Invisible Heroes

●♥ Invisible Heroes ♥●

“The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible battles inside all of us – that's where it's at.”

–Jesse Owens

The world best knows Jesse Owens for the gold medals that he won in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.  However, his life shows us that he had to overcome many personal trials and troubles well beyond those we saw on the athletic field.  So too it is with each one of us.  Every visible victory that we can actually witness has been preceded by the triumph of countless savage internal battles.

Sure, we see and cheer the winning goals and the home runs but we never see the motivational struggles to practice in the early morning hours.  We keep score of all the touchdowns but we do not count all the decisions to make the effort that keeps improving the best and making it better.  Yet these are the necessary and heroic choices that play out daily and yield the wins that we all applaud.

We do not see the real wars that define our society.  If we could then we would soon realize that we are surrounded by invisible heroes.  We would see the tired and lonely person behind the cheerful smile of our friendly server.  We would know and understand the disappointment and failed dreams of our productive co-worker.  In short, we would see the scars and wounds on people’s hearts and souls and I think we would become far more kind, forgiving and understanding.

I recognize that we all need ideals to encourage and inspire us; the big shiny heroes that media and society regularly hail feed that appetite.  I do not want to take away from those people and their achievements.  What I am hoping to do is twofold.  First, I would like us to open our eyes and our minds to the invisible heroes that circulate around each and every one of us.

We may not see their struggles but we should know that everyone has them and we need to realize that even the most mundane of us can be waging heroic battle and overcoming some very real demons in just to keep going every day.  Earning a living, keeping a loving family together, being a good friend and citizen… these simple things should not be downplayed or undervalued.  We all know and see the terrible costs when individuals lose the invisible wars.

Secondly, I would like us to acknowledge our own invisible struggles and victories.  We need to give ourselves credit for wrestling with our own fears. We may not always outwardly succeed when we choose to oppose our fears, but I assert that we always win somehow when we make that choice.  When we turn away from the darkness and choose life and living, no matter how hard, then that is a victory.  When life slaps us hard and yet we choose to push back our tears and try again tomorrow that is triumphant!  

Yes, we should celebrate when we achieve or make progress towards outward goals.  So too should we rejoice when we overcome the naysayers in our minds and opt to hold true to our hearts dream.  Heroes are made from the inside out and there are far more heroes than we ever acknowledge.  Let’s see ourselves and each other with new eyes today.

Perhaps that person that you smiled at is fellow warrior in heart of a battle and you just provided them some more ammo to continue the good fight.  Acknowledge your own silent conflicts and make note when you make difficult positive choices.  Be compassionate both within and without.  Remember that though not all battles yield gold medals this does not mean that they do not count.  The ground you gain in your heart today make be the seed to the success that shines through tomorrow.  

Cheers!

©2020 Scott D. Wilson

Distant Not Disconnected

●♥● Distant Not Disconnected ●♥●

“Of all diseases I have known, loneliness is the worst. The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love.”

–Mother Teresa

By trade, I am an electrical engineer specializing in telecommunications.  The word telecommunication comes from télé- ‘at a distance’ and communication.  I guess this makes me an expert in connecting people across distances.  I use copper, fibre, radio and satellite to bring people together across the globe.  The electron and the photon are my messengers between those whom I unite through voice and video.  

I have come to realize that I do far more than bring people together with technology.  I also have a unique talent for writing which bonds people through shared experiences and insightful ideas.  As an engineer and problem solver I have for many year exercised innovation and creativity to help others to achieve their goals.  I gather together wisdom and knowledge from diverse sources and then skillfully implement them to aid people to connect and help each other in achieving their goals.

With technology, I unite folks face to face, visually and verbally linking them, allowing them to collaborate. With words I seek to connect hearts and minds through stories, images and ideas. None of these connections are limited by distance.  We call internet meetings virtual, as if they are somehow less real than physical ones.  Are the words of a newspaper or magazine more real or important than those of blog or website?  Is it less real to hear the words “I love you!” whispered on the phone than directly into your ear? 

I am not downplaying actual physical connections. A gentle touch has no equivalent in cyberspace right now.  That does not negate the reality that we can be distant but still connected. There is a difference between being alone and being lonely.  Solitude can be a joy when one understands that we remain linked not matter where we are physically. I do not cease to be a son when my mother is not present. I am still a neighbour even when I cannot see those who live nearby.  

Meanwhile, it is possible for someone to be lonely even amidst a crowd of thousands.  Isolation is not necessary to foster alienation. Loneliness is simply the personal disconnection from all the life around us.  Loneliness screams that no one and nothing cares about or notices us. It insists that we don’t matter to anybody or anything. It works to convince us that we have no meaningful relationships, connections to existence. 

Mother Teresa was right, loneliness is a terrible disease.  Despite our many opportunities to connect so many of us feel unwanted, unloved and uncared for.  This is the disgrace of modern times.  We fight so hard against viruses and disease and yet we allow ourselves to believe that we are utterly alone.  It is tragic that anyone feels unnecessary. We are all significant in fabric of humanity. I cannot imagine what brushstroke would not be needed in the masterpiece of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa nor what tree would be superfluous in the grandeur of a forest.  Their loss would diminish the whole. 

Each of us belongs; only fear and bitterness allow us to conceive otherwise. Love binds us, and love is always there. Love abides in the kindness of a stranger. Love shines is the smile of friend.  Love beckons in the words of favourite story or a old note sent to us long ago. Love is broadcast in the morning notes of a little songbird. If we do not let fear blind and deafen us to the love that surrounds and connects us then we can plainly know that we need not be lonely for we are a part of the network of life, needed and needing others.  

There are no islands in the sea of humanity. We are born linked to those who love and raise us and to all the lives they also touched.  As we grow our own bonds expand, for they can never diminish as our experience intermingles with life.  The love and caring that we are shown cannot be extinguished by time nor space.  People and life itself may seem distant but that does not make us disconnected from them.  I hope what I have shared here help lift some loneliness and enables the understanding that distance in time or space does not disconnect us from love and life. 

