William Butler Yeats

One of the most courageous 
things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are,
what you believe in and
where you want to go.

Sheila Murray Bethel

No life can be barren which
hears the whisper of the wind
in the branches, or the voice
of the sea as it breaks upon
the shore; and no soul
can lack happiness looking
up to the midnight stars.

William Winter

To have lived long does not  necessarily imply the gathering of much wisdom and experience.  One who has pedaled twenty-five thousand miles on a stationary bicycle has not circled the globe.   He or she has only garnered weariness.

Paul Eldridge

Passing Time

I was running once on the Navajo Nation, far out in the countryside, far from any real roads or homes or stores or anything else.  It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and I was in a beautiful spot--surrounded by Junipers and Piñon Pines and sage, running in the well-worn ruts of trucks that had been used to bring people out to that isolated spot that was as peaceful and quiet as any spot I ever had been at.  It was about 65 degrees with a slight breeze, and the blue of the clear sky complemented beautifully the green of the many trees.  There was no one around for miles--or at least that's what I thought.

Suddenly, I saw someone up ahead.  I thought I was seeing things at firs, but as I ran closer, I saw that it was an older Navajo man who looked to be in his late 60's or so.  And he was just sitting there, in one of those portable chairs that you can fold up and carry with you very easily.  I waved to him and said hello; he waved back and greeted me, and then he was gone, behind me, a part of my past.

I was amazed.  It would have taken him hours to get there walking, unless someone had dropped him off there.  But there were no fresh tire tracks in the dirt.

I was also envious.  This man had nothing better to do with his time than to sit on a chair in the middle of a gorgeous wilderness on a beautiful day.  I had plenty to do once I got home, things like grading papers, preparing classes, writing letters, cleaning up.  My life at the time didn't allow me the "luxury" of sitting in the wilderness, doing nothing.

And the more I thought about that in retrospect, the more I realized that there was something wrong with that picture, that it simply wasn't right that I "didn't have time" to do something that would so obviously be nourishing for my spirit.

I used to have plenty of time for things like that.  When I was in my early twenties and living in Spain, I must have been a bit wiser than I thought, for I wrote a poem one day that started out something like, "I've nothing better to do than sit on the banks of the Rio Tormes."  The poem went on to tell what I saw there, and it ended by stating, "for I'm sure that there is nothing better to do."  And now that I'm older and so much busier and have so many more obligations, I miss that part of my life, the part of me that could spend an hour or two sitting on a river bank, or walking around a town, which I used to do for hours on end when I was younger.  People used to think I was crazy because I had a car, but preferred to walk wherever I went, taking all the time I wanted to get where I needed to go.

There's something very valuable in separating ourselves from what we normally do, putting ourselves in places and situations that are different from things we've always seen and done.  There's a peace that can't descend upon us until we've spent some time dong nothing, until we've been somewhere for a while.  If I decided to sit out in the middle of nowhere now, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't start to feel the benefits of doing so for at least an hour or so, for my mind would be focused on things I need to do, people I need to see, places I need to go.

I know from experience, though, that after a certain amount of time, I can depend upon my mind quieting down and letting me be, and just allowing myself to enjoy my surroundings.  And that's why it's important that if I'm going someplace like that, or doing nothing, that I have plenty of time to do it--otherwise, I really can't feel the benefits of doing nothing at all.

There's a certain wisdom in doing nothing.  I don't think that I could do so all of the time, but that could be because I don't know any better.  People who allow themselves to do nothing, to enjoy their surroundings, to simply ponder their existence without a flood of distractions, tend to be quite peaceful and balanced people.  I know that in my life, I've been much more balanced when I do have time for peace and quiet, and I definitely need to carve out more time for myself to simply sit and ponder and enjoy.

Just for today I will be happy.  This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that "most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.

Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires.  I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.

Just for today I will take care of my body.  I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.

Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind.  I will learn something useful.  I will not be a mental loafer.  I will read something that requires effort, thought, and concentration.

Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways; I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out.  I will do at least two things I don't want to do, as William James suggests, just for exercise.

Just for today I will be agreeable.  I will look as well as I can, dress as becoming as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, nor find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.

Just for today I will try to live through this day only, not to tackle my whole life problem at once.  I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.

Just for today I will have a program.  I will write down what I expect to do every hour.  I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it.  It will eliminate two pests, hurrying and indecision.

Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax.  In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective in my life.

Just for today I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.

Walker (an excerpt)

“Take a good look at it, Walker,” Timothy said, gazing at the empty shelves that lined the walls of the basement. “A beautiful library with no books. My life’s work. A beautiful desk that nobody uses to work or write on. But all of it was taking steps in a very different direction, you know.”

“Yes, I do,” Walker replied. “Lisa told me about all of the people you’ve helped.”

“Helped? I don’t know about that. Pushed along, maybe. They were all good men and women, and I felt it was my duty to give back to this world that’s given so much to me. So instead of giving them a fish, I taught them to earn the money to go to the market and buy all the fish they need. It’s been very gratifying, Walker, I’ll tell you. Lisa looks at it and sees the ten people I’ve helped, but I can’t tell you what it feels like inside to have helped. There’s no substitute for the feeling I’ve gotten, knowing that I was helping others and contributing in my own small way to the world. I’ve helped to shape people into the drawers or shelves they were meant to be.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at it this way—before any of this wood became parts of the shelves or the desk or the chair, all of it was in pieces—just pieces of wood. But the wood was full of potential. It could be shaped into anything that a carpenter wanted it to be shaped into, turning it into a beautiful finished product. Now, not all carpenters are equal in skill—you know that. If a piece of wood is shaped by a poor carpenter, the finished product will be lacking somehow, in some way.

"But if that wood is shaped by a master carpenter, then that piece will fit into this world precisely as it’s supposed to fit, whether it be a desktop or a cabinet shelf or a doorstop. And the way that I work wood is the way I try to work with people—with love and attention and caring—so that the wood and the people can reach their potential. And if someone lets you teach them, and is open to what you have to teach, then how can you go wrong?”

Walker and Timothy sat quietly for a very long time. “Why do so many people make it so hard for anyone to help them or to love them?” Walker asked finally.

Timothy chuckled. “Ah, Walker—if I could explain all of humanity’s foibles, I’d be a rich man indeed, at least as far as money goes. I believe people are like that because of fear. They fear being loved because they fear that if they’re loved, they’ll have to love back. And if they love back, they may get hurt. And many people aren’t ready to put their hearts on the line like that.  Mostly because they don’t have anything to fall back on. It’s quite a shame, really, because they hurt themselves by trying to avoid getting hurt. But we have to be willing to die many times if we’re ever going to get on with this business of living.”

“What do you mean, ‘willing to die’?” asked Walker, very confused by the words.

“That, my friend, is something that you have to learn all by yourself. We die many deaths all through our lives, if we allow ourselves to move on. If we’re unwilling to move on, of course, we die no deaths, and we never remake who we are, never move on to the next level. Some people call it being born again, and others call it letting a part of you die. Either way, it’s leaving something behind as we move on with life.”

“Someone once told me that before I would be ready to stop my journey and turn around and search for something in my past, I would have to be willing to give up who I am and become something else.”

“It sounds like that someone was very wise. But remember, just because you become something else doesn’t mean that you leave everything behind. If you become a husband, you leave behind your focus on yourself and open up a focus on others, but you still bring with you all the traits that you’ve developed over the years. We all have many beautiful qualities, and many people feel that if they change their lives, they’ll have to leave behind all that’s beautiful, all that’s fun, all that they love. But nothing could be further from the truth—they leave behind all that has been holding them back and take those things that help them move on. What’s holding you back, Walker?”

Walker shook his head slowly. “I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t feel a pull from behind—I feel a barrier up ahead, and I don’t know what it is.”

“You will,” Timothy replied. “One day, you will.”