Trust your imagination. It holds great beauty and truth for all of us.

written by john c ashworth

On Saturdays and Sundays sitting here in the ash flash workshop, I sometimes leave for the day feeling a little frustrated.

I need more time, I think.

More time...

So much to read, learn and discover and so little time.

The rest of the day waits for me like an impatient child.

So, I do my best to cultivate the ideas that surface and that clamor for my attention one by one and without a break in the beat. There is just so much of it.

This brings me to one important discipline I feel like this practice is instilling in me and that I want to share with you this morning before I have to go...

Keep going.

Keep fighting.

Keep learning.

Keep paying attention.

Keep watch on your dreams.

Keep paying attention to the things around you that inspire you to know more. To be more.

Ada Lovelace told us that the human imagination is the seedbed of everything we know to be beautiful and true. And that the hallmark of creativity is the ability to compose something cohesive, original, and symphonic out of disjoined, seemingly dissonant parts.

I think this is what the ash flash is all about for me.

Stephen Jay Gould told us that creativity is the art of connecting the unrelated.

I think that's very true too, and I think it's where the true inspiration from art really comes from, because when this connection is achieved by the artist, minds open, bend and manifest new ideas of their own.

I just wish I had more time...

Because when I sit down here and focus on this discovery it is amazing how true these statements become. How two totally separate things can come together with my willingness of faith to begin reading writing about them and then suddenly find those ideas sharing the same path.

Kind of like you and I 🙂

We must trust these insights and inspirations because they all lead us somewhere important and worthy of our time, talents and tumultuous lives.

Trust becomes more than just an idea. It becomes a way of life down here. A way of leaving something behind that has value and importance for you and I and others, even if we can't quite clearly see that in the moment.

Trust and time.

Now there are two ideas that seem to fit together nicely as I reflect on my mission here on the ash flash.

Trust and time will bring us all many things to cherish here and beyond.

Be sure to subscribe for regular updates.

-John

PS Here's a quote I found this morning during my dive into the abyss of knowledge and wisdom, for which there is no clear end anywhere in sight...something that will remind you how every interaction and human connection in your life counts. Every single one.

"The affect of un-calculated kindness is as deep as the universe. When you feel stuck, stymied, depressed or full of self-loathing, try and remember this universal truth. It might just set you and its recipient free..." -John C Ashworth