I have always wondered what it means to be larger than life itself.
Does it mean having a big, out-there personality and your actions and words make you so popular that people remember you when you are no more? Or does it mean you live life with a careless abandon, paying no heed to the niggling worries and stresses of everyday existence, hoping from one (seemingly oblivious to reality) encounter to another, that makes you outrank and perhaps outsmart life? Or maybe it implies living for others, abandoning your personal cares and comforts to a higher, bigger purpose so in the process your existence becomes larger than life because your life is making so many other lives better?
We all live mostly for ourselves. It's our comfort and our cares foremost on our minds every week, every day. Ever sat in a coffee shop and eavesdropped on the conversation on the next table? Well I have been guilty of that, especially if out alone, and I am always slightly shocked by how self centred as a species we have become. People talk about all manner of things, but the main focus of all their conversations is self. Our triumphs, our sorrows - words of encouragement that elate us or words of criticism that deflate us, we can't seem to get out of thinking about us, all the time, 24/7.
And amongst the hundreds and thousands who are trapped in the self-bubble, lo and behold, you find someone, who has broken the barrier of self, like a Concorde breaking the sound barrier, and transcend themselves into a state of mind where self is, well not meaningless, but not the most important thing anymore.
They realise that, and I can't say it better than Rumi ....that it is their light that lights the world around them. So they become the light, the ladder and the lifeboat for others and in doing so realise an inner peace and tranquility that is elusive to all others tormented by self. Now in my mind and heart, I believe those are truly larger than life people, because their goodness lives on, their deeds send a ripple through the universe that resonates through time and space, long after they are no more.
So, being larger than life, does not necessarily need a loud, strong, extroverted personality. Even the quietest, meekest, tamest and non-descriptive person that we are likely to brush away without a thought if we were to ever encounter them, may be the ones larger than life.
And thinking about larger than life people reminds me of how in interior design one proportionately larger than others piece of furniture or "statement piece" as it is so called always manages to elevate the ambience of the room to an entirely new level. The room becomes from ordinary to extraordinary - almost akin to the power of being larger than life!
Here are some statement pieces to enjoy and be inspired.
Does it mean having a big, out-there personality and your actions and words make you so popular that people remember you when you are no more? Or does it mean you live life with a careless abandon, paying no heed to the niggling worries and stresses of everyday existence, hoping from one (seemingly oblivious to reality) encounter to another, that makes you outrank and perhaps outsmart life? Or maybe it implies living for others, abandoning your personal cares and comforts to a higher, bigger purpose so in the process your existence becomes larger than life because your life is making so many other lives better?
We all live mostly for ourselves. It's our comfort and our cares foremost on our minds every week, every day. Ever sat in a coffee shop and eavesdropped on the conversation on the next table? Well I have been guilty of that, especially if out alone, and I am always slightly shocked by how self centred as a species we have become. People talk about all manner of things, but the main focus of all their conversations is self. Our triumphs, our sorrows - words of encouragement that elate us or words of criticism that deflate us, we can't seem to get out of thinking about us, all the time, 24/7.
And amongst the hundreds and thousands who are trapped in the self-bubble, lo and behold, you find someone, who has broken the barrier of self, like a Concorde breaking the sound barrier, and transcend themselves into a state of mind where self is, well not meaningless, but not the most important thing anymore.
They realise that, and I can't say it better than Rumi ....that it is their light that lights the world around them. So they become the light, the ladder and the lifeboat for others and in doing so realise an inner peace and tranquility that is elusive to all others tormented by self. Now in my mind and heart, I believe those are truly larger than life people, because their goodness lives on, their deeds send a ripple through the universe that resonates through time and space, long after they are no more.
So, being larger than life, does not necessarily need a loud, strong, extroverted personality. Even the quietest, meekest, tamest and non-descriptive person that we are likely to brush away without a thought if we were to ever encounter them, may be the ones larger than life.
And thinking about larger than life people reminds me of how in interior design one proportionately larger than others piece of furniture or "statement piece" as it is so called always manages to elevate the ambience of the room to an entirely new level. The room becomes from ordinary to extraordinary - almost akin to the power of being larger than life!
Here are some statement pieces to enjoy and be inspired.
