Keep Moving and Never Remain Stagnant

Action is the language of the universe and I’ve written many times on the power of action, not least for getting us out of our comfort zone.

Sometimes we can begin an action without a plan and keep moving forward, adjusting towards the goal. The actual doing now becomes the teacher and the guide. There is no need to set ourselves up, get motivated and as Nike always tell us to go out and  “Just Do it.”

We should look at nature and see how action and movement work for it. Any living organism in nature either moves forward or dies. There is no room for anything else.

 Rain falls; mountainside gets muddy

 Birth of a stream, maybe more

Its waters barely moving

Thick in texture, murky in nature

With every descent, the purer it gets

Obstacles emerge; paths blocked

Part can’t meander; slow down to a stand-still

Growing stagnant, looking repugnant.

Imprisoned forever, designated as a pond.

Part do meander; moving fast and around

Keep moving, becoming clearer.

The river approaches, freedom beckons.

Or maybe, even the Sea

Ultimately, we are what we do and how we move. Let’s not get fooled by all those grand dreams that we have imagined. Goals work, and so does imagination but they only set a direction, a compass to follow but setting alone doesn’t do the task for us.

Let’s not fall into the perfectionist trap as we can never do anything perfectly, nobody can. We can’t always be on the sides thinking and planning, ruminating and getting ready as we miss the chance to learn, grow and respond to life.

The Master of action and decisiveness was Alexander the Great. He was once, presented with a challenge—to untie this huge Gordian knot. He took one look, and couldn’t find the ends of the knot, so he took his sword out and sliced it in half. Problem solved and onwards he moved.

Once we move and we’re in the game, we can learn. And getting in action does cure fear, as the longer we hesitate, our fears then become magnified.

In 2008, at a time when I was going through some challenges, and I was a bit lost and confused. I impetuously went to a tattooist and got one done on my shoulder—it was a beautiful angel with wings and the line at the top read: Born to be free.

I knew I wanted a tattoo, but I was afraid of the whole process and the stigma it could create. I started procrastinating, until I summoned enough nerve and took a cab straight to the tattooist without an appointment.

Within thirty minutes, I had agreed on a design and the words “Born to be Free” just came to me without any previous thoughts. The tattoo and the words were the birth of my self-discovery and my spiritual rebirth.

Here my action preceded my planning, guided by an inner voice or some subconscious thought. It’s like I’m half-aware of what I want, and then the action leads me to the full awakening.

Actions often leads us to our search and purpose and not the other way around.