Monday, February 18, 2008

Humility in all its glory

Humbleness

How many times in life are we told we need to be humble about victory about what we have over what others don’t things of that nature? How many times do we actually know what it is to be humble…I’m pretty sure that I don’t. Yeah I am normally not the person to point on the wrongs or my victory over something, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I knew the flaw before or expected to win in the first place…so how can I claim to know humbleness, the honest answer is I don’t think I can claim to be all that humble, though I know I have tried to be, or thought myself to be.

So how can one be humble without truly trying to be, I think if anything it is to live in that single moment and not dwell past it… if you accomplish something you should always take pride in it, because if you have no pride in your actions then why do them, because to someone else they could mean everything. After you relish in that brief moment of realization that you have in fact completed what you sought out to do, move on and look for another obstacle to overcome, and leave that behind, otherwise no matter how much one would say that they do not gloat that they offer advice to the loser they are still living in the experience. I would like to point out that if they do in fact ask you for advice or help after the fact then that is not the same…although you should be humbled…I’ll try to address that in just a moment.

To be humble is to not look back on your accomplishments but rather your flaws and seek how you are to better yourself not by acting with what you already know you can do but with what you unaware of. To constantly challenge yourself, admit defeat and struggle for success only to move to your next weakness without allowing yourself to find praise outside of yourself. That is to be humble.

To Be Humbled

I see humbleness and being humbled as almost separate entities though they both essentially remain the same principal. However to be humbled is by seeing someone dwell on something which you lay down and forgot, true humbling moments are rare few and between, these times are those upon which we should reflect to see what it was that moved us was a reflection on. These moments can manifest themselves in many ways, whether it is a person confessing their affections towards you, a relative, mentee or any even an enemy aspiring to be you, or a friend taking something you gave to them and doing something with it, that you would have never thought to be done. Watching someone else react to your previous actions or words and moving them in ways you never thought possible is quite the experience it is something we all at one point or another feel, sometimes we don’t know that we are humbled by these experiences sometimes we do, the notion of being aware is what makes the experience so intense.

I know what it is to be humbled to sit there and think…wow…really… and then have no other words, no other emotions come into focus, and no other means to express what was raging inside me. I know that its moments like these are what make life truly unique.

Humility is something we must learn to give and take, understand what is to be humble and humbled by actions of others. We all have paths in life that allow us to choose how we are to act, all too often we are too proud or do not care enough to let these moments pass without giving it proper consideration. Take the time to asses what it is you are acting on, and whether you are challenging yourself with it, and not in fact dwelling on things best left in the past, watch how people react to your being and if they move in ways never thought possible before you, remember that you are not the cause of this merely an actor and be thankful that it was you in which they found this path, no matter where it might lead.

They say the greatest feeling for a teacher is to be surpassed by the pupil…I disagree…I think it’s when the look back to you as an equally significant factor in their life, and they use you as the catalyst for their own path.

The wind never stays still to show its presences it constantly moves on

Saturday, February 16, 2008

The failure of words

Why do we always believe in what we hear spoken rather then what is presented in front of us. I am not talking about lies, lies can be hide in all shapes and forms, but rather hidden messages, real intent that is often buried bellow the words we use. Think about all we know of communication, 60 percent of what we say is done in body language, another 30 in tone, so only 10 is in the words we use. I have come to the conclusion that all too often that no matter how great or verse, or diction or vocabulary is that unless you have truth and belief in what you say that words will fail you. I look at my present situation in which I am surrounded by people who cannot speak English yet somehow I have managed to not starve, get out get things done by interacting, by my intentions rather than just my words, sure language is a great tool to help express ourselves, but imagine to those who never had the vast array of words we know can draw from, trying to explain jubilation or misery, it was in their expression the manner in which they told their story. Think of the great playwrights those who have truly moved people, think of how often they used words that we read and how often then are shown and read in different contexts. Yet think of those same plays, when presented by a performer who truly believes in what he is doing, the mood and cause of the play take on a much more powerful persona. Why is it that we have so many words just to explain the same expression or gesture in so many ways, is it because they each mean a different form of it…if so why are we so keen to interchange, nor do we rely on tone as the Chinese do, we have surrounded ourselves with words to hide what we mean beneath them. Our words affect someone without directly pointing them where we wish, others perhaps we do without just a lack of faith in what we are saying. Yes it does seem quite odd that I would use a forum in which I can only write my words down, rather than speak, where it could be easily seen that I have some hidden motive…or perhaps I lack the irony of this, and this will allow me to create the paradox I see around me.

I offer a challenge take 5 words you think best describe you as a person and use them as a mean of describing yourself and your feelings…so think carefully on the words you choose. Secondly take the 5 words you use most often and remove them, and see how your meanings change, how your messages and your persona changes as they are cast out of your everyday lingo. Lastly as rethink your use of words, refer back to the age old advice of KISS (Keep it simple stupid) give no hidden meanings or double meanings in your words describe yourself wholly and without means to confuse as to what or who you are. Watch as to how those around you react.

I have taken this challenge myself while here, used simple words to describe myself removed words that often have left people pondering their double meanings, and relied on what I mean to get across rather than the words themselves…it’s an interesting result, even more so coupled with the language barrier. Perhaps the most astonishing thing is that despite the barrier, despite the removal of some of my most common phrases or antic dotes, people understand me, my moods and temperaments and in turn I have seen things I hid below my words emerge and manifest them self into my character.

