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Thinking Out Loud

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A Word of Encouragement Lights the Fire

In her work, Optimism, Helen Keller writes, “With the first word, I used intelligently, I learned to live, to think, to help. Darkness cannot shut me in again. I have had a glimpse of the shore, and can now live by the hope of reaching it. P. 10

NOTE: Some years ago, I was beginning a new job with great responsibility. Shortly after I began working one of the people who reported to me (he had been in his position for many years) came to me and said, “Ray, you have five daughters and a wife. This job will kill you. You should quit. He left me and I was at a loss for words. I called my wife and told her what happened. She simply said, “You can do this.” That’s all I needed, a word of encouragement from the one I most trusted. I did do it and I did it well. One word of encouragement is all most of us need to open the door to the talent we already have. There is someone in your life who needs a word of encouragement, offer it and you will make all the difference.

Thinking Out Loud

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Love Conquers All

In her work, Optimism, Helen Keller writes, “Once I knew the depth, where no hope was, and darkness lay on the face of all things. Then love came and set my soul free. Once I knew only darkness and stillness. Now I know hope and joy. Once I fretted and beat myself against the wall that shut me in. Now I rejoice in the consciousness that I can think, act, and attain Heaven. My life was without past or future;  . . . but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand, the clutch and emptiness, and my heart leapt to the rapture of living. Night fled before the day of thought, and love and joy and hope came up in a passion to the obedience of knowledge. Can anyone who has escaped such captivity, who has felt the thrill and glory of freedom, be a pessimist? Pps. 9-10

NOTE: One of my favorite mantras is, “Love always wins.” You’ll see it every now and again on my blog. Helen Keller felt the touch of love. It opened her heart to a new and beautiful world even though she was deaf and blind. That’s what love does to us. It opens up new and beautiful worlds. Love is the miracle that each of us can work. We have the power of love to open up new and beautiful worlds for each other.

Thinking Out Loud

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Is Your Cup Overflowing?

I am reading Optimism by Helen Keller. It available free at Gutenberg.org. Helen Keller lost her sight and hearing after an illness at age 19 months. When she was seven she met Anne Sullivan who taught her language skills. Keller went on to become an author (she published 12 books) international speaker, and political activist for social justice causes and world peace.

In her work, Optimism, Helen Keller writes, “Most people measure their happiness in terms of physical pleasure and material possession. Could they win some visible goal which they have set on the horizon, how happy they would be! Lacking this gift or that circumstance, they would be miserable. If happiness is to be so measured, I who cannot hear or see have every reason to sit in a corner with folded hands and weep. If I am happy in spite of my deprivations, if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith, so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life,—if, in short, I am an optimist, my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing.” P. 9

NOTE: I like being around optimists. I like being around people who, when they get knocked down, bounce back up and keep on keeping on. They have a fire in their belly. Their minds filter out the naysayers, critics, and doomsday thinkers. They are the embodiment of hope. Our world needs more optimists. Our world needs more people bringing the light to the darkness and letting us know that tomorrow will better than today.

 

 

Thinking Out Loud

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3 Important Life Lessons

Tolstoy’s king in his short story, Three Questions, is disappointed the hermit did not give him the wisdom he sought, He said, ““The King approached him, and said:  “For the last time, I pray you to answer my questions, wise man.”  “You have already been answered!” said the hermit, still crouching on his thin legs, and looking up at the King, who stood before him. “How answered? What do you mean?” asked the King.”

Note: How often have you been disappointed when seeking something you strongly desired? Yet, in retrospect, you look back at your disappointment and have a deep sense of gratitude that you did not get what you wanted. It took a while to realize that everything you wanted was already in front of you. In Tolstoy’s story (I encourage you to read it), the hermit explains to the king how he already had the answers to his questions. The most important time is now. The most important person is the person who is in front of you. The most important action is to do good. Tolstoy provides lessons that can guide everyone’s life.

 

Thinking Out Loud

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Get Ready for the Unexpected

In Leo Tolstoy’s work, Three Questions, the King is fed up with the poor advice of his advisors. Instead, he seeks the advice of a wise hermit.  “The King went up to him and said: “I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are the most important, and need my first attention?”

