Give! Gift! ForGIVE!
Our culture put's a lot of emphasis on GIVING. It is a major "Christian" (and probably other religions too) or Western tenet! Certainly a lot of 'lip service' is given this doctrine. But how much is actually enacted, lived-up to, fulfilled upon? There is a notion of unselfishness or selflessness in this precept. But how many of us truly "GIVE" in that way.
So often, my own giving has strings attached:
- like me
- admire me
- love me
- respect me
- help me
- give back
- I am good...see how good I am
Is this really, really giving?
Is it even possible to GIVE without GETTING. Is it possible (or even desirable) to be SELFLESS? Is it possible for others to 'take advantage' of your/our/my giving? Or is that the cost of giving selflessly. TO (for)GIVE IS DIVINE!
But who assigns the DIVINITY and is that just another form of GETTING???
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt
DREAMING...is a much undervalued activity in our western culture. We prize action, accomplishment, awards, accolades, achievement. But what achievement didn't first start out as a dream?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated: "I have a DREAM..." and he changed the United States and the World. What was the Apollo Moon Mission if not first a dream. Or what about every invention. Or Olympic record. Or great business story.
EVERYTHING starts with a dream. A goal. An idea!
"To Dream The Impossible Dream" - Don Quixote in "The Man From La Mancha" (based on the works of Cervantes) sets out on a quest out of his dreams.
WHAT ARE YOU DREAMING ABOUT?
"To sleep, perchance to DREAM...!"
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated: "I have a DREAM..." and he changed the United States and the World. What was the Apollo Moon Mission if not first a dream. Or what about every invention. Or Olympic record. Or great business story.
EVERYTHING starts with a dream. A goal. An idea!
"To Dream The Impossible Dream" - Don Quixote in "The Man From La Mancha" (based on the works of Cervantes) sets out on a quest out of his dreams.
WHAT ARE YOU DREAMING ABOUT?
"To sleep, perchance to DREAM...!"
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
"Excellence is not an act but a habit. The things you do the most are the things you will do the best." - Marva Collins
HABITS...they can be "good" or they can be "bad"! That's a rather simplistic view of them. Really, all habits are GOOD because they are fulfilling some want/need/desire. The thing is: is the want/need/desire they are fulfilling...fulfilling you...really!?
Sleeping in may have become a HABIT. It may seem annoying and distracting and not fulfilling...but perhaps you are AVOIDING something else and sleeping-in takes you out of the position of having to DEAL with it. In that context, the habit of sleeping in is fulfilling a need/want: avoid stress...avoid issues...avoid problems. In that closed system, the habit is GOOD and EFFECTIVE. But in your over-all life, it may not be serving you. It might (however painful, ackward, difficult) be BETTER to confront that which you are avoiding head-on and thereby alleviate the need for the HABIT.
Other habits can be both good and effective and fulfil on what you are up to in life.
RUNNING daily or weekly could fulfil on your desire to stay fit and healthy. To run a marathon one day. To burn off some extra winter weight. To gain overall energy.
But funnily, those "GOOD" habits often seem like the hardest to adopt. It's been said that it takes 21-days of repetition and consistent doing/action to build a new habit. I can also say that it days one or two days of NOT doing it to totally destroy an effective and consciously-chosen habit. They are generally week mental constructs and need lots of support and nurturing.
There are lots of modalities out there proporting to instill and entrench new, good habits: NLP, hypnosis, coaching, affirmations, etc. I have tried them all and they can work and they can be effective....but at the end of the day, my experience has been that it is sheer DRIVE and INTENTION and COMMITMENT or DESIRE that will fuel a long-term GOOD habit!
SO...what do you want to accomplish? Be? Do? Have? That creating/manifesting GOOD habits (repetitious actions/behaviours) would serve and nurture? If you can learn to harness this innate human capacity, then you can go very far!!!!
Sleeping in may have become a HABIT. It may seem annoying and distracting and not fulfilling...but perhaps you are AVOIDING something else and sleeping-in takes you out of the position of having to DEAL with it. In that context, the habit of sleeping in is fulfilling a need/want: avoid stress...avoid issues...avoid problems. In that closed system, the habit is GOOD and EFFECTIVE. But in your over-all life, it may not be serving you. It might (however painful, ackward, difficult) be BETTER to confront that which you are avoiding head-on and thereby alleviate the need for the HABIT.
Other habits can be both good and effective and fulfil on what you are up to in life.
RUNNING daily or weekly could fulfil on your desire to stay fit and healthy. To run a marathon one day. To burn off some extra winter weight. To gain overall energy.
But funnily, those "GOOD" habits often seem like the hardest to adopt. It's been said that it takes 21-days of repetition and consistent doing/action to build a new habit. I can also say that it days one or two days of NOT doing it to totally destroy an effective and consciously-chosen habit. They are generally week mental constructs and need lots of support and nurturing.
There are lots of modalities out there proporting to instill and entrench new, good habits: NLP, hypnosis, coaching, affirmations, etc. I have tried them all and they can work and they can be effective....but at the end of the day, my experience has been that it is sheer DRIVE and INTENTION and COMMITMENT or DESIRE that will fuel a long-term GOOD habit!
SO...what do you want to accomplish? Be? Do? Have? That creating/manifesting GOOD habits (repetitious actions/behaviours) would serve and nurture? If you can learn to harness this innate human capacity, then you can go very far!!!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
"What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth: life always spills over the rim of every cup." - Boris Pasternak
To me this says: LIFE IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS.
The mere factual elements do not embrace the magical whole that is unknowable and unpredictable. Life is ultimately miraculous. How often do we think that 1+1=2 and instead we end up with 100?
We are also greater than the sum of our parts. That is why individuals -- you/me -- are always surprising ourselves. We cannot predict what will happen next. Or what we are ultimately capable of. So it is important to keep an eye on the factual and leave room for the miraculous!
Life is...vast, bold and unpredictable. Grab hold and enjoy the ride!
The mere factual elements do not embrace the magical whole that is unknowable and unpredictable. Life is ultimately miraculous. How often do we think that 1+1=2 and instead we end up with 100?
We are also greater than the sum of our parts. That is why individuals -- you/me -- are always surprising ourselves. We cannot predict what will happen next. Or what we are ultimately capable of. So it is important to keep an eye on the factual and leave room for the miraculous!
Life is...vast, bold and unpredictable. Grab hold and enjoy the ride!
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