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8 December 2025
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Simple and Profound
Thoughts
(from Simple
and Profound) |
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I
am motivated simply by my awareness of the impact today's
actions have on tomorrow's circumstances. -
Chase Streetman
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You
will find more in woods than in books. Trees and stones
will
teach you that which
you can never learn from the
masters. -
St. Bernard
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The
joy of all mysteries is the certainty which comes
from their contemplation, that there are many doors yet
for the soul to open on her upward and inward way.
-
Arthur
Christopher Benson
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When you arise in the
morning, give thanks for the morning light,
for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and
the joy
of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the
fault lies in yourself. -
Tecumseh
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Success:
A Worthy Destination
Earl
Nightingale
The stories of people achieving unusual success
despite all manner of handicaps never fail to
capture our attention. They’re
inspirational to be sure. But they’re
much more than that if we study them
closely. The boy whose legs were terribly
burned and who was told he’d be lucky to ever
walk again becomes a champion track star.
The woman blind and deaf from infancy becomes
one of the most inspirational figures of the
century. And the poor children who rise to
fame and fortune have nearly become commonplace.
In this age of unprecedented immigration, we see
examples of people who start off in this world
with virtually nothing and within a surprisingly
short time have become wonderfully successful.
What sets these people apart, people with vast
handicaps such as not knowing the language, not
knowing the right people, not having any money?
What drives the boy with the burned legs who
becomes the champion runner or a Helen Keller,
blind and deaf who becomes one of the most
inspirational figures of our time? The
answer, if fully understood, will bring you and
me anything and everything we truly want, and
it’s deceptively simple. Perhaps it’s
too simple.
The people we’ve talked about here and the
thousands currently doing the same thing all
over the world are in possession of something
the average person doesn’t have.
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They
have goals. They have a burning desire to
succeed despite all obstacles and
handicaps. They know exactly what they
want; they think about it every day of their
lives. It gets them up in the morning, and
it keeps them giving their very best all day
long. It’s the last thing they think
about before dropping off to sleep at
night. They have a vision of exactly what
they want to do, and that vision carries them
over every obstacle.
This vision, this dream, this goal, invisible to
all the world except the person holding it, is
responsible for perhaps every great advance and
achievement of humankind. It’s the
underlying motive for just about everything we
see about us. Everything worthwhile
achieved by men and women is a dream come true,
a goal reached. It’s been said that what
the mind can conceive and believe, it can
achieve.
It’s the fine building where before there was
an empty lot or an old eyesore. It’s the
bridge spanning the bay. It’s landing on
the moon. And it’s that little
convenience store in Midtown Manhattan.
It’s the lovely home on a tree-shaded street
and the young person accepting the
diploma. It’s a low golf handicap and a
position reached in the world of business.
It’s a certain income attained or amount of
money invested. What the mind can conceive
and believe, it can achieve.
We
become what we think about. And when we’re
possessed by an exciting goal, we reach it.
That’s why it’s been said, “Be choosy,
therefore, of what you set your heart
upon. For if you want it strongly enough,
you’ll get it.”
Americans can have anything they want. The
trouble is they don’t know what they want. Oh,
they want little things. They want a new
car; they get it. They want a new
refrigerator; they get it. They want a new
home and they get it. The system never
fails for them, but they don’t seem to
understand that it is a system. Nor that
if it’ll work for a refrigerator or a new car,
it will work for anything else they want very
much, just as well.
Goals are the very basis of any success. It is
in fact the definition of success. The best
definition of success I’ve ever found goes
like this, “Success is the progressive
realization of a worthy goal.” Or in some
cases the pursuit of a worthy “ideal.”
It’s a beautiful definition of success. It
means that anyone who’s on course toward the
fulfillment of a goal is successful.
Now, success doesn’t lie in the achievement of
a goal, although that’s what the world
considers success; it lies in the journey toward
the goal. We’re successful as long as
we’re working toward something we want to
bring about in our lives. That’s when
the human being is at his or her best.