Yes words fail us every day, I know this; be conscious of this, but then again be aware that sometimes they are all we have.

The winds whisper hidden thoughts...be calm and listen to them with ernest.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Greatness

I know that I will never solve world hunger, nor will I score the winning try at the RWC or become the next Paul Henderson to Canadian hockey fans, I will never be this idea of greatness, this thing that almost all children and many adults still aspire to. While I see nothing wrong aspiring to be more then you are, I think it is an awful by product of our society to correlate greatness to this idea of iconic figure heads.

Now I do not mean to tarnish what these figure heads do for the world because more people like Mother Teresa or Gandhi would never be a bad thing nor would athletes like Michael Jordan or Cal Ripken Jr. or any number of great athletes who bring new life to their craft. No my purpose is to try and illuminate what it takes to be great and how while we should always strive to best ourselves but at the same time recognize our own great works. Secondly I really do hope that this does not come off as you are all great no matter what…I want to say that you can be great…it just doesn’t have to be because you sit on top of a certain niche.

So, what is greatness then one might ask me. Well let’s look at who I said was great, and what they did. Without getting into direct examples for the sake of time and the fact I might go on a tangent into a nice history lesson of that person, which at this point in time we don’t want. Trust me on this. Did they try to act as someone had before, or tie themselves to the other great of the time, or did they strive to do something completely their own, and in essence be truly unique. Now to be unique in its own sense is greatness as you will always stand out from the next person and really in the end of it. Yet we all strive to be more, to achieve this level of greatness that we assume is what it takes to be remembered.

Now I noted that I probably won’t be doing anything great you probably know I aspire to be a teacher, in fact I do that now, and yeah its good calling but how many teachers can claim fame, yeah some get there by doing something unrelated, others get the shout out when a pupil declares that such and such teacher pushed them that extra, but then again the odds let’s be realistic. Doubtful that anyone of my kids would ever do such a thing…but even then it truly is fame and not greatness because how long can a shout out last…honestly who remembers what grade of teacher helped push Jim Carrey into a more direct path of comedy.

So what is greatness…if not to me any of these things. Well greatness I guess can be summed up as being more then you thought you could. You cannot sit back and do nothing and hope to be that great person, no, if you get out and experience life; touch it. Greatness is not measured by the grand scale of the things, but by yourself and how you view the world. Things will always change around you sometimes beyond your control, but what you can teach each day. Focus on what you can touch, lives you can touch, people who truly matter to you. An example from me just occurred today, I was told that one of my students who were on the verge of dropping English after one week with me has a whole new energy about it and is looking forward to my return. That is greatness to me, because I have given my enjoyment of teaching and learning to someone, and it has in turn I was given something in return. The simple things are what make us great.

So what is greatness…it’s what you make of it, what you do for yourself and that falls unto others.

The wind moves us all, it's how we soar that makes us great

Friday, February 1, 2008

The fine art of Conversation

We all know how to speak, we all know the power of words, and how they can influence those around us, yet in my adventures here and I guess in some way my I-Week with Sigma Chi, how our own conversation shapes us. I come to this line of thinking as in the past 7 hours while I have talked to someone online, I have not uttered a single word since my last student left the classroom. Now seven hours does not seem all that long, but let’s then take into account that I did not talk to anyone for at least 24 hours before that single hour of instruction…and then multiply that by numerous amounts of days where this really is what my routine turns out to be. I am slowly becoming a mute, or forgetting to speak…and those times I do speak, are often in a foreign language and no more than a phrase or at most a few lines. It leaves one a lot of time to wander through his thoughts, create his own conversations, ponders a lot of mundane and small things and turns them into large and important ones. While most common sense would suggest turning small issues into large ones doesn’t help your cause…yet sometimes like now, I think looking at the smaller issues is much more important than those that seem grand and noble to be thinking of. I find myself ponder the concept of self time, not spending time wisely to get things accomplished, but rather, using time to better yourself, yeah sure I could be doing so much with the free time I do have, but I spend it thinking or reading, trying to think of what I indo fact miss the most about being away from all that is familiar. As much as I pride myself on listening and trying to understand things and being careful with my words, and being a powerful orator, I do in fact miss conversations, not just those that move you, but the simple exchange of everyday of pleasantries and the company that it provides you. I know that I am not a man who can be alone and be completely comfortable. My solitude is important to me, I enjoy being able to escape into myself, but that can be done in the quiet of a room, but people I will always need people to be around me to converse with, share ideas, anything, the act of conversation is very important to me.

I know some people have been fairly regular in talking with me over MSN and for that I am truly thankful, but that can never replace seeing someone and going through the act of conversation.

Go figure that as I write this latest entry some co workers and I get into a conversation on the major languages of the worlds, where we see it going, how the use of one’s voice can imply so much more than ever seen. Not only that but body language, tone, speed, everything adds up more and more to how we communicate….think of the act of touch… how much that can tell you about someone the show of expression, any number of things. I am trying to see more and more about who I am, and I know I am a people person…not that I need people around me, otherwise I would have gone nutters already. Yet, I see more know…the way I interact with people is important to me, I take a little from them and add it to my own persona, and I try to give as much as possible…maybe that makes no sense but then again who cares, for all know no one does read this, again…conversation can never be one sided…two sides must give…otherwise…it’s just this my own monologue.

The art of conversation, everyone has their own stroke…I’m learning how mine works…what about you?

Let your words always glide gently on the winds which carrier them.