“The purpose of life is to discover your gift.
The work of life is to develop it.
The meaning of life is to give your gift away.”
David Viscott
Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat (1904–1973)
The Fate of young ladies who “demurred”
with Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart”. Steve Jobs, Stanford, 2005
There was a time in my life when I couldn’t even hear the word death without bursting into tears,into painful, bone marrow deep fear. My father told me over and over as a child that when we die we are nothing. Our bodies shrivel into powder and we are nothing. I would lie awake agonizing over that impossible thought; That one day I would perish into a blackness so profound that I would no longer exist.
He also said that energy was never lost, it only changed form. I was too young to notice the discrepancy between his view of death and his view of life.
I no longer burst into tears. I no longer believe that we will not exist beyond this human life. It’s only taken about 60 years for me to embrace the scientific fact that matter never is lost, and the spiritual belief that the human spirit is never lost, that our souls simply transform as we grow spiritually, spiraling higher and higher, closer and closer to God.
“Know thou that every hearing ear, if kept pure and undefiled, must, at all times and from every direction, hearken to the voice that uttereth these holy words: “Verily, we are God’s, and to Him shall we return.” “The mysteries of man’s physical death and of his return have not been divulged, and still remain unread. By the righteousness of God! Were they to be revealed, they would evoke such fear and sorrow that some would perish, while others would be so filled with gladness as to wish for death, and beseech, with unceasing longing, the one true God–exalted be His glory–to hasten their end. …“ http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-82.htmlWas in Newport Beach, CA the other day. Passed by the Crab Cooker Restaurant and this quote was painted on the outside wall.
I read it twice. The first time thinking it was strange. ” The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing” and then the second time: “Whoa that’s profound!”
(Verrrrrrrrrrrrrry clever and very astute for a Crab Cooker. I knew that crabs were tasty but didn’t know that crabs were clever.)
I wanted to remember it, repeating to myself 3 times“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
I Only had to remember 6 different words.
Today I sat down to type a highly provocative essay on how to identify what YOUR main thing is so you could keep it.
Now what were those 6 words?
The main thing is the thing to remain the main thing? Mainly the main thing is the thing to remember? The main thing is always the main thing for the main thing? The thing that’s main is the main thing to be the main thing? The main thing is being the main thing of main things? Remember the Maine (I had long stopped counting the words) I looked up the Crab Cooker web-site — main courses, main dishes, main street, no main things.I googled “sayings, the main thing”
Wadda ya know Stephen Covey said it. THE Steven R. Covey who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®
I’ve never read the book fearing that I have none of the habits of Highly Effective People and I would have to get some.
So I think I’ll just stay with The Main thing is Mainly the Thing and only have to memorize 5 different words instead of 6.
Stay tuned for the provocative essay . . .