The Place Where Dreams Go to Die

The Panther 

His gaze against the sweeping of the bars
has grown so weary, it can hold no more.
To him, there seem to be a thousand bars
and back behind those thousand bars no world.

The soft the supple step and sturdy pace,
that in the smallest of all circles turns,
moves like a dance of strength around a core
in which a mighty will is standing stunned.

Only at times the pupil’s curtain slides
up soundlessly — . An image enters then,
goes through the tensioned stillness of the limbs —
and in the heart ceases to be.

| Rainer Maria Rilke, English translation by Stanley Appelbaum

Locked down. How does a physical lock down impacts our mind? Our heart? And our soul? When I look around me, I see many individuals suffering from the lock down. Sitting at home, not allowed to leave the house, forced to watch the news of a strange little virus. Such a small thing having such an enormous impact on all of us. Someone cut our freedom to go wherever we want, whenever we want. The pure thought of a loss of freedom seems to creatively affect many creatives these days. While we all are embedded in a larger context, it seems impossible to escape from it. The place, in fact Our place, the place we call home, seems currently to be the place in which our dreams go to die.

Let me ask you some questions: Who cut our freedom? Who is responsible that we are forced to stay at home? Who carries the guilt of dying dreams? Who pays the bills of all the locked down businesses?  Who supports third-world countries to interrupt the viral diffusion? Who? A bat that potentially introduced the virus to us humans? The individuals who potentially ate the bat? Scientists who did research on the virus? Politicians who didn’t stop the research and came up with rules and punishments enforcing a lock-down? Physicians who couldn’t help fighting the disease? Media who decided to support spreading almost negative news only? Employers who put us into part-time employees? The damn virus itself? Who?

I think you did. We all did. By enforcing our mind behind thousand bars, we have become weary. That tired, that we are no longer able to see the world behind the bars. We let our dreams die. When our dreams die, what fairy tails can we tell our children? What animals will we see in the clouds? Who will then talk to the dogs and listen to their reply? What colors can we place into the world? How can our soul make us smile, irresistible to anyone looking at us? How care we create art that heals us and others?

We must not allow putting the bird in a cage, because this is the bird who won’t fly. We must create.

There is a chance in everything and I deeply believe in the chance of the current situation. Thinking of “A Whole New Earth” like Eckhart Tolle gave birth to this idea. Going back to the origin in the future, thinking about our core needs, supporting others and live a mindful life. In this I believe.

All the very best to all of you, wherever you are and happy creating.

“The only heart lost is the one that won’t try
The bird in the cage is the one that won’t fly”

| Ilse DeLange, Where Dreams Go to Die