Continue reading Podcast Episode 1: Grandfather: the iconic gift
Take that chance on you!
Today’s educational circles are all abuzz with the concept of finding a “meaningful” career. I just don’t want a job, I want something that rewards me in a financial sense and yet stimulates me intellectually and spiritually at the same time. To this end, the pedagogical system drives you forward at an ever-heightening rate of speed, upwards and upwards until you finally reach nirvana: the completion of your formal studies (BA, MA, or PhD). This certainly is one of the highlights of a person’s life. Sixteen or twenty years of study, excluding kindergarten, has been brought to a close.
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Only your efforts can achieve success
Do you remember when you were extremely young and wanted to accomplish a mission or project? I recall a traumatic experience when my little pedal car got stuck in a mud hole. I couldn’t go forward nor go back. I did not want to exit the miniature vehicle because that would sully my shoes: even at an early age, my parents had instilled in me that clean shoes constituted a gentleman.
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Take a chance on you — be happy!
The other day, my friend’s one-year-old granddaughter smiled and gesticulated as she looked at me through a laptop screen. She was so boisterous, so jovial, so filled with life. Do you ever wonder why most human beings do not feel this way, they are unhappy?
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We exist for a reason
We are here for a reason — to complete our mission, whatever that may be. I believe this very strongly. What this journey is can only be discovered, by the self, through prayer and reflection. Think of the catastrophes in your life that could have altered everything and changed where you are now, but they didn’t happen.
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Your creative imagination will keep your mind alive
We are often caught up in our little moments of reflection and introspection, aren’t we? These are what Marcel Proust (1) calls moments of “involuntary memory,” (2) described as an image of a past happening triggered by a chance occurrence. You see a brilliant sunset and you are thrown back to your childhood, for example. If we expand upon this idea, we come to our creative imagination. This is a phenomenon that is encouraged by Sir Ken Robinson in his thesis on how to improve our educational system. (3) This is aptly practiced when we read about a historical person and accidentally stumble upon someone who looks like that character during our long-distance travels, as an illustration.
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Bursting forth in song
Have you ever just burst forth in song? Where did that come from, you may ask yourself. Undoubtedly, it is from an inner voice that many of us possess, trying to force some calm into the eternal world. (1) She is our friend and guide if we listen to her. If not, our darker side prevails driving us to ruin and the unrequited life.
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Mastering self-control
In a hectic and confusing world, it is very difficult to find the time or the wherewithal to locate one’s purpose — the central mission of my life. Self-control is a central tenet to any journey of discovery. Control of the emotions allows for reflective and introspective thought to be presented. This is especially true for the young or the young-at-heart. How do we focus on life itself and its meaning? What is my quest in life? These are telling questions, most assuredly. Existence itself is filled with anxiety and pain.
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Embracing risks for personal growth
We live in a world that, increasingly, wants to play it safe — take no risks. (1) The net result is inaction. This psychological inertia deposits you, after some time, in exactly the same place and the same condition you were before, though many falsely believe that the results are different. (2)
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Put some color in your life
Most colorful, interesting people have numerous positive qualities. Normally, they are curious and love new ideas. They are eager to experiment and possess a modicum of bravery. That being said, how does the average person overcome the drudgery of life, the toil of a day-to-day existence? This is achieved through the essential realization that time is our only real treasure. Once you accept that time commands this powerful relationship in your life, you can acknowledge the art of living.
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