“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”
William Faulkner
We are so deeply attached to the past because it’s known and familiar. The longer we live, the more we search for the familiar and are getting more afraid of everything new. We don’t even realize it. The fear of the new is often hidden behind phrases like “that’s the way it is”, “everyone does it this way” or simply “I can’t” and “I’m used to”. If we lose sight of the shore, we get so afraid we can’t see and catch the new possibilities.
You want a Nobel? It's easy
By the way, you probably know that Faulkner is a Nobel Prize winner, which wouldn’t have happened without the novel “The Sound and the Fury”. A brilliant masterpiece, written in an experimental style, called “stream of consciousness”. Faulkner said he couldn’t write unless he closes his mind for the thoughts about what the publishers will think about it. These people already rejected many of his works. What would you do if you have Faulkner’s dilemma: Act in a way to be liked by someone (the publishers) or take the risk and experiment…? And later win the Nobel.
Of course, you can’t predict the future, neither Faulkner could. He just risked to swim and lose sight on the shore.
But if you want to swim in the open sea better be equipped. You’ll need:
A boat - your skills and knowledge.
An experienced captain and crew. Your heart and intuition.
A map. That’s your passion and goals – you have to know where you’re going.
Ready?
P.S. If you haven’t read “The Sound and the Fury”, please do it, it’s wonderful.
AAAAnd… minutes before midnight (at least in my part of the world) I’m still in the game with the third post from the writing #challenge30days – an initiative of 