The Pull of What You Really Love

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.” – Rumi

I have been thinking about this concept: that it is good to know and to pursue what we truly love. As a writer, I love writing because it is beauty in the making, taking shape as I create it. I enjoy editing because it refines what is rough and turns it into a pleasing form. I even enjoy proofreading, because it corrects tiny wrongs and allows you to see what is right more clearly.

But this quote from Rumi is about more than just writing. What are the things we really love? As we identify these things, we are naming who I\we truly are as people. We are delving into the depths of self and drawing on what is there to make our whole life an act of positive creation.

This is not an easy pursuit. Delving into the self can be scary. We may not always be thrilled with what we see. But sometimes, we can be surprised by glory too. Only by following the pull of what we really love, no matter the strange paths it takes us on, can we be our true selves.

That’s a lesson for writers, for sure. Who we are as artists is going to end up in our art. There is no avoiding it.

But it’s also a lesson for whoever we are and whatever we do. As we take time to etch out a mental picture of what we love, what pulls on us, what paths we feel drawn toward, we can help ourselves to make choices that lead us to the goals we are aiming to accomplish. It helps us to let go of the activities that really don’t serve us, and give more time to the things that matter most to us.

The lesson: Even if you’re having a busy day or staring down a long to-do list, take a few minutes to breathe, remind yourself of your biggest goal in life — your one true thing — and choose to find a way to pursue that goal today. Even if you only do it for five minutes. It’s how you get to where you want to go.