NOTE: When you’ve had an important decision to make have you sought the advice of friends and  family and come away still not knowing what to do? I have. What do you do when that happens? I recall having this experience early on in my career. I was offered a great job. I knew if I took it my career path was set. I wasn’t quite certain that was the path to take. I turned to a trusted mentor. I went to his office and explained the job offer to him. He smiled at me and said, “Ray, I consult with people in that position all the time and they have one thing in common.” I moved to the edge of my chair waiting for his words of wisdom. I said, “What?” He said, “They don’t smile.” I laughed and said, “You’re right. In that moment, his wisdom, simply stated, influenced me. I went to my office and made the call declining the job. Sometimes it’s better to seek wisdom from those detached from us. When we do, we’d better be ready to hear something totally unexpected.

 

Thinking Out Loud

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Wisdom is Often Hidden

Tolstoy began his short story, Three Questions, ““In reply to the first question, some said that to know the right time for every action, one must draw up in advance, a table of days, months and years, and must live strictly according to it. Only thus, said they, could everything be done at its proper time. Others declared that it was impossible to decide beforehand the right time . . .”

Note: The king in Tolstoy’s tale, Three Questions, begins the search to answer his three questions: When is the right time to act. Who is the most important person to seek? And, what is the most important thing to do?  In his search he sought out the most learned people in his kingdom. They couldn’t agree on what was the right time to act. How often does the confusion held by the king’s advisors seem to be our lot in life. We ask ourselves should I do this, or should I wait? Should I take this job or stay? Should I call my mom or dad or wait? The king was trying to resolve this dilemma. What is the most important time?

Thinking Out Loud

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Beginning today I am reading and thinking about Leo Tolstoy’s short story, Three Questions.

It’s available free at gutenberg.org included in the broader title, What Men Live By, And Other Tales. Tolstoy was a Russian writer and philosopher. His best know works include “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina.”

Tolstoy began his short story, Three Questions, “It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to listen to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he always knew what was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he might undertake.”

Note: Tolstoy’s tale begins with a king’s search for wisdom. The king begins his adventure. Each of us, in some way, initiate this adventure each day if we are awake. If we are awake we can search for wisdom in the events, people, and circumstances of our lives. We discover wisdom in the present moment through the interactions we have with all the goings on in our life.

Thinking Out Loud

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Slay the Dragon

Joseph Campbell speaks about writing in Reflections on the Art of Living. He says, “get the writing out first. Forget the critic and just write. Afterward, you can bring in the critical factor and prune. . . . Do not think about the negative side. There will be negatives that are  going to come down, but you have to hold the door open if you are going to do anything that has not been done before. You have to suspend all criticism to do your work. In writing you have to do this all the time in order to get a sentence out. Suspending criticism is killing the dragon. They’ll shalt kill him. P. 269

Note: It’s true in writing. It’s true in all aspects of our lives. The biggest problem I had in working with students writing their dissertation was to help them move beyond thinking what they were going to write had to be perfect. Once they slayed that dragon, their writing flowed. If we think of the criticisms we’ll receive whether it’s making dinner, posting a blog, or choosing a personal adventure, we’ll never get it done the way we could do it if we didn’t think about what others would think. Slay the dragons in your life. You’ll feel a lot better.

Thinking Out Loud

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Do You Have a Life?

Joseph Campbell speaks about choosing a profession in Reflections on the Art of Living. He says, “There are two approaches to choosing a profession. One is to study the statistics on the number of jobs that are going to be available in this other category in the next 10 years and base your life on that. That’s following the rim of the wheel. The other is to ask yourself, “What do I want to do?” If you do that, then you are up against your decision. But if you say, “I am going to do what I want to do,” and if you stay with it, then something will happen. You may not have a job, but you will have a life, and it will be interesting. P.266

Note: I know excellent musicians who have not made the big splash, but they’ve followed their heart and kept playing music. Some play on the street with a jar for donations, some take any kind of gig they can get because it’s all about the music and their relationship to it. They take any job they can get to pay the rent and eat. They’re at their happiest when they are playing music, they have a life. Have you ever asked yourself “What do I want to do? Perhaps this is a good time to take the first step in asking that question and maybe finding the life you seek.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Perfection is Not What it’s Cut Out to Be

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Joseph Campbell speaks of perfection in Reflections on the Art of Living. He says, “A human being in action cannot represent perfection. You always represent one side of a duality that is itself perfection. The moment you take action, you are imperfect. You have decided to act that way instead of that other way. That’s why people think they are perfect and so ridiculous. They’re in a bad position with respect to themselves. P 135

Note: People who believe they are perfect scare me. They have the right answers to everything. There’s no room for discourse. Yet, I find perfectionists to be the unhappiest of all people I meet. They are always striving for something that is beyond their grasp. When we accept ourselves and others as imperfect beings, we can become more compassionate to ourselves and each other.

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