That’s what Cervantes meant when he wrote,
“The road is better than the inn.”
We’re at our best when we’re climbing,
thinking, planning, working. When we’re on the
road toward something we want to bring about.
With our definition, success being the
progressive realization of a worthy goal, we
cover all the bases. The young person
working to finish school is as successful as any
person on earth. The person working toward
a particular position with his or her company is
just as successful. If you have a goal
that you find worthy of you as a person, a goal
that fills you with joy at the thought of it,
believe me, you’ll reach it. But as you
draw near and see that the goal will soon be
achieved, begin to think ahead to the next goal
you’re going to set. It often happens
that a writer halfway through a book will hit
upon the idea for his next one and begin making
notes or ideas for a title even while he’s
finishing work on the one in progress.
That’s the way it should be.
It’s estimated that about 5% of the population
achieves unusual success. For the rest,
average seems to be good enough. Most seem
to just drift along, taking circumstances as
they come, and perhaps hoping from time to time
that things will get better.
I like to compare human beings with ships, as
Carlyle used to do. It’s
estimated that about 95 percent can be compared
to ships without rudders, subject to every shift
of wind and tide. They’re helplessly
adrift, and while they fondly hope that they
will one day drift into some rich and bustling
port, for every narrow harbor entrance, there
are 1,000 miles of rocky coastline. The
chances of their drifting into port are 1,000 to
1 against them. Our state lottery is a tax on
such people. So are the slot machines in
Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Someone wins
from time to time to be sure, but the odds are
still there. . . stacked steeply against
them.
But the 5 percent who have taken the time and
exercised the discipline to climb into the
driver’s seat of their lives, who’ve decided
upon a challenging goal to reach and have fully
committed themselves to reaching it, sail
straight and far across the deep oceans of life,
reaching one port after another and
accomplishing more in just a few years than the
rest accomplish in a lifetime.
If you should visit a ship in port and ask the
captain for his next port of call, he’ll tell
you in a single sentence. Even though the
captain cannot see his port, his destination for
fully 99% of the voyage, he knows it’s
there. And then, barring an unforeseen and
highly unlikely catastrophe, he’ll reach
it. If someone asks you for your next port
of call, your goal, could you tell him? Is
your goal clean and concise in your mind?
Do you have it written down? It’s a good
idea. We need reminding,
reinforcement. If you can get a picture of
your goal and stick it to your bathroom mirror,
it’s an excellent idea to do so.
Thousands of successful people carry their goals
written on a card in their wallets or purses.
When you ask people what they’re working for,
chances are they’ll answer in vague
generalities. They might say, “Oh, good
health or happiness or lots of money.”
That’s not good enough. Good health
should be a universal goal. We all want
that, and do our best to achieve and maintain
it. Happiness is a byproduct of something
else. And lots of money is much too vague.
It might work, but I think it’s better to
choose a particular sum of money. The
better, the clearer our goal is defined, the
more real it becomes to us, and before long, the
more attainable.
Happiness comes from the direction in which
we’re moving. Children are happier on
Christmas morning before opening their presents
than they are Christmas afternoon. No
matter how wonderful their presents may be,
it’s after Christmas. They’ll enjoy
their gifts, to be sure, but we often find them
querulous and irritable Christmas afternoon.
We’re happier on our way out to dinner than we
are on the way home. We’re happier going
on vacation than we are coming home from
it. And we’re happier moving toward our
goals than even after they’ve been
accomplished, believe it or not.
Life plays no favorites. Yet of one thing
you may be sure, you will become what you think
about. If your thinking is circular and
chaotic, your life will reflect that
chaos. But if your thinking is orderly and
clear, if you have a goal that’s important for
you to reach, then reach it you will. One goal
at a time. That’s important. That’s
where most people unwittingly make their
mistake. They don’t concentrate on a
single goal long enough to reach it before
they’re off on another track, then another,
with the result that they achieve nothing.
