Emanating creation; what's your spark?
Welding the notion that belief + confidence = creation under given circumstances. What is confidence? Well, Oxford Language says it's this:
That led me back to the Nicolas Flammel book series by Michael Scott. In Book Two, the little girl, Sophie, gets her fire magic abilities. With them comes her spark; a tattoo imprinted on her wrist left from her accepting the magic within. Of course, as these stories go, at some point in the book, she wears thin, tired, and her spark goes out; with it goes her fire. Something I like about this book series is how causally that's dealt with. Confidence--or the spark--is presented early on as something that comes and goes, and it's accepted. When the light is dim, the characters find another solution to their present problems, then immediately prioritize rest.
Dim is a product of the circumstances. The spark is a product of you. It exists because you exist.
Lately, I haven't been able to stop listening to Spark of Creation from the musical Children of Eden. The song says, "The spark of creation is flickering within me. The spark of creation is blazing in my blood. A bit of the fire that lit up the stars and brought life into the mud…."
When I think of that, I start to understand how those characters, some of who claim to have lived for eons, remain so calm when it feels like their flame is dim. They know that dim is a product of the circumstances. The spark is a product of you. It exists because you exist.
What's your spark?
Honestly, at any given time, my spark could be anything. People. Food. Money. Food. Money. People. 😅. Through all of that, I try to start and end my day with joy. A spark from within me first. Joy, rooted in what Shirley Caesar would say, is "something the robbers can't take away." I try and remember that whatever choice I make, whoever it is, I want to be. It starts and stops with me. And I should remember to rest to ensure I see it all through.
How do we build the capacity to emanate confidence without the oppression of others? I don't know the answer to that question, but it reminds me of Toni Morrison. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFMAMUzAw8s)