Last week we talked about Terry Starbucker’s article on the power of putting our goals/philosophy in writing. I quoted the whole article except for three paragraphs:
The last line of my letter said this – “The Best is yet to come – Believe!!”
I did believe. And I still believe.
And you should too – in yourself and the incredible potential of the human spirit.
I’ve been thinking of that a lot lately. I do believe in the power of the human spirit, but I’m not convinced the best is always yet to come. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to learn to live fully in the present rather than thinking we will only be happy if we achieve future goals.
That’s one of the lessons taught by one of the most inspiring books I’ve ever read: Flying Without Wings by Dr. Arnold Beisser. Dr. Beisser was a brilliant man and a great athlete…he worked hard but really lived for sports, that was his reward. Then after becoming a doctor at the age of 23 and a national tennis champion when he was 24, he was struck down by polio. He was paralyzed from the neck down and confined to an iron lung for a couple of years. For the rest of his life he was completely dependent on other people for his survival.
That didn’t keep him from having a happy marriage and a career as a well-respected psychiatrist. The book is basically the story of how he acquired the age-old wisdom:
Life isn’t always the way we think it should be. It’s how we handle it that makes the difference. And life is in the here and now…the best preparation for the future is to live deeply in this present moment.
Life isn’t always smooth sailing. Storms happen and some of them do extensive damage…it’s still up to us to learn to steer our ship. I for one am grateful I have Dr. Beisser’s book as a resource.
What resources do you use?
Yes. Simply yes.
It’s so hard, though, to believe I might have the requisite courage, should it be asked of me. I hope I would. I hope.
Seems this book was very interesting. When going to book store I will looking for this book. Thanks for sharing.
About your question: “What resources do you use?”
Think Big. This book encourage people to think big and having a great soul. Finally reduce the stress from ego. I read the book when was teen but I forget its author.
Being a very slow reader, I am more inclined to use real people as examples to emulate and follow.
“Psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, observed that his work as a healer didn’t truly begin until he recognized that the key to comprehending ourselves resided in our stories. Jung also maintained that until each of us actively shaped and lived the unique story that resided at our core, our lives would lack the direction and meaning that we long for. If we lose our story, or fail to live it, cautioned Jung, ultimately the very direction and purpose of our lives would slip away. ”
All of us have our own demons to fight, like Dr.Beisser had to fight polio. I do not think that there can be any exception to this observation. Each finds his own methods, and that too has to be unique to that person if his or her life is not to slip away.
I use a combination of resources, Yogabhyas and walking for physical fitness, meditation for mental fitness and reading for knowledge and wisdom. I have now started to blog to let my creative juices flow, which seems to work miracles for overcoming those few moments of self doubt that keep cropping up now and then.
I am a more a fiction lover when it comes to reading, but I like the theme of the post and the referrence. Life is never only about ups or downs alone. It invariably involves a combination. In some cases the downs overweigh the ups and vice versa in other cases. I believe the only way to face these setbacks is to take them head on and tackle them the hard way.
I have some tapes (yeah, old!) of Wayne Dyer and also some of the Abraham Hicks first ones on the Law of Acceptance and Law of Allowing. I seem to dig those out for a good listen instead of hiding in my closet and crying.
Jody,
Let’s hope we’re never tested that much! His story does help to put things in perspective when we’re challenged doesn’t it?
tikno,
I agree, getting the ego out of the way is one of the greatest stress reducers. If we’re working for something bigger than ourselves we can focus on doing the best we can and not worry about the results. The results are out of our hands, our actions aren’t .
Grannymar,
Yes, it’s great if we have people we can use as role models. It doesn’t matter where we can find them.
rummuser,
I couldn’t agree more about the importance of creative work. For me learning to draw and playing with ideas for my blogs are a form of meditation. I completely lose a sense of myself and get thoroughly immersed.
Ashok,
I partially agree. There are other times when patience and reflection is the way to start. Beisser had to completely recreate his life, and that took a lot of patience. Then it took action. It’s the old Yin-Yang complementarity:
suzen,
Yes! It really helps to have an emotional tool kit on hand to remind us we’re not alone and we’re not helpless. We each have to find what works for us. 🙂
Thanks for this. One of the things I’ve been practicing lately is allowing myself to be fully impacted in my body by the world as opposed to tightening up to prevent myself from feeling. When I fully feel the things I experience in the world, it’s intense, almost like fever chills. But it does make living a richer experience.
Certainly I live an extreme life, but always with the recognition that one or more ability can be taken away at any moment. It is a view that God gives me a certain amount of time and skills and I need to use them efficiently. In some sense, everything is an opportunity. When I was training for the triathlon, a running injury was just an excuse to spend more time swimming. Everything in life is changing, and we have to be prepared to embrace the changes and move on, seeking out the new opportunities. No time to be bitter!
Looney,
That sounds like a great way to look at it. Our time here is indeed finite and we best make the most of it. Of course, not all of us go into extreme sports. My big adventure now is trying to learn to draw. Unless I get a paper cut it should be relatively safe. 🙂
The resources I go back to are Carol Pearson’s Awakening the Heroes Within, Myers-Briggs, and Perls, Hefferline and Goodman’s Gestalt Therapy.
For my own processing I use journalling.
Jean, what I use changes as I change.
Right now, the exchanges on these blogs are a good resource for me. The CNN Chatroom takes me to new experiences with a variety of people. I read. I sit with a glass of wine on the patio and talk with my wife.
And, when I write, my own effort to focus upon something specific becomes a new input, somewhat like the creation of a Fractal. I am different on the other side and I grow. The reflection helps create new understandings for me and I come out a bit more certain where I stand or more aware of my own feelings. I never really know where a piece will end.
I misstated the fractal slightly. The output of writing becomes a new input for my thought. That is what I was angling toward.
Conrad,
“I never really know where a piece will end.”
That’s the fun part. To me it’s a fun adventure.