Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Immersed In The Clouds
"Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now." -Epictetus
Recently I was flying into Seattle on a business trip, coming in over the Cascade Mountain Range. In the morning light, their peaks brightly point to the blue sky while the dark shades of the forest line reveal the scattering darkness.
This particular morning clouds had filled the valleys and low areas between the undulating mountains. It was a thick covering that looked very much like a pillowy white blanket covering the landscape. Knowing we would be landing soon, I also knew that we would have to immerse ourselves into this blanket of white.
So with faith in the plane's technology, the skill of the pilot and a touch of excitement, down into the cloud we went. I had a vision in my mind of what awaited us. I believed that we would get through and safely onto the ground. But for a moment, we have to just reconcile ourselves to believe we are prepared for anything that happens.
The same can be said of most anything we attempt or involve ourselves in. We dream of great things in our life. We dream of doing much more but hesitate when we see a blanketing cloud of the unknown. We become afraid to immerse ourself into something if we can not see beyond it.
The future is not something we can see beyond the present. We can only envision it and then have the confidence to go forward. When we decide not to enter that cloud of the unknown, all we end up doing is circling round and round for a lifetime. All the while, what you want in life is just beyond the white fluffy cloud cover.
Choose to immerse yourself in the unknown. To achieve success, dreams or goals, you will have accept that things are not going to be worked out ahead of time. There will be moments of sheer terror, moments of disappointment and moments of failure. But there will also be the ability to learn, new opportunity and success.
Take yourself beyond where you stand today. Do not be afraid of the unknown. Soon you will find yourself on the ground standing right where you wanted to be, dreams fulfilled.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Up and Down
"I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks." ~William Shakespeare
My life may have its ups and downs, but when I'm reminded of all the beautiful people I have in my life, everything just evens out. Yesterday was my birthday and the huge out pouring of birthday wishes filled my day with joy. I am truly blessed in that manner.
I believe that if you take the time to think of all those in your life, you will find how blessed you are as well. Many times it may seem like we are battling life on our own, but likely there are others wanting to support and be there as well.
Life is not meant to be lived in isolation. Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed with others. The connection you make with other people comes back to you ten-fold. Extending your hand in friendship, in kindness or simply being there will fill your life with wonderful things.
The roller-coaster life we live can be overwhelming and the ups and downs will always occur. But the ride is so much better when you ride it with family and friends.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Cry Havoc
"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial". -William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (Act 3, Scene 1)
In Libya a dictator has been chased out of power, and a country of people are now left with what to do in the vacuum of leadership. The excitement of new found freedom fills the air with celebratory gun fire. Libyans are standing on the edge of a perilous cliff. There is quite a bit to do in forming a government, in holding together the freedom they have fought for and in restoring normalcy to everyday life.
These scenes have and are being repeated all over the Middle East these days. They are the same scenes we saw in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union. All of these are scenes repeated at various times going back through all of recorded history. We in the United States and western European countries watch and encourage the revolts.
What occurs to me is how we can become oblivious to it happening right here. That's right, revolt could happen here in our own country. Our form of government could suffer the same events middle eastern countries currently are experiencing.
We have harsh words being exchanged between the polar sides of ideology. We have false merchants of civility claiming restoration of our ideals. We have escalating debt, joblessness, greed, poverty, poor political stewardship; unrest exists within the general populace. We are not new to this if we look back upon history.
But once again, people are growing tired of the one-upmanship games being played with their lives. It is happening in western European countries and right here in the United States. All countries which look at others in revolt have to realize they too are susceptible to revolt. The peoples of our own nation have increasingly grown frustrated.
Do I compare our own government to that of a dictator? No, but I do draw a comparison between the two in that power tends to corrupt all individuals. Lord John Acton first said in 1887 that "power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
Lord Acton wrote this in the context of a crisis within Catholicism over the First Vatican Council's proclamation of the doctrine of papal infallibility. He said, "I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they did not wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it."
Applied to modern governments, our U.S. President, Congress and even Supreme Court are not above infallibility. The people when confronted by ineptness and corruption will feel backed into a corner. And yes, the possibility that the people will "Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war" could also happen.
I am not proposing that we do so. I am warning that the consequences of how our politicians are acting could be similar to those of nations in turmoil. While politicians may believe they have a blind populace in tow; in fact the majority see behind the curtain.
I write motivational articles and this may seem like a strange topic to cover. My intent is to motivate people to engage constructively in what is happening. We need to turn down the rhetoric between ourselves as a people. We need to listen more to each other and find common ground. It is the fervor of loud disagreement which politicians want from us. It keeps us distracted from what they are really doing.
So while we watch and read the news reports of revolt in other countries, be mindful of our own. "Nations crumble from within when the citizenry asks of government those things which the citizenry might better provide for itself" is a quote from Ronald Reagan that I extend to my conservative friends. I understand and acknowledge that from my liberal side of the fence. While there are many things a government can and should provide, we have to be mindful of the power that corrupts those in control. They are mere mortals, fallible women and men susceptible to that power.
The pendulum of ideology may swing from one side to the other. But our success as a country, as a people, depends upon keeping it swinging back and forth. Our collective conversation will overcome the challenges. Our belief in one another will allow our country to overcome these challenges. Together we will find a way.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Move Today
"To me, if life boils down to one thing, it's movement. To live is to keep moving." -Jerry Seinfeld
I have a pile of timbers sitting in my backyard. These are the treated eight foot long ones used for edging or building short retaining walls. The timbers have been sitting idle for nearly a year while I make a decision to actually do something with them. Yes I have a plan for them and it just requires me to begin the work.
What you will find is a neatly stacked pile that is up off the ground to protect them. It is a pile that seems to have been stacked for long term storage. What you will also see are the weeds and vines having grown up around and through the pile. There will be work to get the timbers ready for actual use.
It reminds me of lists we make for ourselves. Those pieces of scrap paper or neatly written journals that contain our dreams. The list sits nicely in the desk drawer where time, heat and humidity slowly age the piece of paper. One day you finally decide to act upon those dreams. You pull open the drawer only to find that the ink has faded.
Your dreams have faded on the paper. The paper itself has dried so badly that it crumbles in your hands. You try to piece together what the list contained, straining to make sense of it all. Our dreams that sit idle will tend to fade into distant memory.
Dreams will never be realized if not put into action. When you make movement towards your dreams, you put yourself closer to realizing them. Life is all about movement, life is about never sitting idle waiting for something to happen. Don't let your dreams crumble away with inaction.
What will it take to get you moving? Check out my vBlog Primms Attitude 08242011 up on YouTube. Don't wait for an earthquake to get you up and moving. Get up today and make movement in your life. Do it now, as if your life depended upon it.
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