Cheers!

©2020 Scott D. Wilson 

Choosing Your Loss

●♥● Choosing Your Loss ●♥●

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily.Not to dare is to lose oneself.”

          —Soren Kierkegaard

If you are reading my words here then you likely have dared to attempt to change yourself. You are daring to move towards your goals and seek success. In this place, you likely feel that you are on unsure footing. You do not know if the changes that you are making will succeed or not.  You wonder if your efforts will pay off. You have lost your stability, comfort and familiarity. You are chancing failure, disappointment and pain. Every moment tempts you to give in and go back to your old easy habits and lifestyle. Before you do, consider what you would be losing.

You will lose one more day creating the self that you desire. You will lose the satisfying experience of time spent working toward your goals and sadly you will gain more regret for the possibilities that you neglected. You will lose an opportunity to improve and to grow. You will lose precious time needed to help you become the person that you yearn to be. When you chose not to dare you are actually losing yourself.

Both risk and security both carry loss. One loses stability and the other loses oneself. Knowing this, choose your loss wisely.

Cheers!

©2019 Scott D. Wilson, P.Eng.

Applied Power

Applied Power 

“Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.” 
–Dale Carnegie 

The old adage “Knowledge is power,” is incorrect. Knowledge itself is useless if you do not know how to use it to your advantage. Scientists seek knowledge and understanding of the material world.  As an engineer, I am an applied scientist. I take these discovered scientific principles and apply them to real world situations in order to create things that empower people to do different things.  It is this proper application of information that creates the power.


Thanks to Einstein, most people know that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.  However, almost nobody in general knows how to meaningfully apply that knowledge.  Here where I work, we take that fact an apply it to create electrical power from the decay of Uranium.  Only when properly applied does knowledge actually become power.  It is also this same knowledge that can be applied to create weapons of unbelievable power and destruction.

Knowledge alone by itself is useless and impotent.  In fact, knowledge can be worse than useless, it can become a trap.  The quest for knowledge can be addictive.  We can get stuck seeking more and more information and all the while never learning to do anything useful with what we have already discovered.  You can see this a to certain degree in the condition described as analysis paralysis; this is where a person never makes a decision and acts on it because they feel they do not yet have enough information to decide properly.  The fear of what they do not know pushes them to know more and evermore.   This thirst for more knowledge can blind us to the truth that we need to act on what we already know.  It reminds me of the biblical text in 2 Timothy 3:7 that speaks to our tendency towards such foolish behaviour:  "(They will be) always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth."

It should be noted that not all knowledge is truth nor can it all be used in a beneficial manner.  For example, you may learn of gruesome and terrible details about a person’s death but that knowledge might serve to do nothing more than give you horrific nightmares.  Meanwhile, other knowledge may be false or at best only true under specific circumstances.   Wrong knowledge applied unwisely has disastrous results, as history has repeatedly shown us in our many foolish crusades and persecutions or people that were feared or reviled.


It is our job as individuals to look at what we know to be true and to act wisely and correctly on that.  Chasing after more information while ignoring what we already know is foolhardy.  If we do not apply what we know right now to be true then the knowledge of that truth stands only to condemn us.   Knowing that we need to eat well and remain active in order to become and stay healthy is of little value if we do not consequently choose to apply that fact to our lives.  If we do not wish to live in guilt about this information then we need to find creative ways that work for us in our diets and our lifestyles.

Clearly, it is not knowledge itself that brings power. Knowledge brings the potential for power through applied action towards a worthy goal.  We must be careful of the trap of knowledge.  If we are not constructively applying what we already know then further learning just adds to the list of things that we are failing to do.  We should not fear the unknown but instead seek new and creative ways to apply what we already know towards our desired objectives.  We need to ask and confirm that the knowledge we have is actually positive and true.  If it is then we should vigorously act on it and apply it to our benefit so that we set ourselves free.

©2018 Scott D. Wilson, P.Eng.

Valuable Perspective

Valuable Perspective

“The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” –Mark Twain

A colleague of mine used to live in Port Rupert, British Columbia.  He still has many good friends there.  About a year ago he told me of one such friend of his who was living there with her husband and her young daughter.  He explained to me that she had an appointment with a specialist down the coast in Vancouver.  She had been feeling unwell for quite some time and after a battery of tests she was hoping they could finally tell her the cause of her decline in health.  Her husband and daughter had accompanied her on the long trip down the coast.  Unfortunately, she was given some pretty grave news.  She had stage four cancer and there was no chance for a cure.  They gave her less than a year to live.  Stunned by this brutal revelation, the three of them shuffled into their car and set off up the coast for the long ride home.

My colleague further explained to me that his friend was lying down in the back and her husband and daughter were seated in the front of the vehicle.   Unfortunately, the road was treacherous that day and her husband lost control of the car. It careened off the highway and into the ocean.  In a chaotic instant she was struggling to get free of the vehicle before it sank completely beneath the icy waves. Sadly, she found herself alone on the shore.  In less than one day she had lost her entire family and any hope for her future. Personally, I do not know how she could carry on.  This is simply the most tragic tale that I have ever heard in my life.  The other day, my co-worker informed me that his friend finally lost her battle with cancer.  I do not know her name or how she lived her remaining time but her terrible tale haunts me.

I struggle to find anything meaningful or positive from this one person’s tragic nightmare.  It reminds me of Bill Murray’s remarkable but painful insight at the end of the film The Razor’s Edge, “When Piedmont died, I had to pay him back for my life. I found out there's another debt to pay — for the privilege of being alive. I thought Sophie was my reward for trying to live a good life. Uh uh. There is no payoff — not now.”  We all so terribly want our payoffs in this life, but that is a very unfair expectation of this world.  The truth is that we hold this foolish expectation because we live amidst the abundant privileges of the first world.  Those of poorer nations hold no such illusions about how harsh and unfair reality can be.

