several days, almost magically everything seems clearer on my return. I am amazed by the insights I receive when I let go of my work. They seem to pop into my head in the moments when I am least connected to or attached to the outcome. The great Renaissance master is telling us to let go, relax, don’t try so hard, remove the struggle and allow our natural divine guidance to assist us. He says, “have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer.” One way to do this in today’s world is to learn to meditate before you undertake any serious pursuit, be it a plan for conducting a business meeting, going on a job interview, giving a lecture, or painting a portrait. The very act of allowing yourself to go into a meditative state will improve your efficiency enormously. In the past ten years I have never gone before an audience without first spending a minimum of an hour (usually more) alone, in a state of meditation. When I emerge from my relaxing meditation, I find that I can walk on stage or pick up my pen with a sense of confidence that I am connected to a higher part of myself that knows no fear. I become an observer of myself doing the work, and everything seems to flow as if the hand of God is guiding my tongue or my pen.
In the process of getting some distance between yourself and your work, and relaxing into that space, you are inviting divine intervention into your activity. The less stress you place on yourself to accomplish or complete a task, ironically you seem to gain the power to do just that. When you are detached from the outcome you are in process, and you are allowing the outcome to take care of itself. You can see this principle at work in activities of pleasure.
For example, on a dance floor your objective is not to end up at a particular place on the floor. In dancing the object is to enjoy the dance, and where you end up is left to the process of dancing. Similarly, at a concert, your purpose is not to get to the end of the music, but to enjoy each moment of the concert. Getting to the end is of no concern when you are in process. Think of eating a banana. What is the purpose? To get from one end to the other? Or to enjoy each bite? This is true with virtually anything. When we relax and let go, we can get naturally lost in the process, and magically the end result appears.
Leonardo da Vinci encourages us to have balance in our lives, regardless of our pursuits. By all means’ get involved in your activities, but try to enjoy them for what they are, rather than the final outcome. Moreover, be willing to walk away from an activity when you feel your judgment is out of harmony or proportion. By doing so you gain perspective, and paradoxically you sharpen rather than lose your creative power.
To put this advice of the original Renaissance man to work in your life:
Practice detaching from outcome in your work and projects. Be in the moment enjoying your activities for the sheer joy of the action, rather than how they will turn out.
Walk away from your work from time to time to do nothing. No time restraints, no deadlines, no alarm clocks, in fact no clocks at all. Just let yourself be and notice how free you feel. This kind of distancing without restraints will bring you back to your work with new vigor and much sharper judgment.
Do what I do frequently if I ever feel stuck. I simply turn the entire thing over to God. I say, “I don’t know what to do at this point and I feel stuck for answers, I am asking you to guide me in resolving this problem.” It may sound simplistic but it always seems to work. The answers come and clarity is restored when I ask God to help me.
Remember that one of the greatest achievers of all time, in a myriad of endeavors, advises you to “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation.” If there is anyone whose advice I would follow, it is the original Renaissance man.
The greater danger
for most of us
is not that our aim is
too high
and we miss it,
but that it is
too low
and we reach it.
MICHELANGELO
(1475–1564)
Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet, Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti is an outstanding figure in the history of the visual arts.
Over the past twenty-five or so years, I have appeared regularly on radio and television talk shows, conversing with listeners who call in and join the discussion. One of the most frequent criticisms I have received from the hosts of these shows is that I offer far too much hope for people in dire circumstances and that this could be a dangerous thing. Despite this kind of fault-finding, I am still at a loss to understand how having too much hope could be a dangerous thing.
When people tell me of a medical diagnosis that implies no cure being possible, I encourage them to shift their aim to a completely opposite outcome. I talk frequently about the law that has allowed any miracle that has ever occurred, since the inception of time, to take place. I explain that that law has never been repealed and is still on the books. I cite cases of people who were told to go home and wait to die, who were given six months to live and who freed themselves of their illnesses and their diagnosis. I receive mail every day from people who refused to listen to the low aims and the low hopes that others have had for them, describing how grateful they were for a message of hope in difficult times.
I believe that Michelangelo, who lived a few days shy of eighty-nine years, still sculpting, painting, writing, and designing in an age when ninety was about sixty years beyond normal life expectancy, was speaking to this idea of having very high hopes and aims in this famous quotation of his. The danger is not in false hope, rather it is in no hope or low hope, and consequently our objectives and aims are diminished by our beliefs before they can be worked on and materialized.
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