“Practice is the best
master.”
“You can't hire someone to
practice for you.”
I have a very short amount of time
to write. This morning I’m taking
my two youngest girls to the airport and I really want everything to go as
peacefully and as well as possible.
There are few things scarier than missing a flight. I’ve missed two in my life – one
because I overslept and the other because I got off the plane during a layover
and when I returned, the plane was taking off. Another time my family missed a flight because the check-in
was at a different airline. All of
those incidents were so stressful.
Just writing about it causes stress. So I think I’ll stop and go to the end of those
stories. They all turned out
well. Everyone got where they
needed to be eventually.
And that’s the
key, isn’t it? I could focus on
how bad I felt all three of those times or I can remember that it all turned
out fine. It almost always
does. But I’m also aware that for
millions of people, things don’t turn out fine. I realize that I’m incredibly fortunate and blessed. I have people who love me, amazing
children, a good job and a car that runs.
I live in one of the most beautiful cities on earth. I am healthy and I have a lot of
choices open to me. If I quit my
job, I could probably get a new one pretty easily. I can honestly do almost whatever I want. I could change my life today if I
chose. Yes, there are difficulties
and potential challenges, but look at how good I have it.
So what do I do
with all this goodness?
First, I practice
gratitude. This is something I
don’t do enough. I spend too much
time focusing on what is wrong rather than what is right. Yes, I hate being stuck at traffic
lights, but I would hate being stuck in prison or a hospital bed more. I am embarrassed by the amount of
complaining I do. In the book The
Magic, Rhonda Byrne shares how there are
several areas of our lives for which we can be grateful, including health,
money and relationships. Every
major faith mentions gratitude as a powerful component to joy.
Next, I practice
generosity. I give where I
can. This includes my time, talent
and money. I don’t believe my
purpose in life is to be comfortable, well-clothed and well-fed. I want those things, but they should be
results, not goals. I want to give
back to the world. This is part of
the reason I adopted two children and two dogs. And that’s nothing.
I know a family who is adopting their fourth child.
Finally, I
practice my craft. One of the
reasons I write is because I know, based on what so many have told me, that it
encourages and inspires others. So
I offer it as a gift to the world.
Would I like to make money from it? Of course. But
I’m happy to share these blogs with as many people as possible until and after
I do.
In the origin of
Spider-Man, Stan Lee wrote, “With great power comes great responsibility.” This seems to be a trait that most
superheroes share. They recognize
that they have powers beyond the abilities of normal humans and they use those
powers to fight evil and make the world a better place. Although I cannot fly or lift two tons,
I have the power to write. I
recognize it for what it is. I
realize it is special gift and it is not given to everybody. But everybody is given a gift. And for some reason, the gift of writing was given to
me.
I also take joy
knowing that of all the professions he could have chosen, Superman, the premier
superhero, chose to be a writer.
History and civilization all hinge on good writing. Even God chose the written word, in the
Ten Commandments and in the Bible.
So when I write, I know I am in good company.
Those three
practices, gratitude, generosity and my craft, are enough to change my life and
my outlook. I feel very privileged
to be able to do this. I feel very
grateful. Yesterday, I saw these
beautiful flowers while walking with my daughters and I was reminded of what
was truly important.
It is truly
important to Get Started and Keep Going and to keep practicing.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.