I am not seeking to be maudlin.  As terrible as the events I described were they did provide that woman with at least one remarkable opportunity.  In one day she was stripped of all the fallacies that we so often cling to throughout our lives.  She could not deny her mortality any longer and she saw the futility of seeking direct rewards through this life itself.  To paraphrase Bill Murray, she completely understood the debt to pay for the privilege of being alive.  That is not a lesson learned by many, yet it can be invaluable to those who get it. It crystalizes our priorities and burns away pettiness.  Here was a woman with absolutely nothing to lose in life… she had already lost it all.

This tale provides me is perspective and priority.  From it I realize that this life owes us nothing, absolutely nothing.  We are privileged to be on this journey no matter how long and pleasant or short and brutal it may be.  It is what we choose to do with the time that we have that gives real meaning to our lives.  As to priorities, it reminds me that we truly have no time for trivial pettiness.  How small do my problems seem in comparison to those that this woman faced in her short remaining days.  How can I waste my time in foolish worry and self-doubt?  I see the vital importance of remaining here and now and addressing the priorities in this very moment.  This woman’s life urges me to be bold because I too can lose everything that I cherish in an instant.  I clearly see the fleeting nature of all physical things and the permanent and transcendent nature love and its actions.

Yes, I told you a tragic tale, full of sorrow and woe.  You can casually dismiss it as just someone else’s random misfortune and go on your merry way.  However, I hope that, like myself, you can use this harsh reality to splash some cold water on your soul and awaken it to that which is truly important here and now.  We can realize that if we should live long enough then we will ultimately face these very same circumstances stretched across a longer period of time.   It simply makes sense to learn from this condensed life lesson and if we can avoid turning away from it then this ugly dark reality can actually provide us a wonderful and valuable perspective.

©2018 Scott D. Wilson

The Cure for Bad Déjà Vu

The Cure for Bad Déjà Vu 

“You can’t undo the past…but you can certainly not repeat it.” –Bruce Willis

A wise man once said to me “History is nothing more than collection of lessons never learned.”  Alas, I sadly believe that he was correct.  Even individually we tend to live each day as if the previous ones had very little to add.  If I were to ask you what yesterday taught you would you have an immediate reply?  How about last week, month or a year ago?  If we are healthy people then we should be growing and growing means continuous learning and change.  We should be using our past properly to improve ourselves so as not to repeat its mistakes.

Unfortunately, it is my observation that we humans have a strong tendency to repeat negative cycles.  In short, we seem to have propensity for reiterating the errors of the past.  Like a patient teacher, life keeps giving us similar situations over and over, day after day, in the hopes that we will eventually learn the lessons and then move on to different challenges where we will then obtain new knowledge and diverse experiences.  If you are honest with yourself you will see that your own behaviours set the stage for a great deal of what you experience during the day.  If negatives are repeating then you are the most significant common factor in the equation.  Personally, time and time again I have experienced some painful situations that I could not seem to avoid until I finally saw and acknowledged my own role in their creation.

Nobody likes déjà vu when it comes to their past mistakes.  While we certainly are not the cause of all our own misery, when it comes to chronic situations we almost always play a very significant role.    Unfortunately, it is quite natural and easy to see and blame external causes for all out mishaps: if this hadn’t happened, if she hadn’t done that or if they wouldn’t say that.  It’s like the Joni Mitchell song Both Sides Now, “So many things I would have done but clouds got in my way.”  We are all talented at making excuses for what we have neglected.  We fail to see that it is this brilliant talent that helps to feed our cycle of repeating our past gaffes. 

It may sound egotistical or even masochistic but there is great value in taking personal responsibility for your outcomes regardless of the situation or the actions of others.  If it is all your fault when something doesn’t go as you planned then you have all the power to fix it because you have significant ability to make changes to yourself and your behaviours.  If it is something or someone else’s fault then you have far less influence over them and therefore you have less chance of improving your outcomes.  Taking back your responsibility is very empowering.  You do not need to own the behaviours and responses of others but you can certainly be frank with yourself about your own actions, reactions and choices.

Break your past situations down into the choices that you made.  Determine if you could creatively make different options for yourself that you did not perceive at the time.  Use your imagination to come up with alternative responses the difficulties that you encountered.  This is almost a form of mental and emotional martial arts.  Life situations present us with decisions in the same way an opponent’s actions require response.  If we practice sparring in a safe place and objectively analyze our performance then we can develop tactics that better ensure our outcome in future conflicts.  We learn when to block, dodge, push, pull or simply move out of the way completely. This is true in both physical and metaphysical situations. When an encounter throws an emotional or mental jab at you then can unlearn your clumsy unhealthy habitual responses and instead apply some skilled countermoves.

There is a cure for bad déjà vu.  By learning from it we can determine how not to repeat our past. If we do this then we obtain something far better than undoing our previous errors.  We will obtain new and better life skills and start to rid ourselves of negative patterns that we may have developed.  By practicing this we can become black-belts in overcoming the past and then we will move on to new and different lessons in the dojo of life.

©2018 Scott D. Wilson

Unhappiness Guaranteed: 17 Tips

Unhappiness Guaranteed:  17 Tips for Misery

These simple guidelines are designed to help you remain dissatisfied and disappointed in your life. If you learn to follow these tips and tricks you are guaranteed to live an unhappy and unremarkable existence.


#1 Constantly Compare yourself to others: By comparing yourself to others you can remind yourself of the unfairness of human existence. It’s easy to find distasteful and immoral people who seem to have life easy. You strive and seek to be good and kind and life just kicks you in the teeth. But making these comparisons you can feel morally superior with minimal effort. Be careful though, don’t look at the vast majority of the planet who have it far worse than you could even imagine. This can ruin your self-satisfaction.

#2 Neglect anything good in your life: Talents and abilities, caring friends and family, career, home, community, these all take time and effort to maintain. It is far easier to keep busy with mundane entertainments and base needs. Besides, many of these thing can get messy and difficult.

