Let yourself go
Several years ago I received a post card from a friend in Jackson Hole,Wyo.,who wrote," I am skiing with abandon! African lily "I wondered what he meant,for when I ski it is always with trepidation.I believe he meant he was skiing skillfully, joyfully,peacefully and confidently.Although I have no hopes of ever skiing that way,I do dream of living with abandon.I believe that men and women through the ages who have led successful lives have captured these five secrets of living life to the fullest.Have a self you respect.This means having a deep sense of responsibility for your thoughts and actions.It means keeping your word,and being faithful to self,family and work.It means believing in what you do and working hard.It means setting your own internal standards,and not comparing yourself to others.It's not a question of being better than someone else;Rose of sharon respect and integrity demand that you be better than you thought you could be.
Winston Churchill exemplified integrity an respect in the face of opposition.During his last year in office,he attended an official ceremony.Several rows behind him two gentlemen began whispering."That's Winston Churchill.""They say he is getting senile.""They say he should step aside and leave the running of the nation to more dynamic and capable men."When the ceremony was over,Spider plant Churchill turned to the men and said,"Gentlemen, they also say he is deaf!"Churchill knew that one secret to a self you can respect is to choose a course of action based on what is right, not expedient,and not waver from it when criticized.
Commit yourself to others.Believe in others,and take time to nurture their dreams.A wise man said,"If you want one year's prosperity,grow grain.But if you want ten years' prosperity,grow men and women."You can build into the lives of your family,friends and colleagues by providing nutrientsof gratitude and encouragement,and by investing your time and energy in their aspirations. If a tree is given minimal nourishment,it will live,but it will not grow.But if nourishment is given over and beyond what is needed for life,the tree will live and grow upward,producing fruit.Turn disappointments into strengths.Crape myrtle Individuals who live with abandon have discovered that personal trials make them more sensitive and loving,while building endurance and character.They have learned that achievements worth remembering are stained with the blood of diligence and etched with the scars of disappointment.
The pages of history are filled with the heroic stories of undaunted men and women who triumphed over disabilities and adversities to demonstrate victorious spirits.Raise him in abject poverty,and you have an Abraham Lincoln.Make her blind and deaf,and you have a Helen Keller.
Enjoy life's process,not just life's rewards.We live in a goal-oriented society that wants problems resolved now.We want three-minute oatmeal,one-hour dry cleaning,and instant success.But to live with abandon,Tree! Tree! we must live one day at a time,savoring the little victories,realizing that life is an endless journey in self-discovery and personal fullfillment.It means taking time to hug your kids, kiss your spouse and let the other fellow ahead of you on the freeway.
Become involved in something bigger than yourself.I do not believe you will live happily if you set out to live life for yourself alone.Choose a cause bigger than you are and work at it in a spirit of excellence.It will become a part of you as you see your goals through to the end.Measure success not by what you've done,but what you could do.Charles saw them both at the same time:a small white bird and the girl wheeling down the walk.The bird glided downward and rested in the grass;the girl directed the chair smoothly along the sunlit,shadowy1 walk.She stopped to watch the ducks on the pond and when she shoved2 the wheels again,Charles stood up."May I push you?" he called,said the Elephant running across the grass to her.The white bird flew to the top of a tree.
It was mostly he who talked and he seemed afraid to stop for fear she'd ask him to leave her by herself. Nothing in her face had supported the idea of helplessness conveyed by the wheelchair, and he knew that his assistance was not viewed as a favor.He asked the cause of her handicap3 .
He came to like to feel the white handles in his grasp,to walk between the two white-rimmed metal wheels.And he grew almost more familiar with the slight wave at the back of her hair than with her eyes or her mouth.Once,he said to the wave at the back of her hair,"I hope I'm the only chair-pusher in your life,We must dig a hole "but she had only smiled a little and her eyes had admitted nothing.
She cooked dinner for him once in June.He expected her to be proud of her ability to do everything from her seat in the wheelchair-and was faintly5 disappointed to see that she would not feel pride at what was,for her,simply a matter of course6.He watched his own hand pick up the salt shaker7 and place it on one of the higher unused shelves,and awaited her plea8 for assistance. He didn't know why he'd done it,but the look in her eyes made him realize how cruel his prank9 was.An Unforgettable Day To make her forget what he'd done,he told her about the little white bird in the park.ykl
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