In Fixity of Purpose, on December 31, I noted, “As we each enter 2022, may we find our best meaning and “fixity of purpose” … and how we can personally grow and collectively serve. Ask yourself first, “What truly and soulfully matters most to me in 2022?” Then ask, “What matters most to me that will ultimately serve me in serving all that matters most?” Find your true Resolve. If I can help, connect with me.” I took my own advice and reached out to me within. I have been reading the “energies” around me and within me, if you will. Where am I experiencing the Hell Yeah thing? I have been honestly reflecting and discerning.
Then, I saw this from my friend Russell Zehtab on Endurance.
The strength to walk through adversity… to find lessons throughout… to rise above… to meet challenges head and heart on… to be in for the long and even infinite game. This is Endurance.
To endure is to last. That said, there is one “truth” we far too often forget or are persuaded against, in my observation. When we set long term goals, when we concern ourselves with the future, we can weaken our Endurance in my estimation. I believe in having a vision and even goals. Still, no vision nor goal gets achieved in the future. It is worked on in the now.
I have ben reflecting much on my own vision, long term and medium term. I have been reflecting on what is most important to me. And, on these days and times.
And it all remains of importance, that vision. It does. But Endurance can be both strengthened and weakened with such. Having our eyes on the prize can indeed inspire us. But often too, we can start seeing the “distant” as “distant”.
I grew up amidst masonry… and while it is important to have a blueprint and plan, it is ever more important to work on each brick, one at a time. If we take care of each brick as we lay it, the building will take almost care of itself.
I say this because so many of us, myself included, can be seductively susceptible to the busy-ness of responding. But having a purposeful vision, and having the Courage, Candor and Commitment to eliminate the distractions and dare to set afire to the daily work that matters (one freakin’ day a time) is what builds our Endurance. Fixated on a long distant outcome or hope, while possibly being a noble thing, can actually negatively impact our practice of Endurance.
Those, like my parents now passed, who lived through the Great Depression and World War II over 16 years… how could they endure? Those living in far worse, dire and longstanding circumstances around the world even today… how can they endure? Some, I am sure did and do not. Those that did and do may have found a way to live and work and play one day at a time. Those that did and do somehow found sources of joy, possibly. Or a longer term perspective maybe. Somehow, they endured. Somehow, they are enduring.
Either way, I humbly suggest that today, we practice Endurance, not next week or month or year. Today.
What does this mean? It means, for me, that my daily focus needs be simpler. 5 daily areas, taken care of daily. Doing what I can in each, taking care of the 5 bricks that day, and only that day. My Faith, my Health, my teaching, Epic Engage and TUGtv. (And, my health is about mental, physical and spiritual.) Taking care of these 5 daily draws from the Wisdom of Robert Fulghum who wrote…
“Most of what I really need to know about how to live
and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday school. These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life – Learn some and think some… and draw and paint and sing and dance… and play and work everyday some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, Watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder.“
Endurance is not achieved in the future. It is not found in holding our breath. It is grounded in a deeper sense and practice of Patience. It is achieved in the day lived, today.
My life, going forward, will be grounded in my five daily practices, not driven by far off visions (though they are still held)… but by daily execution, knowing that I only have this day. My Faith, everyday. My health, everyday. Teaching… or studying, everyday Epic Engage and my study and work around Character, Purpose and Unity. And TUGtv.
My thought to you is “What are your dailies that will allow you to breathe and practice Patience?” What are the simply joys that will cause you to be present? What sources of Reverence can you explore? What crafts or studies, grounded in Curiosity would give you a daily practice, focused on what has meaning for you?
Practicing Courage and Honesty in discerning on such will matter. Investing in exploring what will get us to living daily… matters. Finding our way through requires Endurance and Patience. I wish you find your path to yours. Endurance is a day tight practice, Practice it for today. I intend to do just that. Some things are going. Some things are being kept. And some things ae being welcomed in, even once and again. Exploring and engaging a renewed understanding of my very own practice of Essentialism.
Peace. 😉
Barry Lewis Green, The Unity Guy with Epic Engage.
Developing Leadership Character – Ivey Business Journal
“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ― Abraham Lincoln