#3 Foster bitterness, anger, hated, resentment and unfogiveness in your soul: These are strong emotions and they keep you strong. Forgiveness and understanding are weak and lead to you getting hurt again. Keep remembering all the painful events in your life and the people who hurt you. Never get over anything. Practice reliving your failures and betrayals daily. This keeps you strong.

#4 Worry about the possible problems of tomorrow and compare them to previous failures: This is a dangerous world. You have experienced firsthand the stings of unexpected disasters. Expect more of the same. Don’t enjoy right now or work on a better tomorrow. That will only lead to you lowering your guard and experiencing disappointment.

#5 Care a lot about the opinion of others: It is important to be like and accepted so you better work hard to liked and accepted by everyone. Define yourself by the opinions of others and their expectations. Let them tell you who you are and what you can and cannot do. At all costs, never be yourself because it’s way too easy to get hurt or rejected that way.

#6 Obsess over being right: There is only one right and everything else must be wrong. Being right is more important than anything. Sacrifice friends, family and great relationships in order to be right. Even if you are wrong or there is a miscommunication never say that you are sorry. It makes you look weak. Avoid paradoxes; they muddle up right and wrong with the truth.

#7 Place relationships last: Life is dog eat dog. You are too busy with everything else in your life to make time for you spouse, your kids or your friends. Getting ahead and your selfish needs more st come first.

#8 Take things for granted: Hey, all that good stuff in your life right now, like your health, your relationships and your well-being will still be there tomorrow. I mean, they were there yesterday so it shouldn’t change. You don’t need to appreciate them or pay attention to them. Let other people worry about that.

#9 Give up frequently on things that are important: Occasionally your pesky conscience will bother you about things like your poor fitness or a neglected relationship and you will want to do something about it. That’s ok. Go right ahead and work towards those goals, but the minute things get challenging be prepared to quit. Sure, they are important, but they can wait while you avoid the difficulties and neglect your duties. Your comfort is important after all. Be prepared to give up on yourself too because you know that you really are not worth it either.

#10 Believe that you can never change: You have always been this way. Accept it; it’s easier that way. Even if you could change it would be way too hard and only special people really change, grow and improve. Who are you to try and reach your potential?

#11 Give in to your fears and do not follow any of your passions: Fear is a good thing. It keeps us from doing dangerous things and warns us of potential dangers. Dreams and aspirations are dangerous. They can lead to you becoming a failure, being rejectied or being let down. It is far more important to be safe. Always choose safety over love, goals and aspirations.

#12 Remain a victim: Victims are powerless. Remember that. Victims are innocent of any responsibility because they have no power over their circumstances. When you are a victim then nothing is your fault. All the blame for your unhappiness and your problems belong to other people. Being a victim is the easy path. Dont forget, you must never take any responsibility for your thoughts, actions or your life.

#13 Make immediate pleasures a priority: Delayed gratification is overrated. Get yours while it’s still here. YOLO. So never neglect an opportunity to experience pleasure no matter what the long term consequences might be. Hey, tomorrow might never come so live it up.

#14 Avoid integrity, loyalty and faithfulness: These values are difficult to keep and overrated. People are much more admired for their cunning and slyness. As long as you obtain what you want then it should not matter how you got it. Living by by principles is wearisome and requires sacrifices. Remaining true to your commitments and to yourself seldom pays off short-term so why do it?

#15 Assume that everyone can see the world like you do: Everyone has eyes and ears. They can see things just like you. So of course they should be able to see and understand everything exactly the same way that you do. Their life experiences can’t be that different than yours. Everything must seem the same from every social, economical, ethnic and gender viewpoint.

#16 Never reflect on your life and learn from it: Since you are never at fault then there is no need to look at your life to correct mistakes, to learn anything or to grow. If you keep repeating the same mistakes then it is because of other people messing things up. Avoid looking objectively at your actions and their results.

#17 Always assume there will always be more time: Need to fix something or heal a relationship? Don’t rush, there is always another day. Important things can always be postponed. Take tomorrow for granted.

I hope the above information helps you to remain comfortably mediocre and unfulfilled. Remember, you are okay; it’s everybody else that needs to change.


©2018 Scott D. Wilson, P.Eng.

You Are Success – Part II

You Are Success – Part II

“About 90% of the things in your life are right. Make sure you don’t overlook the 90% that’s right because you’re focusing on the 10% that’s not.” – Dale Carnegie

It is so easy to create a negative mindset.  News headlines loudly exclaim stories of war, famine, death, plagues and all kinds of tragedies.  The fact is that the dismal and disastrous sell.  Shining a spotlight on these events leads many to assume that the world is badly off and getting worse.  This flies in the face of the data indicating that worldwide there is less hunger, disease, conflict and death than ever before.  Life expectancy across the globe has risen to 72 years of age, the highest ever, an increase of 5.5 years in a little over a decade.

Yes, this world will always have calamities and disasters, but despite the fact that there is stuff going wrong there is a heck of a lot going right every minute of every day.  Paying inordinate attention to the negatives tends to blind us to the good and positive that exist.  I am not belittling your woes or your difficulties, nor am I saying that the world could not do with some improvement.  I am merely asking that we remember the things that are going well.  It is important to remember the progress that we have made.  Barely 150 years ago, slavery was widely accepted and rights of women and children were similarly dismal.  The bygone days were not as sunny as many paint them to be today.  By all measures, human rights have been successfully improved up to the present and they continue to break new ground in various regions.

On a more personal level, I’d like to speak to those who think of themselves or their efforts as failure. Your plans may not be going as you expect them.  Your life may seem off track.   Everything may seem to be going wrong.  If that is how you feel then you would be wise to stop and take measure of your assets.  Are you able-bodied?  Do you have friends or family that care for you?  Is your sanity intact?  Can you still see or hear?  Do you have a safe home?  Do you enjoy personal freedoms?  These are not small matters.  Many lack these things and suffer greatly.  Do not take them for granted!

