5 Inspirations – III
To see a World in a Grain of Sand…
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
- William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence”
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Time gilds with gold
Has some misfortune fallen to your lot ?
This, too, will pass away ; absorb the thought,
And wait – your waiting will not be in vain,
Time gilds with gold the iron links of pain.
The dark today leads into light tomorrow ;
There is no endless joy, no endless sorrow.
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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Go spread to the needy…
“Go spread to the needy, sweet charity bread,
For giving is living, the angel said.
Oh must I be giving again and again?
My peevish and willful answer ran.
Oh no, said the angel, piercing me through,
Just give till the Lord stops giving to you.”
- Author Unknown
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An Excerpt on Passion
If I had to pick one thing I believe is most important for a happy life, I would have to choose passion. When I refer to passion, I don’t necessarily mean the sexual kind of love-although I include that in my definition ! Instead I mean a deep and abiding enthusiasm for the feelings, interests, and people that speak to our souls and shape our lives.
We can be passionately in love with one special person-a sweetheart or spouse-or care passionately about the welfare and happiness of our children. Passion can fuel our life’s work or the charitable projects we devote ourselves to so lovingly. Creative interests, hobbies, or sports can stir our passions, as can as the care for pets or other animals. We can find we are passionately involved in certain friendships, too. Even a city or a region of land can stir a passionate response, so happy are we when we find ourselves living in or visiting that place. To love and care deeply, whether for living things or ideas and concepts, is a gift to be treasured and enlarged.
Passion is a fascinating topic because it is one of the most outward ways we express our deepest sense of self. Assuming our passions are not misplaced, too weird, or outlandishly obsessive, not annoying to other people or beyond the bounds of what we think is appropriate, passion is a good thing. (You know I am not talking about those bad passions, such as the passion of a stalker or a totalitarian political dictator!) In fact, I think that having a zest for living is the most attractive quality a person could ever possess!
No doubt about it, passion is sexy! When we meet a passionate person, we are drawn magnetically and powerfully to his side, curious to find out more about what he knows and how it motivates what he does. Smiling and asking many questions, we enter that person’s world, fascinated and we focus our full attention. The passionate person is magnetic and mesmerizing because he has discovered the finer points and qualities of a situation (or person) that have escaped the rest of us.
The passionate photographer studies his subject with depth. He sees minute changes in light and learns to control that light. He uses various kinds of film and paper to masterfully create just the effect he is after in his photographs. A mother loves her baby so much that she senses tiny changes in its expression and development that the pediatrician may miss. This allows a mother to speak for her baby and thus, protect it. People can be passionate about places. Someone who loves Paris knows all about Paris-the little shops and restaurants, the special museums and cultural events, the history of the city, the politics, even the geography and weather patterns that make it what it is.
We take extra time with the things we love, and the people we care for, to know more about everything that makes them tick. When a passionate person speaks, we sense that her amazing energy and enthusiasm could ignite our spirit too. We are drawn to her like moths to a flame. Energy will always attract energy.
Passions can also give a clue to one’s life mission. This is often why people initiate big job switches in mid-life-it is a time when we know ourselves better. Self-knowledge gives both the confidence and drive to tap into our true passions. We all know someone who “changed boats mid-stream” : the lawyer who became a best selling author; the actor who winds up winning awards for breakthrough web site designs, or the grade school teacher whose extensive collecting turned him into a curator of rare, historical documents and letters. In these cases, something that started out as a casual interest blossomed into a full-scale career. Oddly enough, it is that second career-the one that we feel most passionate about-that brings us the most acclaim and becomes our real contribution to the world.
To paraphrase Joseph Campbell, we feel driven to follow our bliss no matter what the odds, and we succeed in the process. We can always discover new passions or re-ignite old ones from our past.
It is easy to see why we find passionate people so attractive. Besides their awesome energy, they often have amazing courage too. They find ways to avert obstacles that might perplex others, not because they are smarter than the rest of us but because they love so deeply and care so much. When they succeed, they blaze trails and show us without a shadow of a doubt that ”this, too, can be accomplished.”
