Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud:

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For better or worse, our future will be determined in large part by our dreams and by the struggle to make them real. ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

NOTE: I don’t know about you, but I was born on Spring Street, not Easy Street. I believe that is the way it is for most people. Using my street as a metaphor, if one wants to move off Spring Street it will take a dream, a big dream. The dream only remains a dream until we agree to enter the struggle and fight for the dream. It’s not easy, there are hundreds of times we are tested to see if we are worthy of claiming the dream. If we’re steadfast, disciplined, and endure the struggle, Spring Street becomes the launching pad and the source of strength not allowing us to quit.

Thinking Out Loud: We Are All Connected

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In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~ Albert Schwheitzer

NOTE: We need each other. Even the most independent, self-reliant individuals need others. When we are awake to the need in others we have an unique opportunity to offer our assistance. I recall when my wife an I were driving on I-10 east of Tucson, Arizona. It was a hot desert day. We stopped to get gas and use the restroom. When we were getting ready to pull away from the pump, my wife put her hand on my forearm and pointed to a car in the next island. A little girl, perhaps five or six years old, fell down and was crying (really screaming loudly). Her parents were trying to console her and watch their three other children. My wife reached into the glove box and pulled out a package of Dora bandages (she loved Dora bandaids). She took several bandaids out and went to the family. She showed them to the little girl and handed them to the girl’s mom. The little girl stopped crying. She was admiring her Dora bandaid. Sometimes one person makes all the difference in another’s life. We do need each other.

Thinking Out Loud: It’s What Emotionally Healthy People Do

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If I had stayed for other people to make my tools and things for me, I had never made anything. ~ Isaac Newton

NOTE: Our lives are in our hands. When we come to the realization that our lives are our responsibility we become powerful and shed our powerlessness. We no longer hold on to a sense of alienation believing we are separate from the outcomes of our labor. It’s true, things don’t always turn out how we plan. Because they don’t turn out the way we planned, it doesn’t mean we’ve lost or we’re stuck. All it means is that it is up to us to find another way and perhaps a different destination. If we don’t take responsibility for our lives we remain a victim. No emotionally healthy person wants to remain a victim. An emotionally healthy person shakes it off and moves ahead with hope.

Thinking Out Loud: You’ll Know It When You Find It

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To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest. Always do what you are afraid to do. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

NOTE: It takes courage to follow one’s path. Following one’s path often means stepping away from the path that others craft for us. The indoctrination to the path starts early in life and the child comes to believe as he/she matures that the path is his/her destiny. In reality, there may be a different path that is calling. It takes lots of searching, mistakes, and missteps before one can find his/her true path. When we dare to walk in the darkness and search for our path, our heart lights the way. You’ll know it when you find it.

Thinking Out Loud:

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The future has several names. For the weak, it is impossible; for the fainthearted, it is unknown; but for the valiant, it is ideal. ~ Victor Hugo

NOTE: Those who let fear capture their hearts surrender their freedom to autocrats who view themselves as people who alone can lead in the darkness. The fear controlled people exist but never live. They are fearful of leaving the safety of their confines to take life’s challenge to move toward adventure and discovery. Those who master their fears are explorers, discoverers, and willing to risk walking into the unknown. They hold their freedom close to their hearts will not surrender it.

Thinking Out Loud: Do What You Have to Do

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There were a number of definitions of courage, but now I was seeing it in its simplest form: you do what has to be done day after day, and you never quit. ~ Eric Greitens

NOTE: Life’s not easy. It takes heaps of courage to stay the course, accept responsibility, and never quit. I often think of my mom and dad as heroes. They were uneducated and poor, yet I never felt poor. They didn’t talk about their poverty. We worked as a family to grow a large garden. We walked and took public transportation until I was in sixth grade and they could afford a car. Even though I grew up in a tenement building next to factories and the railroad tracks, the four room cold water flat seemed like a mansion to me. There was love and always the smell of sauce or pasta fazool cooking. They did what they had to do day after day so the family would survive. That’s often all it takes to be a hero, taking responsibility and doing what you have to do.

Thinking Out Loud: Prepare Yourself for Your Opportunity

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“One chance is all you need.” ~Jesse Owens

NOTE: Jesse Owens, a graduate of The Ohio State University, competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Owens, a black man, represented the U.S. in four events, the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4 x 100 relay, and the long jump. Owens won a gold medal in each event. Through dedication, hard work, and discipline he took advantage of his chance. We all get opportunities. They may not be participating in the Olympics, but they are opportunities. Are you willing to put in the effort, dedication and discipline required so that you are ready for your chance when it presents itself?

Thinking Out Loud: Hope is the Power that Pulls us Into Tomorrow

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Hope Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier’. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

NOTE: Give someone hope and they can make it through the most difficult time. All we need is to see a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. When we see that glimpse of light we grab hold of it and we hold on to it with all our strength. It’s a strange phenomenon but the hope can be real or imagined. As long as our brain registers it as a possibility our mind locks onto it as if it were a heat seeking missile. What are you hoping for today? Is it a hope strong enough to attract your mind. Take the first step toward making what you hope for a reality. Then follow it up with another step. With each step you get closer and closer to what you desire.

Thinking Out Loud: Is It Time to Take a Personal Inventory?

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How many undervalue the power of simplicity ! But it is the real key to the heart. ~ William Wordsworth

NOTE: What do I need? I ask myself this question every so often. It’s not an easy question to answer and it’s different for everyone. Another way of asking this question is to ask, will this (whatever it is) add stress to my life or will it add benefit. We can do without the stress. We need things that add benefit. I think there is a direct relationship between simplicity in our lives and the happiness and/or peace we feel. The more complicated our life and lifestyle the more stress we experience. The less complicated our life and lifestyle the less stress and more happiness and peace we experience. Is it time to take a personal inventory?

Thinking Out Loud: Let Me Introduce You to Tree

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To some people a tree is something so incredibly beautiful that it brings tears to the eyes. To others it is just a green thing that stands in the way. ~ William Blake

NOTE: There is a place called the Rose Garden in Columbus, Ohio, it sits on the edge of a great, green grassy field. A bike riding/running/walking trail borders the grassy field and runs parallel to the Olentangy River. Just beyond the field there is a duck pond. A stone’s throw to the north of the duck pond stands an enormous tree. I’m not sure of its type but its circumference is large. It takes five or six people holding arms outstretched and grasping each other’s hand to surround the tree. I have no idea how old the tree is, but I named it tree. Tree was as alive to me as any person I’d meet. Tree provided shade in the summer, colorful leaves in the fall, and even when it was dormant in the winter, you could almost hear its pulse slowly beating waiting for spring. I hope you have a tree or something similar wherever you live. When you talk to it, it talks to you.

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