No, you are not a failure.  Failures are events that occur and then pass into history.  They do not define anyone or anything.  Take a candid and impartial look at your life.  No matter who you are you still have a lot going right for you.  Don’t ignore that truth.  The words of Dale Carnegie are correct.  Ninety percent of your life is successful.  You are a success.  Don’t lose that perspective while tackling the small bit that is going wrong.  Start taking inventory of that successful ninety percent and confidently learn to put it to work improving that troublesome ten percent!

©2018 Scott D. Wilson

You Are Success

You are ‘Success’

Simple Definition of ‘success’ (from Merriam-webster.com)

     1 :  the fact of getting or achieving the correct or desired result

     2 :  the correct or desired result of an attempt

    3 :  someone or something that is successful : a person or thing that succeeds

Every day…

You successfully take up to 23,040 breaths.

Your heart effectively beats about 103,000 times.

Your autonomic systems process and balance thousands of chemicals required for life.

You communicate with others speaking almost 5,000 words.

You make about 35,000 decisions… some better than others but you will make them.

And so much more.

You are walking, talking, thinking miracle.

The fact that you are here reading these words is a testament to your human success.

The fact of your success is not debatable but your realization of this fact may be so.

Failure is an event, not a person.

You literally embody success.

Where there is life there is success!

How can you even consider thinking in terms of failure?

Acknowledge and harmonize with your existing success story.

Life will be what it is.

Some days will feel more successful than others.

Time and space will be uncomfortable and difficult at times.

It may even imperil your existence.

But until that last breath leaves…

Until that last heartbeat…

You remain successful.

Know it.

Believe it.

Live it.

©2016 Scott D. Wilson

Stop Waiting for Inspiration or Motivation!

Stop Waiting for Motivation or Inspiration!

"We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action."-Frank Tibolt

The writer who waits for inspiration will never become an author. The painter who holds out for their muse will never create a masterpiece. The athlete who relies on motivation will never win gold medals. This should be common knowledge, yet many lament their lack of motivation and inspiration and use it as their explanation for their procrastination. We humans are masters of the excuse. We will grab hold of anything that sounds plausible in order to avoid taking responsibility for our own inaction. Meanwhile the cure to our ailment is staring us in the face.

Whether it is inspiration or motivation that you lack then action is the prescription. Action generates motivation and inspires us. A writer, by the practice of writing, becomes inspired as they play with thoughts and ideas on the page. An artist, through experimentation with colours, patterns and perspectives develops inspiration. The martial arts enthusiast gathers motivation as they develop and improve their skills through repetitive practice of the forms. So many of history’s greatest people have endorsed the truth of this concept.

We like to believe that it is the world that thwarts our dreams. It is too difficult. It’s just not fair. It’s not going to work. The reality is that we are grasping for reasons not to even make an attempt. We are seeking justification for not taking action. We stand as the biggest and worst obstacle towards achieving our own goals. Without any true effort we lamely claim that we *tried* to write, *tried* to paint and *tried* to exercise, but we lost our motivation and we had no inspiration. With our consciences soothed we settle back down into our mediocre existence, free from the troublesome call of our greater aspirations, goals and hopes.

No master of any craft ever expected to achieve mastery overnight. They knew from the start that the path would be littered with failures and disappointments. However, they likewise knew that there would be no path at all if they never took any steps. They had to take action. Each stride was a test of their faith in themselves and their commitment to their goal. If they needed inspiration or motivation for every footstep then they would never start or they would turn and retreat whenever the road became difficult. Stop waiting for motivation or inspiration to kick in. Take action and realize that in the action itself you will find your creativity and your motives.

"Do it, and then you will feel motivated to do it." -Zig Ziglar

©2018 Scott D. Wilson

Quiet Courage

●♥● Quiet Courage ●♥●

“Courage does not always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
at the end of the day saying,
‘I will try again tomorrow.’ ”—Mary Anne Radmacher

Defeat and failure are inevitable. No one wins every time. Disappointment visits everyone from time to time. It is easy to become tired and discouraged. Look at the word ‘discouraged.’ It is a combination of ‘dis’ and ‘courage’. ‘Dis’ indicates a failure or lacking, as in disagree, dislike and disinterest. So ‘discourage’ is literally a failure or removal of our courage.

Personally, I always believe this world is full of quiet heroes. Their acts will never make the history books. Their tales will never become the stuff of legends. Yet the importance of their actions is monumental, and their courage is magnificent. They are the brave and weary souls who pick themselves up, wipe the blood from their lips, look life directly in the eyes and silently say “I will try again tomorrow.”

Without their recommitment to keep going much of what we take for granted would not exist. If these heroes succumb to discouragement then the world becomes much darker. When our silent warriors give up on their goals, their families and worst of all, on themselves then we all lose. It is their daily courage that sustains the fabric of our communities and our society.

So if you find yourself among the downtrodden and the downcast today, please take heart. You are not alone. Many silent warriors continue their noiseless battles around us every day. Let your quiet courage defy your circumstances. Heroically say to yourself, “I will try again tomorrow.”

ⓒ2018 Scott D. Wilson

From Action to Self-Esteem

●♥● From Action to Self-Esteem ●♥●

“The only way to get positive feelings about yourself is to take positive actions.
Man does not live as he thinks, he thinks as he lives.”—Vaughan Quinn

We often feel crappy about ourselves. We are our own worst critics. This is an unfortunately natural part of human nature. HOWEVER, we do not need to be a victim in this matter! There is hope and a treatment: action.

Let those last words sink and think in. Man does not live as he thinks, he thinks as he lives. This is a profound truth about ourselves. Our thoughts and out thinking processes are moulded by the way we choose to live our lives. Every action that we take teaches us about ourselves and our reality. We react to our actions and the results. In so doing we generate both thoughts *and* emotions!

