Thinking
of the words those two students wrote, I know that the guiding light of our
teaching should be to spread an aura of goodness, to help others become better
persons rather than merely more informed or more skilled wage earners we call
professionals or otherwise. That’s the stuff of which making a
significant difference is made.
I
am convinced that those who can and do make a difference are not just the
particularly special Mahatma Ghandis, chosen Maria Teresas, select Nelson
Mandelas, or extraordinary Martin Luther Kings. Each person can make a
difference if she or he cultivates two intertwined and inseparable inherent
human “soul-like” qualities and capacities that lie latent within
each of us, which allow each of us to experience a sense of compassion and
beauty and sacredness of those and things around us.
As
I just told someone, the first quality is a courage that comes from following a
purpose that goes beyond personal concerns. Courage is, to
paraphrase James Allen, a drawing of strength from both cherished ideals that
beats in our heart and what Peter Senge calls a reflective and articulated “personal
vision” of what we want to create of ourselves; it is a loveliness, a
tenderness, a kindness, and lovingness that drapes each of our thoughts and
feelings; it gives meaning to a person’s actions; it is an unrelenting
commitment to doing what is right and when our integrity will not allow us to
take any other path. It is powerful and demanding, but reachable truth
and purpose put into action. The second capacity is attentiveness to the
needs of others. The sin of not be attentive, not being
unremittingly aware, alert, or awake, is the sin, as Joseph Campbell once said,
of missing and not making use of the only thing that is truly ours: the
present moment of life.
Writing
as a practioner and not as a theorist, I can assure you that as you demonstrate
courage with attentiveness of, empathy toward, and patience with others. you
will find yourself walking inexorably down what I call a path of “do
thats”: Do that and everything which passes so quickly in a
blur will ever slow down and be sharp; do that and you’ll hear what the
daily breezes and constant whispers have to tell; do that and you'll acquire a
sense of indestructible wonder at how startling life is; do that and you'll see
the sacredness in each person; do that and you'll see the whole future in one
person; do that and everyday, you'll think as you wake up that you are
fortunate to have woken up, that you are alive, that you are a precious human
life, that you’re not going to waste it, that you’re going to use
all your energies to develop yourself to expand your heart out to others for
their and your benefit; do that and you'll see with open eyes and an open
heart; do that and you take notice of the unnoticed; do that and you'll do
everything that needs to be done to do all the good that you can do from where
you are and with what you have; do that and you'll fill each day with your
gifts of love and kindness; do that and you'll the experience the real joy of
being fully engaged in whatever you're doing; do that and difficulties will
disappear and obstacles will vanish into the thin air; do that and you'll see
the face of meaningfulness; do that you’ll blow away the dark and
blinding fog of despairing tiredness, regrets, frustrations, sadnesses, worries,
anxieties, complaints, jaded boredom, angers, and resentments; do that and
you’ll enter wholly and make loving use of this day, feel a rich texture
and fullness of life, have a peaceful heart, and exercise a clear mind; do all
that and you’ll opportunities opening up to make a difference in
someone’s life and change the world.
Trust
me. All that “do that-ing” is tough. It’s
demanding. It gives a lot of headaches. It offers huge
challenges. It requires a lot of emotional and physical strength.
It takes a lot of work and demands a lot of time. It asks for
sacrifice. It even creates a lot of pain and agony. But, if you
think of the effort as purposeful and wonderful, and if you feel it as
purposeful and wonderful, it will transform what others might ordinarily see as
a heavy and laborious burden into a continuous stream of fired energy of joy
and meaning that will pour from your soul.
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis
Schmier
www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of
History
www.newforums.com/L_Schmier.htm
(229-333-5947)
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