“I know the world is filled with troubles and
many injustices. But I think it is just
as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums” ~
Oscar Hammerstein II
I recently finished reading a phenomenal composition entitled Everyday Greatness; which is a collection of awe inspiring short stories and fantastic quotations, centered around some of life’s most vital traits among Charity, Courage, Integrity, Innovation, Respect, Perseverance, Balance and many more. This composition of Reader’s Digest excerpts organized by David K. Hatch and overlaid with wisdom galore from the renowned Stephen R. Covey, is a book worth reading over and over again.
The small tidbit below details Arthur Gordon’s concluding
thoughts from his real life epitome. The
story tells how a wise doctor helped him deal with his spontaneous anxiety by
sending him to the beach for a day with four slips of paper instructing him to
read them at different times during the day.
The result was his complete renewal and the following excerpt.
A therapeutic progression that might well be of value to anyone facing difficulty.
Listen carefully: To calm the frantic mind, slow it down, shift the focus from inner problems to outer things.
Try reaching back: Since the human mind can hold but one idea at a time, you blot out present worry when you touch the happiness of the past.
Re-examine your motives: This was the hard core of the “treatment,” this challenge to reappraise, to bring one’s motives into alignment with one’s capabilities and conscience. But the mind must be clear and receptive to do this – hence the six hours of quite that went before.
…
Write your worries on the sand: I let the paper blow away, reached down and picked up a fragment of shell. Kneeling there under the vault of the sky, I wrote several words on the sand, one above the other.
Then I walked away, and I did not look back. I had written my troubles on the sand. And the tide was coming in.
”
Sincerely,
--
“16 For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.” ~ NIV John 3:16
Jordan D. Ulmer
Cited:
- Covey, Stephen R., and
Arthur Gordon. "Renewal: Blending the Pieces - The Day at the
Beach." Comp. David K. Hatch. Everyday Greatness:
Inspiration for a Meaningful Life. Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill, 2006.
413-19. Print.