You want to hack your emotions? You want to *feel* better? Then take positive actions! Feeling good is not purely a matter of mind over emotions. If it were then there would be a lot mot happy and contented people. Our point of view does play a part; however, emotions respond to action! One of the best ways to feel better about yourself, about who you are, is to go out and do something positive.

Take action to make you own life better! Take action to make someone else’s life better! Take action to make this universe a bit better! You cannot act positively and constructively without it impacting and improving your psyche. There is a time and a place for mantras and positive affirmations, but don’t just let them be words. Today, right now, whether you feel like it or not, make some positive actions. I guarantee that if you make the effort to do something good that it will pay off. Your self-esteem will rise through affirmative behaviour!

ⓒ2018 Scott D. Wilson

To Be Continued

To Be Continued

“Don't think of it as starting over.

Think of it as picking up where you left off.”

–Scott Wilson

Starting over sounds difficult.  Starting over feels like being back at square zero, as if you never began the journey in the first place.  Sometimes that may feel good because one leaves all one’s mistakes behind and starts fresh.  However, it often it comes with the heavy emotions of past failures and tremendous effort to regain momentum.

Let’s be fair.  You are not truly staring over again.  Time has passed.  You are a different person now than you were then.  You have learned and hopefully you are wiser and you have a new and better perspective.  Don’t negatively judge you past self.  They did not have the same life experience that you now have.  They were younger and possibly more naïve and less aware.  Ideally, we are all using our past to better understand and deal with the present.  Unless we choose to be foolish we should be somewhat better at living life today than we were in the past.

A better mental model would be to look at your goal as a project that you put away on a shelf for a while.  It is right there where you left it.  It may have gathered dust.  It may even have suffered some environmental damage from neglect.  That just means that you need clean it off, make a few repairs and pick up where you left off.  That’s a far cry from throwing away your passed efforts and starting from scratch.

Look honestly at your prior efforts.  Who was that person?  What stresses and responsibilities did they bear?  What made him or her neglect their dreams and desires?  How did they approach the goal and what made them stop?  Imagine if they had left you a journal with all their struggles, progress and failures.  What could you learn from it? What can he or she teach you today as you pick up from where they left off?  How can you build upon the foundation of their efforts, both successful and unsuccessful?

You are not starting again.  You have so much more now than you had then.   Yes, the circumstances may have changed but so have you!  You are wiser today.  Choose to see that wisdom and experience and apply it to you old goals.  Don’t throw away anything from your unsuccessful attempts because they can give you keys to being successful hear and now.  When you stopped last time it was NOT a failure; it was a resting pause in your plans.  Today is simply a continuation of your quest.  Just like when sleep tonight, it does not mean that we start everything over again tomorrow.  The same is true here.  Wake up anew.  Brush the sleep from your eyes.  Blow the dust off your goals and pick up from where you left off. 

Cheers!

©2018 Scott D. Wilson

Dieting? You really have nothing to lose!

Dieting? You Really Have Nothing to Lose

Think you need to lose 10, 20, 50, 100 or more pounds?

NOPE, technically you don’t need to lose anything.

 

What you need to do is change the lifestyle that is making you heavier into a lifestyle that is getting you fitter.

 

Once that lifestyle is in place the weight will eventually take care of itself.

 

The weight itself is not the problem.

 

It is simply a symptom of bad living.

 

The problem is the lifestyle of inactivity and overindulgence.

 

If you were a doctor and every day a patient came in with a new laceration that you had to sew up, would you say they had a problem with bleeding or would you be concerned about the behaviour that is getting them stabbed?

 

A good doctor would not just keep putting in stiches.

 

That would be irresponsible.

 

Recognize that everything that you have done up to now has made your body what it is presently.

 

Recognize that much of your past behaviour has been detrimental to your well-being.

 

Recognize that you NEED to change in order to get healthy and stay healthy.

 

Recognize that change is hard and it will feel a bit like dying.

 

Nonetheless, commit to making changes TODAY.

 

Make *small* changes, bit by bit, slowly.

 

Keep making changes and repeating them until they become new and better habits.

 

It may seem tedious.

 

It may seem to take forever.

 

Keep going.

 

You are changing, and that takes time.

 

Focus on the positive changes that you make.

 

Don’t focus on the scale and a meaningless number.

 

Focus on the improvements that you are making.

 

Focus on the health that you are regaining.

 

Focus on feeling, acting and becoming better.

 

Keep that focus and keep going!

 

The day will come when you look back and go “Wow! I made it!”

 

Until then, keep building a better you!!!!!

 

Cheers and all the best!

 

©2018 S.D. Wilson

The Final Frontier

The Final Frontier

“The human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.”
–Earl Nightingale (The Strangest Secret)

The curious apes on this terrestrial ball hurtling through the cosmos press ever onward spending billions of dollars sending probes and robots off into outer space where no man has gone before. Meanwhile, we largely ignore the seemingly infinite frontiers of our hearts and minds. Don’t get me wrong. I fully understand the need to explore the external reality in which we live in order to better understand it and interact with it. However, we do not likewise encourage the human race to explore the mysteries deep within us.

Daily we interact with and manipulate the outside world and our surroundings while we essentially disregard our inner workings. We believe that mastering the external will bring us happiness and contentment. We strive for security, wealth, power, notoriety, health and other boons with the aim of attaining joy and peace. Our continuous creed becomes “If I can just…” Then we can’t understand how our victories do not seem to bring any lasting satisfaction. We puzzle at how our emotions do not line up with goals but instead seem to sabotage our efforts at every turn. We likewise ponder why we fail to impose order on our surroundings when we never bother to bring the emotions and thoughts of our inner worlds into order.

Scientists carefully map and chart the laws and principles that govern material existence yet they desperately avoid setting foot in the vast frontier of the internal being, relegating it to the mystics and the sages. Granted, some brave psychologists have ventured in but most stop at the pragmatic level in regards to illness or aptitude. In the physical world we equip people with the rules and tools for social interaction and physical safety: look both ways before crossing the street, always say please and thank you and follow the golden rule. Yet there is precious little guidance for travelling within the vast and lonely expanses of our own souls. Some of history’s greatest tragedies appear to be those who may have gotten lost within themselves and failed to find a way back home.

