Weekender March 30, 2002
Volume 4, Issue 13
Vision
Quote: Never look down to test the ground before
taking your next step: only he who keeps his
eyes fixed on the far horizon will find his
right road.
Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961) was a Nobel Laureate
and Secretary General of the United Nations.
Source: Markings
by Dag Hammarskjold
UK
Relationships
Quote: Compassion is the intention to think and act
as if you are no more entitled to get what
you want than anyone else is. This intention
is based on the conscious understanding that
everyone wants about the same things for about
the same reasons. Almost all human desires
arise from similar instinctive sources. If
you maintain this understanding, arbitrary
value judgments about inconvenient people
start to fall away, like overripe fruit falling
from a tree. The assertion that another person
is bad, wrong, weak, lazy, ugly, or stupid is
just a disguised assertion that you are more
entitled to get what you want than he is.
Timothy Ray Miller is a clinical psychologist
who uses cognitive therapy to help people find
more meaning in their lives.
Source: How to Want What You Have: Discovering the Magic and Grandeur of Ordinary Existence
by Timothy Ray Miller
Meaning
Quote: We're so engaged in doing things to achieve
purposes of outer value that we forget that
the inner value, the rapture that is associated
with being alive, is what it's all about.
Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) was an American
author and TV personality who specialized in
comparative mythology.
Source: The Power of Myth
by Joseph Campbell
with Bill Moyers
UK
Attitude
Quote: I made the most of all that comes and the
least of all that goes.
Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) was an American poet.
Source: The Book of Positive Quotations
compiled by John Cook
UK
Relationships
Quote: It is better to build bridges than walls.
Swahili proverb
Source: The Prentice-Hall Encyclopedia of World Proverbs
UK
Bonus Reading on Self-Improvement
by John Robson and Patrice Steen
You're writing the story of your life one moment at a time. -- Doc Childre and Howard Martin This is the time of your life. How often do you stop and think of today that way? How much do you value your life? Do you treasure each day as a gift? Do you see each day as an obstacle course? Or do you simply allow each new day to come and go, a carbon copy of the one before, basically unnoticed, unappreciated and under-used? As M. Scott Peck says, "Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it." If you do not consciously welcome each day, then take a TIME OUT. STOP and think. What do you want from your life? Most of us are so busy, we rarely stop to ask whether we are doing the right things for ourselves. And if we don't take time to reflect, you can bet we AREN'T doing what brings us greatest reward and fulfillment. We challenge you to STOP and BE AWARE. How are you choosing to use the time of your life? Yes, CHOOSING! Every moment, you make a choice about how you spend your time. If you don't choose consciously, you are unconsciously choosing to allow your life to be ruled by:
So HOW DO YOU CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE a better life for yourself? It's simple. At any moment, you can STOP and be aware of what you are thinking, feeling and doing. If what's happening isn't what you want your life to be, you can choose to think, feel or do something that does. Be purposeful! What do you want from your life today? If you don't really know what you want, then start with the basics. Do you want to be happy? That's purpose enough. Look at the activity before you. Does it support your purpose or not? Is this something you really want to do? Is this a good use of your life? If not, have the courage to say 'no.' Begin to clear some space in your calendar for time for yourself. Time to rest. To reflect. To explore. To dream and create. To play. Time to start living your life your way. Be aware of your thinking. Watch for when you say, "I have to...." Know that you don't have to, you are choosing to. You have the power to choose differently. It may take time, courage, lots of planning and thought to choose something big like a new job, but you can do it if you really want to. Life supports us in magical ways when we decide to go for what we want. Empowerment truly brings its own energy. Once you start reclaiming your life by making decisions from your heart, you will access energy, ideas and outside forces of support that you've never had before. Life becomes much easier and so much more rewarding once you start making your life your own. Go for it! Find your true path. It's so easy to become someone we don't want to be, without even realizing it's happening. We are created by the choices we make every day. And if we take action in order to please some authority figure, we'll suddenly wake up down the road and say, 'This isn't me. I never wanted to be this person.' -- Bernie Siegel
© 2002 All Rights Reserved Worldwide John Robson & Patrice Steen |