Box of Crayons

“Most of what matters in your life…” (Great Work quote)

“Most of what matters in your life
takes place in your absence.”
~ Salman Rushdie

What a delicious provocation.

For those of us (like me) that sometimes get tangled up in our own self-importance, as if we’re really at the heart of all that matters, this is a nudge to say

Get over yourself. Relax. Have some fun.

It reminds me I control less than I do, I can have more fun and enjoy myself more than I do, I’m less important than I think I am.

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Posted on May 4, 2009
Posted in self-management | Tagged , ,

2 Responses to “Most of what matters in your life…” (Great Work quote)

  1. Olivia Sprinkel says:
    May 5, 2009 at 11:27 am

    Thanks for sharing another great quote. I do agree with you about the reminder to ‘get over yourself’; I also have an additional interpretation of it. I am writing a book at the moment, and keep being struck, spooked actually, by the power of the unconscious mind – how things that I articulated three years ago, or a year ago, have now actually come into being, manifesting themselves in different forms, without me having realised it. So for me it is a question of putting the intention out there, then getting on with life, having fun – and being amazed at what then comes back. I was reminded of this quote from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet: Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them… the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” Here, ‘without even noticing it’ is Rilke’s equivalent of Rushdie’s absence.

  2. Michael says:
    May 5, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Olivia

    Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

    I’m a big fan of the Rilke quote – if you watch this to its end, you’ll see what I mean…

    http://www.fivebigquestions.com

    And good luck with writing that book!

    Michael