The Two Wolves

Dear loving people,

Let’s get a bit abstract today. One of the things I retained from my literature class was the definition of internal conflict which ties perfectly with that of Wikipedia; the struggle occurring within a character's mind. As opposed to external conflict, in which a character is grappling some force outside of him or herself, the dilemma posed by an internal conflict is usually some ethical or emotional question. Indicators of internal conflict would be a character's hesitation or self-posing questions like "what was it I did wrong?

What we see that is not right in society is actually a reflection of the collective mindset in a particular area. This points us in the direction of looking at that which is not right within us. Inner conflict runs between extremes. On one end of the polarity spectrum there is total withdrawal expressed as narcissism in the personality complex. The narcissistic defense mechanism is one that detaches emotions from intimate forms of connectivity with a need to control life, people and circumstances. 

You might have heard about the law of polarity which states that all things in life have its own polar opposite. This means for us achievers that; within every failure there is potential for success. Everything in life has an equal opposite. It is up to us as to what side of this pole to experience. Without one, we would not have the other. If we did not experience sadness we would not know enough to experience joy. Without pain we would not have pleasure. These polarities all work together for the greater good. We need only to understand this and appreciate this fact.

Given that all things are relative, without failure we would never experience true success. You can relate this to all things in your life. Stop judging the things in your life and start recognizing them for what they are. Failure and success are the same thing on opposite poles. Within one, is the potential for the other. In every failure, there lies within it the potential for success. We need only to recognize it as it is. Since they are the same things that lie just on the other side of the spectrum we need only turn our thoughts to the side of the spectrum we wish to experience.

Acceptance is the opposite of resistance and will bring more of what you desire. If we can accept failure for what it is and move forward, we will have the ability to accept success. If, however, we resist failure then we are putting our main focus on that failure which in turn attracts more of it and we will never experience success. It’s that simple.

An old Cherokee was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said, “A battle is raging inside me…it is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, failure and ego. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, faith and success.”

The old man looked at the children with a firm stare. “This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.”

They thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee replied: “The one you feed.”

 

The central lesson in the law of polarity is that all things have their own polar opposites and without one we would never experience the other. Do not resist that which you do not desire. Accept it and move your thoughts to those things you do desire.

The spirit within is the nexus of our existence-it is the force that animates our body, the Promethean Spark that gives life and substance to an otherwise lifeless body.

Never Give Up !!

Dear loving people,

How often do we start moving in one direction, face opposition and then quit immediately? Just imagine for a second that you had such a great idea, you had tremendous passion for it, but once the real work came, you walked yourself out! It happens all the time to even the strongest willed people. They give up just when the best things are about to happen.

As far back as 118 BC, Polybius (the Greek historian) was right when he said “Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before.” Just think back how often we kill the very bright dreams we ourselves conceived just by quitting.

The Bible in 1 Corinthians 10:13 assure us that no temptation including that of quitting has overtaken you that is not common to man. But you must remember at all times that God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Again from 2 Corinthians 6:4–5, we are cautioned not to give up even when the fragmenting effect of multiple pressures seems relentless. But as children of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger and hard work.

Bruno Mars in his beautify song advices…

When you want to do something that’s new

And it seems really, really hard to do

You feel like quitting, you feel you're through

Well I have some advice for you

Don’t give up

Keep on trying

You’re gonna make it

I ain't lying

Don’t give up, don’t ever quit

Try and try and you can do it

Don’t give up, yeah

Don’t give up on the course you have chosen because it is persistence that takes you to success. If Walt Disney quit too soon after his theme park concept was trashed 302 times, there will be no Disneyland Resort today.

Done give up on God because he has not given up on you, Job in the Bible will not have gotten his life and wealth back if he had given up on God in the middle of his complete desolation.

At all times, keep the relationship between Choices, Chances and Changes because you must make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change. One thing is for sure, if you give up too soon, you will never know what you’ll be missing.

Keep going and NEVER Give-up

Be a Dreamer of the Day

Dear loving people,

 

Dreams do come true, at least we can all agree on this. I equally agree strongly with T.E. Lawrence who said “All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, awake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it reality.”

 

What a beautiful truth, dreamers of the day equally know the place of mistakes in their struggle to conquer. They agree with what A. Alvarez wrote in his The Games Climbers Play “To put yourself into a situation where a mistake cannot necessarily be recouped, where the life you lose may be your own, clears the head wonderfully. It puts domestic problems back into proportion and adds an element of seriousness to your drab, routine life. Perhaps this is one reason why climbing has become increasingly hard as society has become increasingly, disproportionately, coddling.”

I enjoy climbing mountains, the higher you go the scenery gets the more magnificent. Dreamers of the day are equally good climbers, they understand that mountains are climbed by those who begin and not by those who want to be sure. They know that you see the countryside better when you are at the hilltop and not at the bottom of the valley so they set to work.

Notice I talk of dreamers of the day and not daydreamers. Are they the same? I chose not to think so. A daydreamer to me is simply someone who indulges in some idle, pointless or absentminded daydreaming and ends it there. A dreamer of the day on the other hand is a conscious person with a burning desire to act upon their dreams to make them a reality. They don’t consider dreams to be a pastime activity but a process to lead them to eminence.  Dreamers of the day understand perfectly that to succeed, you’ve got to WORK HARD; in order to work hard, you’ve got to TRY MANY OPTIONS; in trying many options, you will MAKE MISTAKES and even to make mistakes, you’ve got to START.

As you begin to climb the mountain of your success, you will face breathtaking challenges, remember the words of Confucius who said “It does not matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop.” and “If you don't let go, you can't fall off!” Jerry Moffat, advice.

Be a dreamer of the day and always remember that they are equally good climbers.

Be a Rainbow

Dear Loving People,

Do you admire the rainbow? Have you wondered how it is formed? For those who are not familiar with secondary school physics, it takes sunlight, raindrops and seven simple steps to get a rainbow.

1.      Firstly light from the sun strikes a raindrop

2.    Some of the light is reflected away from the raindrop

3.    The rest of the light is refracted (penetrates) the raindrop

4.    The light splits into component colors within the rain drop

5.     The light is again reflected at the rear of the raindrop

6.    The light is refracted (exits) again as it leaves the raindrop

7.     The colors are further dispersed into what we see as a rainbow.

Beautiful! What do we learn from this process that can inform our person and quest to be better people? When we receive new ideas, new concepts such as Living Lectures be it from the media, other people, church, press etc., some of it is reflected away on the spot, some get refracted into our subconscious where it is reflected into many elements of our being that change us and make us better. The Good ideas within are again refracted as they gets back to our consciousness to produce who we are and as the world sees us.

The Bible confirms this in the book of Ezekiel 1:28 (NIV) “Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Thus, the rainbow should signify positive change in our lives.

 

Now, the reflection and refraction processes that happen within us determines whether we will end up as beautiful rainbows of success, good-nature, Godliness, achievers etc. or as failures, mediocre people or small-minded people. This is because, we either reflect all new ideas that came through what I often call mental rebellion or other negativist tendencies. This sounds familiar especially to Christians isn’t it? The parable of the sower and the seed in Mathew 13:1-23 remember?

The reflection and refraction of light within the raindrop depends on the angles at which the light touches each surface. In the same way, the reflection and refraction of new ideas within us are controlled by a combination of factors such as openness, readiness to learn and to tryout new ideas, focus, determination, persistence, obedience, self-discipline, culture etc.

Be a rainbow; use your daily life experiences to better yourself such that you emanate the different colors of the rainbow that will get the world and its people better than you met them.

 

Be a rainbow!