Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Power of Words
How can anyone hope to overcome something for which there isn't even a word to describe?
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The Sixth Nightmare
Despite what you might have heard to the contrary, greatness and happiness are mutually exclusive.
It is simple to be happy (do not misread "simple" as "easy"). To be happy is to have the faith to say "yes." To be happy is to live in the moment, in the now; to be happy is to drink in life as it happens and appreciate it at face value. The happy man says "the food I eat is good food and I am thankful for it" or "I am fortunate to have such people in my life." The happy mind thinks "I always have enough, no matter what I have." The happy man is never alone, even when he is by himself. The happy family is solid in communication and even more so in interactivity. The happy soul understands everything that is, is; that which is cannot be otherwise, regardless of whether it could have been otherwise. The Happy glisten in the light.
To be great is both complex and complicated. To be great is to have the courage to say "no." To be great is to live for the future, for the potential; to be great is to see the world as how it could be and determine to make it so. The great man says "I can think of a way to make that better" or "there are yet more challenges to be overcome." The great mind thinks "there is always a way to improve upon the world." The great man is always alone, even when in the company of other great men. The great family is--should it exist--disconnected and independently ambitious. The great soul is compelled to transform the unreal into the real, the imagined into the created. The Great do not permit themselves to be afraid of the dark.
Sleep comes well to the happy man, while the great man is kept awake by his demons. The great man is dismissed and disliked by those who do not understand; the happy man is envied and emulated by them. While is is no small feat to achieve either happiness or greatness, there are--arguably--more Happy than Great. Yet how many fewer Happy would there be if it weren't for the deeds of the Great? And how many fewer Great would there be if not for the determination that their ambitions might bring about an increase in the number of the Happy?
I am determined to become great, knowing full well what horrors I would overcome, what horrors I must also commit.
It is simple to be happy (do not misread "simple" as "easy"). To be happy is to have the faith to say "yes." To be happy is to live in the moment, in the now; to be happy is to drink in life as it happens and appreciate it at face value. The happy man says "the food I eat is good food and I am thankful for it" or "I am fortunate to have such people in my life." The happy mind thinks "I always have enough, no matter what I have." The happy man is never alone, even when he is by himself. The happy family is solid in communication and even more so in interactivity. The happy soul understands everything that is, is; that which is cannot be otherwise, regardless of whether it could have been otherwise. The Happy glisten in the light.
To be great is both complex and complicated. To be great is to have the courage to say "no." To be great is to live for the future, for the potential; to be great is to see the world as how it could be and determine to make it so. The great man says "I can think of a way to make that better" or "there are yet more challenges to be overcome." The great mind thinks "there is always a way to improve upon the world." The great man is always alone, even when in the company of other great men. The great family is--should it exist--disconnected and independently ambitious. The great soul is compelled to transform the unreal into the real, the imagined into the created. The Great do not permit themselves to be afraid of the dark.
Sleep comes well to the happy man, while the great man is kept awake by his demons. The great man is dismissed and disliked by those who do not understand; the happy man is envied and emulated by them. While is is no small feat to achieve either happiness or greatness, there are--arguably--more Happy than Great. Yet how many fewer Happy would there be if it weren't for the deeds of the Great? And how many fewer Great would there be if not for the determination that their ambitions might bring about an increase in the number of the Happy?
I am determined to become great, knowing full well what horrors I would overcome, what horrors I must also commit.
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