Personal Development
real thing or mere reflection of self…
Sufi mystic Shibli was asked, “Who guided you in the Path?”
He said: “A dog. One day I saw him, almost dead with thirst, standing by the water’s edge. Every time he looked at his reflection in the water he was frightened, and withdrew, because he thought it was another dog.
“Finally, such was his necessity, he cast away fear and leapt into the water; at which the ‘other dog’ vanished.“The dog found that the obstacle, which was himself, the barrier between him and what he sought, melted away.
“In this same way my own obstacle vanished, when I knew that it was what I took to be my own self. And my Way was first shown to me by the behavior of a dog.”
If you are young and nervous, don’t be.
Question society and what you are told. You don’t have to live the life that has been laid about before you. You don’t have to live the life your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents have lived. Feed your potential by moving around, by stirring things up.I want to protect youth from false guilt that is projected onto them when deciding what path is their own. You don’t have to answer your neighbor when they condescendingly ask about your plans are after high school. Breathe, collect your thoughts, try things, see what falls in your lap and recognize what feels true. What is time? It’s subjective. You are not the same. You are you. Why are we told we must decide by a certain age? Pressured into decisions with their deadlines, we’re told we won’t be great if we don’t follow through into traditional schooling. Why are we conformed into school systems that control our minds for eight hours a day, telling us we must learn this way, speak this way, perform this way, obey until we graduate, and then live this way, retire, die? The natural latter seems like death to creativity in so many of the young, leaving them silent and straight jacketed walking in a straight line to predictability.
It’s always your choosing to decide whether you’ll live a curious life or a comfortable one. Maybe I’m crazy for not following a path I know that would lead me to a stable life, maybe I’m crazy for following my passions. Maybe I won’t have a big yard or an abundance in my bank account, but I’ll have stories and a heart bigger than my body, a brain with stretch marks. I’ll have films and images, an archive of my life of adventure. My life of constant hunger for better understanding of Earth and my spirit within it.
There are always other options.
Challenge your comfort, let yourself unfold.
– Madison Dube from thewanderlustchild.com
So, What do you do?
Life is more than “what you do” We live in a society that likes to define us by our job titles, how much money we make, who we know, and how cool our business card looks.
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Cultural Leadership : actions that midwives the future
“…. cultural leadership is distinct from political and administrative leadership. While political leaders primarily make rules and administrative leaders primarily enforce rules, cultural leaders like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa find principled and imaginative ways to transgress those rules that inhibit the emergence of cultural sovereignty and creativity.
The advantages of growing old
A legend tells of a man who used to carry water every day to his village, using two large pitchers tied on either end of a piece of wood, which he placed across his shoulders.
One of the pitchers was older than the other and was full of small cracks; every time the man came back along the path to his house, half of the water was lost.
For two years, the man made the same journey. The younger pitcher was always very proud of the way it did its work and was sure that it was up to the task for which it had been created, while the other pitcher was mortally ashamed that it could carry out only half its task, even though it knew that the cracks were the result of long years of work.
So ashamed was the old pitcher that, one day, while the man was preparing to fill it up with water from the well, it decided to speak to him.
“I wish to apologize because, due to my age, you only manage to take home half the water you fill me with, and thus quench only half the thirst awaiting you in your house.”
The man smiled and said: “When we go back, be sure to take a careful look at the path.” The pitcher did as the man asked and noticed many flowers and plants growing along one side of the path.
“Do you see how much more beautiful nature is on your side of the road?” the man remarked.
“I knew you had cracks, but I decided to take advantage of them. I sowed vegetables and flowers there, and you always watered them. I’ve picked dozens of roses to decorate my house, and my children have had lettuce, cabbage and onions to eat. If you were not the way you are, I could never have done this. We all, at some point, grow old and acquire other qualities, and these can always be turned to good advantage.”
– Paul Coelho
Is it time to step back, and, take a long view of life and reevaluate priorities ?
In high school, I had read a story by H. G. Wells about a child who wanders down an unfamiliar street and spots a door in a plain white masonry wall. He opens it and discovers a garden where everything is welcoming and full of peace – a place where he belongs. The next day he tries to go back, but the door has disappeared. Continue reading
Thought for the Week – 9th February 2015
Book Recommendation – The Quarter-Life Breakthrough
The book made me feel that there’s hope in finding meaningful work even if you feel stuck knowing you need to make a change in your life but you are too afraid to take the leap and that it is possible to spend your days doing something that not only inspires you but also makes an impact in the lives of others.
When I read Adam’s book , I learned that:
Intentional Experimentation is not a waste of time when it’s done with the purpose of getting closer to your true self.
We grow by the questions we ask ourselves like: What contributions do I want to make to the world?
There’s no more linear career path, only a breakthrough career mindset where you figure out your next steps as you go aligning your actions with your purpose and surrounding yourself with people holding you accountable to your goals.
No matter how bad things get, there are always people willing to help out if we have the courage to ask
Meaningful work it’s all about doing work that reflects your interests and allows you to share your gifts to help others living in alignment with your purpose surrounded by supportive communities.
Life is a never ending journey but the time for intentional learning, experimentation, and action is now.
If you feel stuck knowing you need to make a change but are afraid to take the leap, then you should read this book. It will give you the hope and much needed courage to start living your life through intentional experimentation.
Life isn’t about how to survive the storm, But how to dance in the rain.
“It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. Continue reading
ONE TUSK 