Arrogance Vs. Humility

The other day I sat beside a man on a plane who was working a crossword puzzle. Normally I would have paid no attention to him, but I noticed that he was doing this puzzle with a ballpoint pen.

Why would a person work a crossword puzzle with a pen making corrections impossible? At first I thought, "That man is confident he knows what he's doing." But, it didn't take long to see that I had overestimated his puzzle skills. He had made some errors and he was finding it difficult to change them.

When you are doing a crossword puzzle you use a pencil with a good eraser.

The same is true with life. It is a mistake to over promise, to make arrogant claims, to brag about your abilities, and to be unforgiving. It is like writing with a ballpoint pen. Humility is like a pencil with an eraser.

Two Buddhist Monks

Two Buddhist monks were returning to their monastery on foot late one winter day. It was bitterly cold with blizzard winds and plummeting temperatures. They knew that if they did not get back to the gates of the monastery by sunset, the gates would be closed until sunrise the next day and they would die.

As they hurried along the road they crossed a ravine. Down below they heard the cries of a victim. They knew they did not have time to help another person. If they stopped to help they would die for sure.

One monk stopped to help anyway. He picked the victim up, loaded him on his back, and started down the path. Just as the two men were about to arrive at the gate, they tripped over something in the road. It was the frozen body of the first monk. The second monk recognized that it was the warmth of the man he had been carrying that had saved his own life.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Limits

We put all sorts of artificial limits on ourselves that are based more in cultural assumption than in truth.

What if the Wright brothers had listened to the people who said, "If God had intended people to fly, He would have given us wings?" These two men, who ran a bicycle shop, defied the conventional wisdom and today the air is filled with people.

I remember in 1957, when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite. They had such a head start that everyone assumed Russia would dominate outer space from then on. Three years later President John F. Kennedy, here at Rice University, challenged America to put a human being on the moon by the end of the decade. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped off the Eagle Lander on to the moon: "One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind," he said.

Never accept the limits others put on you.

Being Alone

In our busy, crowded and loud world, it is increasingly difficult for us to be alone.

Being alone does not mean being lonely. It is choosing to set ourselves off from the external, superficial noises of life and seeking instead the quiet strength which is found best in solitude.

You don't have to be a monk or a mystic to spend time alone. It can be as simple as a cup of coffee in the backyard at dawn, a neighborhood walk alone at dusk, or an idle lunch hour or a park bench. None of us is too busy for moments like these, and solitude gives us rich rewards. It restores our perspective and sanity.

Most of us fear being alone because we think the demons of memory will rise from the bottom of our guts to haunt us. We fear our aloneness will be more punishment than pleasure. Don't be afraid to be alone. Solitude will give you serenity.

Life Goes On

When he was celebrating his eightieth birthday, Robert Frost, America's most distinguished twentieth century poet, was asked a question, "In all your years, what do you think is the most important thing you have learned about life?" Mr. Frost paused a moment, then with a twinkle sparkling from under his bushy eyebrows he answered, "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life, It goes on."

We live in a world that is filled with some pretty ugly things - war, injustice, racism, poverty, and crooked politics. If you listen to the news regularly, you're likely to become tempted to say, "This is it. The end is now."

But hear me - Robert Frost was right. Life goes on.

I know there are things that worry you, that cause you fear. These bad things that make up life are real, but never forget the words of Robert Frost: Life goes on.

Genius

Have you ever known a person who was considered a genius?

I think most of us have the wrong idea about what being a genius means. Mostly what we call "genius" is just hard work.

Listen to this collection of quotes about genius.

Michelangelo said, "If people know how hard I work to get my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful to them."

Thomas Carlyle observed, "Genius is the capacity for taking infinite pain."

Alexander Hamilton recorded these words, "All of the genius I have is merely the fruit of labor."

Now and then I have people say that they would do this or that if they had the talent. Yet I have never heard a person classified as a genius speak of talent - only of hard work.

So, if there is something you've always wanted to do, but haven't done it, don't blame it on lack of talent or genius. Just get with it.

Color the World

I enjoy people who are artistic. People who are able to produce works of art through painting, sculpture, and music inspire me.

But, there is another form of artistry which is just as meaningful. I am referring to people like Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, and Mother Teresa - not artists in the traditional sense, but persons who through the nobility of their lives, color the world around them.

I know people whose lives are a work of art. Wherever they go they radiate light. They enter a dark room, a sickroom, room where loneliness or hopelessness hangs like a pall, and almost immediately there is light and hope.

Most of us will never be artists or musicians. But, we can live lives that color the world around us for good.