Self made at the heart of it....

I caught snatches of a tv program, the achievers club that Vir Sanghvi hosts who I rate as a really good interviewer; and heard Vikas Khanna the celebrity chef from New York talk about his success and the  philosophies that guide his heart. 

It is the simple rule of not forgetting all the touchstones that mark a personal journey that he too reiterated as being so essential in taking oneself  forward in life.

He spoke of desiring to stay grounded always, and the simple methods he employs to keep this as a daily ritual of focus for himself.

He talked perhaps most importantly about how pure desire alone brings you to your pinnacle; and that the heart must pursue relentlessly the calling that stirs your passion, unquestioned. I loved that!

With no airs or graces and his Indian accent firmly in place, this precise and disciplined young man carries his own identity not from what he imagines others would want to see him as, but how he chooses to see himself. This inner self-image, or what I call the photograph of the soul, is where ones inner truth lies. When you have comprehended your understanding of yourself within the larger universe, then all that you put out will hold the alertness of your contemplative self. 

I look at my world of selected influences like a personal tree of life. I place on this tree ideals and hopes, targets and  inspirations, images of remembrance, histories and values amongst a host of other things. It grows bigger and taller as I age.

Attempting to stir the passions of belief  each day within the lives of young people, comes from the well of my own heart knowing the essential benefit that this holds in defining a purposeful journey of life. It is  also because I so deeply love what I do. Art is my complete anchorage, and my heart and soul and mind knows no other place of belonging better than this. 

Each day can bring all sorts of unexpected occurrences that question ones faith; but just a glance at my inner tree of life fortifies me to know that sometimes a few branches will wither and fall off. But the root is completely unshakable.