“Rest is Rust”…

… REST IS RUST… I just read that quote in in a weblog a few moments ago and I found it to be quite relevant to a thought I was having earlier. It involved the art of doing nothing: the procrastination of destination. I for one have my masters degree in this field of study.

But the problem I am having with this theory is that sometimes, after I rest for a while, and my mind begins to wander off somewhere, and I finally emerge from that rust with a new sensation and a new drive, something seems to go wrong. Today, for example, I got up off of my arse and biked several miles and tried this out this place for a fruit and a smoothie. The smoothie was mysteriously good as I am not quite sure what was in it (the color was orange but the taste was not.) The banana was about average. Now keep in mind, I am unemployed and looking for work, but today I decided I just wanted to set my mind free and if I happen to stop in a place that was hiring, I would ask for work. Not a bad goal, nor an unproductive one, its just that I have been spending so much time focussed on the work thing, that I haven’t enjoyed the moments that have been there to be enjoyed as much as they should be.

Now after the smoothie, I biked another few miles over to this area where I had applied for work at a retail shop. I went inside and spoke with a guy who had encouraged me to apply in the first place and he said he would check on it and have some one call me. Ok., so I made the effort there and for what its worth, I don’t want to work in retail, but I need work and I am or was at one time, an excellent customer service guy. So for me to even put in the effort twice in this place is to say the least, and accomplishment for me!

Anyway, from there, I went and had a nice vegan spring roll set for lunch which was more than delightful. It actually cheered me up and made me feel like everything was gonna be o.k. and everything was ok for a while.

I biked several miles back to the neighborhood I am staying in, and I was feeling almost good when suddenly, my bike locked up on me… just froze. I pulled off to the side to find that the wheel, for some reason I have never seen on a bike, was frozen… hmm, just when I am feeling good… just when I washed off that rust, it rains again…

So I came home, and rusted again for a while. I was feeling shitty because I made an effort… just like last week when I made an effort to bike several miles to go see a free play, only to get a flat tire half way there. I walked the rest of the way only to arrive 40 minutes after it should have started, only to find out that the show was actually scheduled wrong and had taken place earlier in the day. So I ended up walking the rest of the way back to the neighborhood I am staying in, which was many miles and a couple of hours worth of walking. More rain, more rust.

So after these things happen, I have a tendency to fall back into the rest zone and contemplate the meaning of things and the odds of chance. And I begin to rust, and then I do nothing for a while, and then I get the motivation, and then I make an attempt at success, and then it rains again. It just seems to be the same cycle over and over again; the same challenge to get back up and seek what I am supposed to seek and succeed at whatever success I am supposed to attain.

Tonight, I accepted the challenge and went right back out, without the bike of course, and strolled over to yet another place I hadn’t tried yet and had a wonderful pastry and some tea and I felt ok again. I came back to the computer, looked for some more work and then happened to read the article that the title of this writing was taken from. And in reading this article which was about how attempting to achieve success is the best and how to rest is to rust, I have to agree… to a point… and then I have to wonder; wonder if it is at all possible that success for most people is going out and doing and accomplishing the things they are “supposed” to do … and if others are supposed to fail at the things they are “supposed” to fail at, and then succeed by rusting and then writing about it?

Write?

What keeps us from doing what we want?

If I were to guess, I would say that someone reading this right now has something they want to accomplish, but is waiting to get started for some reason or another.

Perhaps they want to start a business. Or maybe they want to write a film. Or perhaps they want to help the homeless in some way. Whatever it is that they want to do, they haven’t done it yet and I want to know why.

In conversation, I have found that many people are afraid of one of two things in particular: SUCCESS or FAILURE. Now I can understand being afraid of failure as it is the one thing in life that keeps us from perfection. I can understand failure because the sensation of failure creates insecurities that are for some people, very difficult to overcome. And I can also understand failure, especially if you have failed more than once; after a series of failures, one has to question their chances of success.

But what about fear of success. Why would someone possibly be afraid of success? Perhaps it is a fear of being recognized. or maybe its because success means that you are growing up and can no longer be a kid. I have heard another theory, that suggests that fear of success, is due to the notion that people are comfortable in failure because as a person of continued letdowns, one can set his/her goals and standards so low that to aim for something just a little bit higher is much easier than achieving something a lot more difficult to attain.

So what keeps you from success? What halts you from trying? I have heard other key words and suggestions thrown out, so here’s a list of those to ponder on and perhaps comment about:

…success in wealth brings more problems than in a lack financial abundance.

…fame brings on more problems than its worth.

…the jungle of business is so overwhelming that its a challenge to convince oneself to even enter it.

…the world is such a mess right now, that it seems maybe pointless to even try and help it

…you have to go to college to get a real job, and I couldn’t afford nor was I good at education.

These are things I have heard from certain people over time. I myself have to question the true essence of some of these fears and whether or not they are valid reasons to sit on one’s ass and drift into oblivion… conversely, I myself am a person of procrastination and certainly understand the reasoning behind some of these excuses.

What do you think? Are these valid? Are there other reasons? Are there ways to overcome these fears for those who incur them on a daily basis? Can everyone be successful all of the time and can they do everything they dream of doing?