speak about what you know

on wednesday morning i gave a talk at principia college about creativity as it relates to spirituality.

i love public speaking more and more every time i do it. i was feeling a little nervous before this talk - it seemed like a very broad subject, and, while i have a lot to say on the subject, i feared that i would just blather on, full of enthusiasm, but lacking a real point.

i have come to love the time spent in preparation for a presentation that i dont know how to do. sometimes i have lived for hours, or even days, fearing something that i have to do, but dont know how to do, but, the fear decreases by 80% when, rather than waiting around, i start to plan for it. it comes down to realizing that i dont know how to do it, and then simply thinking of the best way i can think of to deal with the fact that i dont know how to do it.

so, i made some notes, thought of some stories from my life that would illustrate the points i wanted to make, and forged ahead.

i have recognized for a few years now that my style of speaking is largely extemporaneous. i love to give myself a basic skeleton of what i am going to talk about, and then go.

this talk was no different. and, as always, i found that once i started, rather than being afraid, i was in heaven.

we are made to express. and when we get to do it - to express what is truly in our hearts, we feel ALIVE.

i think the fear that we feel before things like this is that stupid old "little hater" in thought that just doesnt want us to know what life is all about. but when we do it, we learn and learn and learn. and others are benefited by our expressing of what is in the heart of hearts.

i recognize that i love to speak to others about art, god, creativity, defeating fear. and i watch for this to open more fully as an avenue of expression in my life. amen!