I See The Light!
Last week I was laid-low with the 'flu. Associated with that
'healing crisis' was a dripping-nose, aching-gums, and a constant flow
of negative-thoughts (some might even refer to it as feeling depressed).
I didn't feel much like doing anything too arduous so I thought I'd
catch-up on some TED presentations that I had stored for a time like
this.
One of my favourites involves Philippe Petit. Among his many achievements, Philippe tightrope-walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, between the spires of Notre Dame cathedral, and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (If you haven't seen Philippe's TED presentation, take a look. It's a great way to spend twenty minutes, even if you're not 'flu-bound.)
With negative thoughts in ascendance, it struck me like a Sam Burgess tackle, that, compared to Philippe's many achievements, I hadn't done anything with my life. What a boring life I'd led.
In a moment of desperation, I came-up with, what I thought, was a brilliant idea. I thought I'd check-out from some of history's recognised 'greats', find-out what common characteristics they shared, and emulate those. My choices were Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte. After all, these fellows had been there, done that, and had the scores on the board when 'achievement' was being considered.
The good news was, that of all the information recorded about these legends, there was only 3-things they shared in common. My initial motivation was short-lived, however, when I found that those 3-things were
We actually don't need the help of the 'flu to bring-on negative thoughts relating to our achievements. Growing old (ageing, if you like) can do that for you. It seems like in the blink of an eye we go from feeling bulletproof to being aware of our vulnerability.
But hold-on a minute! I've never contemplated tightrope-walking. And Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon had their own Achilles heels. Like Erica Jong said, 'Jealousy is all the fun you think they had'. There's light at the end of the tunnel, methinks.
It could be that my time has yet to come. After all, Frank Lloyd Wright never hit his architectural straps until he was in his mid-sixties. Gandhi was 72 when he was negotiating with the British about India's independence. Leopold Stokowski was 94 when he signed a six-year recording contract. John Glenn was 77 when he went into space for the second time. Ronald Reagan was 73 when he was re-elected for a second term as President of The United States. And, in his 85th-year, Pope Benedict XVI has just removed himself from the driver's seat of one of the world's biggest bureaucracies. And the list goes on and on and on. Achievement doesn't have a use-by date.
Damn this 'flu! Its presence has allowed me to focus on the wrong things. For a while there, I'd lost sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. It's as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 'To different minds, the same world is a hell or a heaven'.
One of my favourites involves Philippe Petit. Among his many achievements, Philippe tightrope-walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, between the spires of Notre Dame cathedral, and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (If you haven't seen Philippe's TED presentation, take a look. It's a great way to spend twenty minutes, even if you're not 'flu-bound.)
With negative thoughts in ascendance, it struck me like a Sam Burgess tackle, that, compared to Philippe's many achievements, I hadn't done anything with my life. What a boring life I'd led.
In a moment of desperation, I came-up with, what I thought, was a brilliant idea. I thought I'd check-out from some of history's recognised 'greats', find-out what common characteristics they shared, and emulate those. My choices were Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte. After all, these fellows had been there, done that, and had the scores on the board when 'achievement' was being considered.
The good news was, that of all the information recorded about these legends, there was only 3-things they shared in common. My initial motivation was short-lived, however, when I found that those 3-things were
- They were all left-handed,
- They each suffered epileptic fits, and
- They each had VD at different times in their lives.
We actually don't need the help of the 'flu to bring-on negative thoughts relating to our achievements. Growing old (ageing, if you like) can do that for you. It seems like in the blink of an eye we go from feeling bulletproof to being aware of our vulnerability.
But hold-on a minute! I've never contemplated tightrope-walking. And Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon had their own Achilles heels. Like Erica Jong said, 'Jealousy is all the fun you think they had'. There's light at the end of the tunnel, methinks.
It could be that my time has yet to come. After all, Frank Lloyd Wright never hit his architectural straps until he was in his mid-sixties. Gandhi was 72 when he was negotiating with the British about India's independence. Leopold Stokowski was 94 when he signed a six-year recording contract. John Glenn was 77 when he went into space for the second time. Ronald Reagan was 73 when he was re-elected for a second term as President of The United States. And, in his 85th-year, Pope Benedict XVI has just removed himself from the driver's seat of one of the world's biggest bureaucracies. And the list goes on and on and on. Achievement doesn't have a use-by date.
Damn this 'flu! Its presence has allowed me to focus on the wrong things. For a while there, I'd lost sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. It's as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 'To different minds, the same world is a hell or a heaven'.
In addition to being a keynote and conference presenter, Dr Neil
Flanagan is an active participant in the aging process. His bestselling
book BLINK! The Speed of Life (How to add years to your life and life to
your years) can be downloaded for free at http://www.neil.com.au
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr_Neil_Flanagan
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