Nothing but confusion and excuses.
By thinking every morning, every night, and as
many times during the day as you can about this
exciting single goal you’ve established for
yourself, you actually begin moving toward it
and bringing it toward you. When you
concentrate your thinking, it’s like taking a
river that’s twisting and turning and
meandering all over the countryside and putting
it into a straight, smooth channel. Now it
has power, direction, economy, speed.
So decide upon your goal. Insist upon
it. Demand it! Look at your goal
card every morning and night and as many times
during the day as you conveniently can. By
so doing, you will insinuate your goal into your
subconscious mind. You’ll see yourself
as having already attained your goal, and do
that every day without fail, and it will become
a habit before you realize it. A habit
that will take you from one success to another
all the years of your life. For that is
the secret of success, the door to everything
you will ever have or be.
You are now and you most certainly will
become. . . what you think about.
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Creating
and Living Your Ideal Legacy
Steve Brunkhorst
A
legacy is more than a gift that lives on after
you. Certainly, a legacy is a contribution to
humanity. A legacy provides value to future
generations. However, if you are creating your
ideal legacy, it will also make your heart bubble
with passion and excitement today!
Louisa
May Alcott wrote:
"When
Emerson's library was burning at Concord, I went
to him as he stood with the firelight on his
strong, sweet face, and endeavored to express my
sympathy for the loss of his most valued
possessions, but he answered cheerily, 'Never
mind, Louisa, see what a beautiful blaze they
make! We will enjoy that now.' The lesson was one
never forgotten and in the varied lessons that
have come to me, I have learned to look for
something beautiful and bright."
Emerson
left future generations with a philosophy of
creativity, spiritual development, and
individualism. He saw value and quality in
each moment of life. His writings continue to
share the message that people have the mental and
spiritual capacities to achieve their dreams.
He lived a philosophy that continues to benefit
humanity.
The
building blocks of your legacy are the ideas and
philosophies that you live and value. Your
contributions will provide something beautiful and
bright to cherish during this lifetime. They
will increase your sense of aliveness and fill you
with the energy of a unique purpose for which you
were born. They make up the quality of your
life now.
How
can you begin creating and living your ideal legacy
today?
1.
Decide What You Value the Most
Write
down all the things that you value, and select at
least five core values: those things that
provide the foundation for your actions, beliefs,
and philosophies. Examples of values are love,
health, spirituality, family, career, adventure,
peace, and community.
2.
Draw a Time Line of Your Life
Draw
a long line and mark it by years and months
beginning with your birthday. Extend it for
decades after your life will have ended.
Include all the things you have done and things you
want to do. Include the benefits future
generations will experience from your
contributions. Show how your life's work will
actually continue after you. Your timeline is
a very eye opening exercise. Spend adequate
time with it and fill in as many details as
possible. Then return from time to time to
update your timeline and add extra details.
3.
Write a Purpose Statement
Notice
the themes running through your timeline. They
can help to reveal your purpose if you are not
already aware of it. A purpose statement is a
simple, private statement that guides your daily
actions. For example, you might write, "I
help others to live happy and healthy lives" or
"I create art that brings spiritual
awareness." Do not confuse a purpose
statement with a mission statement, which is a more
specific way you might fulfill your purpose.
4.
Focus on Today
Your
timeline presented a large picture. What is
your focus just for today? Spend sufficient
time focusing on your current steps as well as on
the future. How are your actions in each
moment supporting your values and contributing to
your purpose? If you are on purpose, you will
feel authentically happy and fulfilled.
5.
Move Forward with Gratitude
Live
your ideal legacy by taking positive steps each day
toward your vision for a better world. Savor
the small treasures in your relationships with
people. Live with gratitude for each
contribution you have received and created.
Give thanks even for the setbacks that ultimately
reveal clearer paths forward.