When I was little, I knew I wanted to lead a passionate, exciting life, not simply tread the familiar path. Passivity seemed to be something I had to avoid like the plague. If I were to fall in love, I wanted the kind of love that great literature is written about-it has to be the “thunder-bolt” variety! In my work, I wanted work that I couldn’t wait to do when I woke up each morning. Some psychologists say these are impossible dreams, but I disagree! I have found this kind of intensity in my life, almost all my life.
Admittedly, it does take commitment to pay attention to all the people, things and details that matter. Unless I do, things will not necessarily develop that way naturally. Life is, I think, a little like tending a garden-everything that grows in it is natural but nevertheless a garden still needs a little nurturing, pruning and love to make it flourish.
If I want a great relationship, I have to be willing to find ways to make it as fun as I imagine it can be. If I want to continue to always feel close and connected to my two dear daughters, I have to take time to be with them and to create little surprises for them. The daily pounding of life’s pressures can all too easily flatten the life out of everything that is important to each of us.
It is worth hanging on to the passionate life, for a life without passion seems to be a pity. The beauty of passion is that it only gets brighter with time, leading and illuminating our path like a lighthouse in the night.
- Susan Miller
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The Race of Life!
Quit ! Give up ! You’re beaten ! – they shout at me and plead.
There’s just too much against you now ; this time you can’t
succeed!
And as I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
My downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.
And hope refills my weakened will as I recall that scene;
For just the thought of that short race rejuvenates my being.
A children’s race – young boys, young men – how I remember well.
Excitement, sure! But also fear ; It wasn’t hard to tell.
They all lined up so full of hope – each thought to win that race.
Or tie for first if not that – at least take second place.
And fathers watched from off the side – each cheering for his son.
And each boy hoped to show his dad that he would be the one.
The whistle blew and off they went ! Young hearts and hopes afire.
To win and be the hero there was each young boy’s desire.
And one boy in particular whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running near the lead and thought: “My Dad will be so proud!”
But as he speeded down the field across a shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself his hands flew out to brace,
And mid the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.
So down he fell and with him hope – He couldn’t win it now;
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished to disappear somehow.
But as he fell his Dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said : “Get up and win the race!”.
He quickly rose, no damage done – Behind a bit, that’s all ;
And ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself – To catch up and to win ;
His mind flew faster than his legs; he slipped and fell again!
He wished then he had quit before with only one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now; I shouldn’t try to race”.
But in the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face;
That steady look which said again: “Get up and win the race!”
So he jumped up to try again – Ten yards behind the last;
“If I’m to gain those yards,” he thought ,”I’ve got to move real
fast.”
Exerting everything he had he gained eight or ten,
But trying so hard to catch the lead he slipped and fell again!
Defeat! He lied there silently – A tear dropping from his eye ;
“There’s no sense running anymore: Three strikes : I’m out !
Why try?”
The will to rise had disappeared; All hope had fled away;
So far behind, so error-prone; A loser all the way.
“I’ve lost so what’s the use,” he thought ” I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his Dad who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low – “Get up and take your place”.
“You were not meant for failure here – Get up and win the race”.
“With borrowed will get up”, it said , “You haven’t lost at all.
For winning is no more than this : To rise each time you fall.”
So up he rose to run once more, and with a new commit.
He resolved that win or lose – at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now – The most he’d ever been ;
Still he gave it all he had and ran as though to win.
Three times he’d fallen, stumbling – Three times he rose again;
Too far behind to hope to win – he still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner as he crossed the line first place,
Head high, and proud, and happy ; No falling no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster crossed the line last place,
The crowd gave him the greatest cheer, for finishing the race.
And even though he came last – with head bowed low, unproud,
You would have thought he won the race if you listened to the
crowd.
And to his Dad he sadly said, ” I didn’t do too well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.’
And when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy helps me in the race.
For all of life is like that race. With ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win – Is rise each time you fall.
“Quit ! Give up, you’re beaten !” they still shout in my face.
But another voice within me says : “GET UP AND WIN THE RACE !”.
- D.H. Groberg
Related Reading:
» Inspiring Quotes – I
» Inspiring Quotes – II
» Inspiring Quotes – III
» 5 Inspirations – I
» 5 Inspirations – II