Our emotions and thoughts form a treacherous and dangerous landscape full of dark corners and hidden traps. Truth and lies intermix along with the selfish and selfless. Inside we are fallen creatures trapped between the glories of heaven and the torments of hell. It is no wonder that we often portray inner conflict as a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. The common person daily contends alone with their noble and the despicable selves. Society teaches us to keep out inner and outer worlds separate. We are encouraged to keep our hearts and minds private and hidden. Our personal demons are something shameful that we must tackle alone. Meanwhile, every day we must successfully walk both in the outer world and within our inner space. As tricky as it may be, we need to survive perils of both lands.

All the wisdom literature that I have encountered is clear about this: we must successfully manage our interior life if we truly want to attain meaningful success our visible life. We cannot do this if we fail to harmonize and integrate our inner land with our outer one. Few and rare are those who are able to do this task alone. Societies like Alcoholics Anonymous have demonstrated the incredible power of sharing our inner torment with others. In safe situations with others we can bravely begin to explore, map and tame our internal frontiers. The darkness gradually loses its power in the light of love and acceptance.

Here is the truly amazing thing, as we bravely uncover and deal with our own shadows we often discover that they are masking the best and brightest parts of ourselves. When we acknowledge the presence of the devils, a host of angels is often revealed. There will be a mix of sobering revelations and joyful surprises. Many uncover their greatest strengths through struggles with their greatest weakness. This is where Earl Nightingale was going with the statement that I quoted. Our minds and hearts contain hidden riches worth finding amidst the dangers.

I can guarantee that if you dare to brave the journey inward that you will discover one of the greatest of life’s treasures: your authentic self. This won’t be the person that your parents and family told you that you are. It won’t be there person that you think you have to be for your friends and society. It won’t even be the person that you think you are. It will be genuinely you, and you will be remarkable. As you cut away the inner lies and false beliefs you will free a newer and truer self.

As you come to understand and accept who you really are then you will begin to learn your real needs and intrinsic motivations. In meeting those needs you will experience less internal strife and conflict; your inner self will begin to support you and your goals. The most remarkable thing is that you will never uncover the end of yourself. Each and every day can yield new amazing discoveries. You will never declare that you completely know and have conquered yourself. This is the real final frontier and its greatest riches.

So when your world seems in disarray it is wise to take the time to pause and look away from the external problems. Breathe easy and steal your heart and mind to look inward to see the very sources of chaos within yourself. Find those you can trust to help you with what you find there. Let go of shame; we all hold some darkness within. Discover your best amongst your worst. Uncover the real you. As you improve your inner life you will find your outer one is equally improved. When you harmonize your inner and the outer spaces you will begin to reap the great rewards of your final frontier.

“As above, so below, as within, so without …”
― Hermes Trismegistus



©2018 Scott D. Wilson

Einstein’s Mirror

●♥● Einstein’s Mirror ●♥●

E=mc², Einstein’s amazing realization was the direct relationship between matter and energy. This revelation gave us nuclear power and atomic weapons. The human race achieved the ability to directly convert physical substance into energy. However, technically mankind has been doing the converse and converting energy into physical materials since the dawn of time.

Go home. Look around you. You will be surrounded by material possessions, friends and family. To obtain these things took your personal time and energy. Living requires energy. Each of us will live an allotted time on this planet. How we live that time is essentially how we will spend our energy. Power is simply energy that has been put to work. We use our power earning a living, preparing and consuming food, self-care, maintaining a home, raising a family, and socially interacting. When it comes to labour time truly is money and money convers to material goods and services. The large screen TV in your home cost you precious hours of your existence at work. Your spouse and children require a good deal of care and attention to obtain and maintain. They too represent a portion of your life energy converted into flesh and blood relationships.

In this sense, every physical thing and person in our lives is actually a reflection of ourselves. We traded a piece of our existence to bring these things into our environment or our possession. E=mc², you converted your life essence into these physical entities. The world that you have built around is mirror of who you are. As you gaze upon your possessions, your friends, acquaintances and immediate family you are actually looking upon various aspects of yourself. For better or worse they are the embodiment of your efforts to spend your life wisely.

It is personally sobering to stare into Einstein’s Mirror of relativity. Certainly, my reflective sphere overlaps that of others, like those of my wife and children. Some of my possession and relations ships are the results of the spending of other people’s lifeblood and thus I may be enriched or impoverished by them. For example, the society and infrastructure of North America has been handed to us through the conversion of other people’s lifeblood.

I may not be able to take responsibility for everything in my life but I can nonetheless truly realize that I hold the majority of the responsibility for the building of my own personal world with my conversion of my own time and energy in to physical reality. The mirror of E=mc² strips us of many of our illusions and excuses. When the living cost of our possessions and our relationships is put in that perspective it definitely makes one pause to ponder the value that we gave or failed to give them. There is value in taking a look at our own personal world today with all its possession and relationships and consider what it can teach us about who we truly are and what we actually value. With eyes aware look upon your friends, your family, your phone, your bed and truly see yourself converted and reflected there.

ⓒ2018 Scott Wilson

Are you alive?

●♥● Are you alive? ●♥●

“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”     –Marcus Aurelius

The unknown aspect of death will always elicit apprehension.  However, death is a natural event that we all must eventually undergo.  We all travel a journey from the womb to the tomb.  This does not necessarily mean that we are in a perpetual process of dying.  Life is not a video game where we start with a green life bar full of health and end the game when it turns red and reaches zero.  There are some who leave this world more vibrant and alive than the day that they were born.  There is a distinct difference between actively living and passively dying.