Evangelist
Billy Graham said, "The legacy we leave is not
just in our possessions, but in the quality of our
lives." What legacy does the quality of
your life reveal today? Envision your ideal
legacy. See your role in creating a richer
humanity. The legacy you share and live today
can create a better world for future generations.
* * * *
Copyright Steve Brunkhorst.
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Living
Life Fully, the e-zine
exists to try to provide for visitors of the world wide web a
place
of growth, peace, inspiration, and encouragement. Our
articles
are presented as thoughts of the authors--by no means do
we
mean to present them as ways that anyone has to live
life. Take
from them what you will, and disagree with
whatever you disagree
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One
should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and
see a fine picture every day of one's life, in order that
worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the
beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe
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Strategies for
Making Your Season Bright
I've written on this
before. Several times. But one thing I've learned
about life is that things change, including my ideas. What I
write this year will be different than what I would have written
on the same topic five years ago because of the things that I've
been through since them. I'm the same spirit in the same
body, but I have a whole new set of experiences and life lessons
that will work their ways into whatever I say, and it's
fascinating sometimes to notice just how much our ideas about
things change as we do.
Our goals for the holiday season should include several
things: our own peace of mind and enjoyment, the peace of
mind and enjoyment of others in our lives (which is something that
we can only contribute to--both things come from them), and
minimizing stress and anxiety. Of course, these are good
goals to have every day of the year, but since things tend to be
intensified during the holiday season, it's important that we pay
special attention to them over the next couple of weeks.
In my experience, one of the key elements of a happy holiday
season is our willingness to let go. Let go of the idea of
the "perfect gift." Let go of the need for other
people to act the way you think people should act during the
holidays. Let go of your expectations of what gifts you want
people to give you--if you don't get what you wanted, don't take
it out on someone else--go and get it for yourself! Let go
of the feeling that you have to do everything--you don't.
Some things may even go completely undone--certain decorations may
not be put up this year--but life will go on. Let go of the
need to make your mother-in-law happy--her reactions to everything
are her deal, not yours.
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The
most vivid memories of Christmases past are usually not
of gifts given or
received, but of the spirit of love,
the special warmth of Christmas
worship,
the cherished little habits of home.
Lois
Rand
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Make love your
primary motivation. Buy gifts that show your
love--you know what this person likes and wants, and
that's more important to you than what you think
this person should have. If decorating your
house is something you do for show or to impress
others or because you think you "have to,"
then perhaps scaling back--or even eliminating--the
house decorations may be in order. If it's
done out of a sense of obligation rather than out of
love, then its authenticity suffers. Love
should also guide our responses to what others do
for us or to us. Sometimes the response that
love demands is not the same response that
disappointment encourages.
Remember that joy is personal. While this is
supposed to be a season of joy, not everyone will be
feeling that way during the season. Don't
judge people or be disappointed in them if they're
not as joyful as you. Cultivate your own joy,
and don't let others take it from you. Joy
should be found on your own terms, in your own
ways. Just don't make it dependent on anyone
else's actions or words.
If you need help, ask for it. If it doesn't
come, then scale back. Is it your turn to cook
the Christmas dinner for the whole family?
Then ask for help doing so, and if no one offers to
help, cut out a couple of the minor dishes. No
one will starve, and your task will be much more
manageable. Are you short of time but still
need to buy some gifts? Perhaps someone else
can take care of that for you. If not, then
maybe it's time to make a voucher for a certain
gift, and you can take the recipient to the store
yourself after Christmas to pick it up.
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When
we work so hard at our preparations for Christmas,
we often feel
cheated and frustrated when others fail
to notice the
results of our efforts. We need to ask
ourselves why we are
doing the things we choose to do.
If love motivates us--love
for our families, for our neighbors--
then we are free
to simply enjoy the actual process of what
we do, rather than
requiring the approval and admiration
of others for the results of
our labors.
