The key to change is to let go of fear. Far too often people will recognize the need for change and then sooner or later, fail to take the steps necessary to let the change manifest in its fulness. Some scupper change right at the "get-go," either out of a fear of failure or even of success, preferring instead the …
Continue reading The Fear of Change: Lessons from FDR and Benji
To know love, you must give love, freely and without expectation of results. No matter what you face, love is the perfect point of departure. If you leave the shores of this moment or the next upon a dinghy of disdain, complaint or dissatisfaction, you will surely be crashed upon the rocks by the tides of discontent.
In yesterday's post I made the point that internal changes modify that which emanates from you and as a result others see you in a new light. How they perceive you is related to ethos, for ethos belongs not to you but to your audience.
"The Ass and his Purchaser" by Aesop A man wished to purchase an Ass, and agreed with its owner that he should try out the animal before he bought him. He took the Ass home and put him in the straw-yard with his other Asses, upon which the new animal left all the others and at …
Continue reading The Ass and his Purchaser: A valuable life lesson from Aesop
Whether you feel it important or necessary to change your view on the nature of the source of creativity, the important lesson I believe is that you never stop allowing yourself to be a source of creative inspiration. Whether to your family, to your friends, to co-workers or clients, in private or in public, keep the "channels open" and the "creative juices flowing."
If you inadvertantly brushed up against a thorny bush while walking on a path in the woods - whether you put the bush there or not - you would probably move swiftly to extract yourself from the bush and move on. You think that people would do the same with the emotional and mental thorns encountered in the path of life, but do they? In my observation the greater tendency is to wrestle with the bush, roll around in it, jump in it, jump on it, walk away and leap back onto it just when it looked like they were clear of it...anything but get away from it! It just doesn't make any sense.
To be sure, letting your view of the world around you become stale or static is unnecessary and unfortunate. Be open and willing to see what you've see a million times - whether person, place or thing - in a new light, starting now.
One value of recounting the great achievements wrought by our fellows throughout history is that their stories help to put our current worries, fears or concerns into perspective. Did you really let traffic "ruin your day," the wrong item in your take-out order "piss you off" or an unfriendly glare or comment "cause you to blow up?" Try dealing with being stranded in the middle of nowhere for two years, incommunicado and with 27 people you've only just met.
I had a friend many years ago who swore she recalled her first minutes out of the womb. The bright lights, the movement, the suddenly unmuted sounds and the large creatures who made rhythmic noises to one another and in her direction all formed her first memories! From the moment you emerged from the warmth and relative safety of the womb, you likely encountered similar stimuli, …
Thank you for your comments and attention over the last week. It has been a remarkable one on many fronts, and I appreciate your willingness to take steps to improve your ability to interact with the world around you. I leave you tonight with a few words from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Hymn to the Night I …
Gregory Hake 