I am less concerned with my eventual death than I am with failing to actually live while I travel my days on this celestial ball.  It concerns me when days blend one into another in a forgettable blur.  That is not living, nor does it demonstrate an appreciation for time and life itself.  Life expects us to be fully present in our lives and ready to participate. Unfortunately, we are usually exhausted, stressed and overcome by routine existence.  Boredom, anxiety and monotony are constant companions urging us to stay distracted and disengaged.  We use entertainment, intoxication and other tools to escape what we see as the doldrums of much of our life.

I understand this poor behavior and unwise thinking all too well.  Modern society is toxic to real living in ways that go well beyond the purely physical.  The Dalai Lama captured this so well as he once explained to an interviewer:

“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” –Dalai Lama

What a terrible loss it is to live this way and yet so many of us follow this same path.  Perhaps we would all avoid such pathways if we saw life itself from a different perspective.  We have amazing telescopes and devices that peer across this vast expanding universe.  Despite our phenomenal efforts, we have never conclusively discovered any other biological life outside of this amazing sphere hurtling through the cosmos.  There is a distinct possibility that science’s greatest fear, that we might actually be alone in the heavens, is true.  In any event, life is exceedingly rare, far rarer than gold, platinum or diamonds.  That makes it unfathomably valuable and therefore it should never be considered humdrum nor taken for granted.  We need to hold onto this awareness as if our lives depend upon it, because they actually do.

Many folks fail to see the value of life until the ticking down of their last days grows too loud in their ears to ignore.  Then they desperately seek to wind up the clock a little more or to pack those last days with a lifetime that they missed.  This is understandable but tragically unnecessary.  We can appreciate and fill our days with living now.  The best does not have to lie in distant younger days, the best can be now and ahead.  Finding and achieving fulfillment is your responsibility and your birthright.  Learn to live and be genuinely you in the here and now, for there is no better time and no one else to do it for you.   At the end of your days how would you like to encounter death? Would you rather meet him desperately begging for more time or would you instead greet him with a broad grin, hand outstretched saying, “Have I got a story for you!”

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” ―Hunter S. Thompson

©2018 S.D. Wilson

Simple Patient Compassion

●♥● Simple Patient Compassion ●♥●

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

According to legend, when the venerable sage Lao Tsu was leaving China a guard at the Great Wall recognized him demanded that he leave behind a record of all his wisdom before he left.  The learned elder then sat and wrote the Tao Te Ching.  After a lifetime of learning this wise man highly valued three things:  simplicity, patience and compassion; these were his keys for successful living.  Personally, I have seen this same truth resonating across the wisdom of many cultures including the teachings of the Buddhavacana, Tanakh, Bible, Bhagavad Gita and Gitche Manitou.  The Tao Te Ching has stood the test of time and stands today as a globally recognized source for understanding.  It follows that our lives and goals can benefit from consideration of this sensible advice.

Simplicity, we now live in a complicated and intricate world.  Simple letters and writing have been replaced with e-mail, texts, blogs and more.   Simple face to face conversations have been replaced by highly technological phone and video calls.  Simple definitions of relationships, marriage and family have been replaced with increasingly complex and elaborate views.  Simple safe, naïve and innocent childhood is being assaulted by various social and political opinions and fears.  It is safe to say that nothing is simple today.

Yet mankind is born, lives and dies – a cycle unchanged for thousands of years.  This simple fact remains.  What we do between cradle and grave defines our existence.    For all our complicated toys, entertainment and gadgets we still simply need food, shelter, love, acceptance and meaning.  If we can recognize our simple nature and pay attention to our basic needs then perchance we might better handle our more sophisticated matters.  Simplicity understands and feeds our bodies, minds, hearts and souls.  We merely need to take the time to break down the priorities in our lives and see where they fit physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.  Simplifying our lives brings us back to the essence of life itself.

We are advised to exercise patience with friend and foe alike.  In so doing we refrain from struggling against what is and instead harmonize with existence.  We accept the things that change which we would otherwise seek to keep static.  We also accept the unchangeable permanence of other realities like the gravity, time, space and aging.

Patience, in a world filled with ticking clocks patience is a precious rarity.  Time is always running out.  We rush through childhood towards adulthood.  We rush through education towards careers.  We rush through careers towards raises and advancement.  We crave a fast pace, seeking to stuff as much into every second as possible.  We have precious little time to waste… and yet we fill our vacant hours with trivial pursuits and entertainment.  If we slow down then we risk the realization that we are going nowhere fast and turning our days into a forgettable blur.  Ironically, the patience we lack would actually serve to slow down the tyrannical passage of time. 

Lastly, the sage mentions compassion, not for others but towards yourself.  Compassion is not pity.  It is the understanding of misfortune and suffering.  If we can master true compassion for ourselves then the text promises that we reconcile all beings.  To reconcile people is to restore harmony between them.  If we learn how to exercise genuine empathy towards ourselves then we will learn to live in peace with our very being.  To be compassionate is to accept ourselves as we are, a mix of both flaws and qualities together.   Real compassion acknowledges and understands our best and our worst and gracefully embraces them together.

It is evident that we humans crave understanding and acceptance.  The psychologist Abraham Maslow used the term ‘love and belonging’ to describe this fundamental need.  We all yearn for acceptance from other people: our parents, our family, our peers and our community.    This need is so strong that some twisted souls have committed hideous acts of violence when they felt utterly rejected by life and those around them.  Oddly, we actually need to start by truly accepting ourselves, for only then will be able to offer that same compassionate understanding to others.  In contrast, today’s world seems quite harsh and judgemental.  We are taught to self-criticize and  to berate ourselves in the belief that we will whip ourselves into shape.  Instead, we merely generate self-loathing and the disbelief in ourselves. 

Simplicity.  Patience.  Compassion.  Declutter you heart, mind and spirit.  Learn and exercise patience with all things.  Understand the heart of compassion towards yourself and others.  These are the three greatest treasures that we can cultivate within ourselves.

©2018 Scott D. Wilson