Existence in Expression
The essence of existence for every ‘being’ in the universe, living or non-living, is expression. Everything grows and flourishes, one might say, thanks to this expression, whether it’s a flower, a city, a sun, a spiral nebula, or a human. Existence, in a sense, is synonymous with being expressive. Everything expresses itself, in whichever way possible. It’s the expression of the Absolute itself, in manifested forms and motions. This also applies to us humans. It’s important for us to ‘express’ ourselves in life, in whichever way possible.
Human flourishing, in self-expression, is a tremendous good and should be the main purpose in everyone’s life. Focusing on flourishing, we can consciously/reflectively experience this because our human nature allows it. Other living creatures cannot. Without a certain degree of flourishing in our lives, we feel as though we’re not truly realizing our potential. Life can even feel meaningless. Some use canvas, paint, and brushes, others design sculptures or buildings, and others dance, sing, play, or compose music. Some write poems or books, some teach what inspires them or hold gatherings or satsangs, and others establish a family or design a thriving business in which they can flourish.
Perfection
In all these forms of expression, we strive for the highest, or the most achievable. We, in a sense, search for the perfect, the complete, the happiness-inducing. I see this in myself in all my forms of expression: when I play music, when I record music, when I photograph, or when I write, etc. Essentially, in everything where I express myself.
My brother in law wrote once: “The perfect is the evil within the good. From a Roman Catholic religious perspective, striving for perfection might even be considered haughtiness or pride (one of the deadly sins).” It is often suggested that the pursuit of perfection is incorrect. But if we can discover perfection anywhere, it is in the many classical works of art that were created precisely from this Roman Catholic faith. And if we look closely around us, we see that absolutely everything in creation shows that perfection continuously arises naturally.
As an example, I like to refer to the perfect shape and colors of a soap bubble. No matter how short-lived the soap bubble is, its shape and colors are perfect. Look at this photo of a freezing soap bubble: its shape, colors, and the advancing frost ice crystals are of incredible perfection. The snow crystals on which the soap bubble rests are also perfect. The incoming light: also perfect. Have you ever seen an imperfect butterfly? Or wasp? Or sunset? Or thunderstorm? Why then shouldn’t humans strive for – or better yet – emulate perfection in their self-expression, in whichever way or by whichever means? It’s a reach towards the highest from a sense of unity with the complete. We bring out the best in ourselves because we get to know and follow the best within ourselves better and better. All creativity and inventiveness flows naturally within us, through us, and then expresses itself. Self-expression = play. Genuine play removes any form of stress from any action. A game emerges where one can watch oneself with ease. Results then naturally reflect this play.
What blocks expression?
What can frustrate and block this natural process of expression and flourishing are identifications and the ambition and drive for achievement that arise from them. A ‘problematic striving’ arises when we identify with a desired result. It then has to be done a certain way. Doubt immediately emerges about what is achievable. This creates a bar set too high. This results in dissatisfaction from not accepting ‘how things are going’ because there’s a discrepancy between the desired result and the expression itself. In short: the expression either ends in pretensions and a drive for achievement or in fear of failure or frustration over perceived incompetence. Moreover, we can lose ourselves in the dynamics of expression because we no longer allow a silent observer to oversee everything, making us chaotic, hurried, or fickle. The naturalness of expression gets lost because the identification (which causes the claiming of results) fixes and blocks the creative flow of expression. This creates persistence and limiting stress within us.
We just have to see how expression in nature around us takes place naturally. In nature, this happens mechanically, and that’s exactly what shows us humans as special beings: we can observe our expression and oversee it while acting; we are not mechanically bound to predetermined natural patterns because we are consciously present in our expression process and can guide it freely. We observe our expressions as they happen, and we see our striving for perfection in it as we experiment and follow what arises in us. We even see how what we create with this shows us how to continue our expression. For example, a composition in progress tells the artist what else is needed to complete it.
And we can also see how we can get stuck in this process due to arising identifications. Seeing this should immediately lead to self-inquiry because these identifications greatly limit our flourishing. Identification restricts our creative/expressive existence and our self-realization. When we come to self-realization through gaining self-knowledge, which is the same as getting to know our Self, self-expression literally becomes self-evident, and there’s no difference or discrepancy between working, playing, practicing art, or whatever. The Self speaks through us as individuals.
From Silence
All expression in the universe arises from silence and returns to it. Silence is the divine ‘paper’ on which everyone expressively ‘writes’. Silence is the ‘space’ that the Absolute offers for every form of expression, for us to freely express ourselves! In fact, the Absolute itself expresses itself through our person, as long as we let our expression flow freely and consciously structure, model, and complete it according to what flows into us from the Field Of Creative Possibilities (Akasha).
We shouldn’t belittle ourselves, not limit ourselves, because the divine within us constantly screams to be expressed, just as it does in all beings and forms of appearance.
