and bad on the rich road
For everything is changeable
So long as you live while you are alive

Fear not, but be full of light and love
Fear not, but be alert and receptive
Fear not, but act decisively when you should
Fear not, but know when to stop
Fear not, for you are loved by me
Fear not, for death is not the real terror
But life, magically, is

Be joyful in your silence
Be strong in your patience
Do not try to wrestle with the universe
But be sometimes like water or air
Sometimes like fire
And constant like the earth

Live slowly, think slowly, for time is a mystery
Never forget that love
Requires always that you be
The greatest person you are capable of being
Self regenerating and strong and gentle
Your own hero and star

Love always demands the best in us
To always and in our time overcome the worst
And lowest in our souls
Love the world wisely
It is love alone that is the greatest
Weapon and the deepest and hardest secret

So fear not my friend
The darkness is gentler than you think
Be grateful for the manifold dreams of creation
And the many ways of the unnumbered peoples
Be grateful for the life as you live it
And may a wonderful light
Always guide you on the unfolding road