Ellyn
Sanna
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Be
patient. There will be many people and
situations that try your patience, but don't let
them take it from you. When difficult
situations come up, ask yourself, "What is the
patient response here?" When you know the
answer, respond that way. Remind yourself that
your impatience will only hurt, both you and the
object of your impatience. As always, being
patient does not mean that you should be someone
that others walk all over and take advantage of, but
it does mean that you'll remember that not
everything happens in the time frame that might have
been planned.
Seek out the simple. Especially during the
holiday season, we tend to think that the more
complicated something is, the more value it
has. The tree's decorations have to be
elaborate. The lights outside, also. The
meals have to have everything, and everything has to
be perfect. None of this is true. The
simple speaks with elegance, and the simple allows
us to breathe easily. There are many, many
things that we can simplify during this season, and
doing so will help us to enjoy the time much, much
more.
Find--or make--times for relaxing and resting.
Many people tend to be constantly on the go during
the holidays. There are presents to buy, food
to prepare, people to see, cards to send, packages
to deliver--the list seems endless. But
everything needs recharging, and simply putting
calories in our bodies in the form of food doesn't
give us the extra energy we need. We also must
rest, both physically and mentally. Find or
make time to do so, time when you'll be alone in a
peaceful environment where you can focus on
breathing deeply and allowing yourself to
relax. Calm music can help. The less you
relax, the more likely you'll be to get stressed out
and frazzled, and the more likely it will be that
you say or do things that you normally wouldn't--and
the less you're going to enjoy this season that
deserves so much to be enjoyed.
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We expect too much at
Christmas. It's got to be magical. It's
got to go right. Feasting. Fun. The perfect
present. All that
anticipation. Take it easy. Love's the thing.
The rest is tinsel.
Pam Brown
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Finally, stay
focused on why we have this season in the first
place. The Christmas holiday is based on the
birth of Jesus, which Christians consider to be the
birth of hope. Hope for more love in the
world, hope for eternal love, hope for the
empowerment of each person on this planet to be the
person that he or she was meant to be. While
Christ's messages have been adopted by Christians as
a way of life and living (and yes, I know that
doesn't apply to all Christians), there is much in
those messages that applies to everyone on this
planet, especially the messages of hope and
love. This is a season of love--it's a season
of keeping in mind with a focus on love those people
who are in our lives.
If we don't take care of ourselves during this
season, we're much less likely to be spreading love.
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More
on Christmas.
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You
can't keep saying and doing the same things
and expect
better results. When you see your
behavior clearly you can frame new
responses. There
are many techniques for increasing
self-awareness.
Most involve mindfulness-- observing what's happening
in the present
moment: your thoughts, emotions,
and bodily sensations.
Joan
Duncan Oliver
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You
Are a Marvel
Pau Casals
Each
second we live is a new
and unique moment of the
universe, a
moment that will
never be again . . . And what
do we teach our
children? We
teach them that two and two
make four, and that Paris
is
the capital of France.
When
will we also teach
them what they are?
We
should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You
are a
marvel. You are unique. In
all the years that have passed,
there
has never been another
child like you. Your legs,
your arms, your
clever fingers,
the way you move.
You
may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo,
a Beethoven. You have
the
capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And
when you
grow up,
can you then harm another
who is, like you, a marvel?
You
must work--we must
all work--to make
the
world worthy of its children.
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Was
there ever a time when you felt suddenly alive? It was
like the doors
of the world opened for a minute and you could see directly
into life.
You were able to touch life directly and were not lost in
your fears
and worries. This experience may not have been during
a big event like
performing in a play or playing in a championship game; it
may have been while
walking in the woods or talking to a friend. All of a
sudden you felt alive, awake.
This quality of waking up, or penetrating into life, we
could call mindfulness.
Mindfulness simply means being aware, being present.
When you are breathing
and know that you are breathing, that is mindfulness of
breathing.
Soren
Gordhamer
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