Floating Diamonds!!!

As I was meditating this morning, two random thoughts merged into a story of growth and development.

The first was a story I read on the net, where a child complained about having to remove rocks from his father’s field every spring after plowing. He was always giddy with delight that the rocks were gone, only to be mad the following spring when more rocks returned. His father explained that “rocks float,” which bewildered the boy until he understood. As rocks form from some small particles under the surface of the Earth, they are forced to the surface by the smaller particles settling past them. The particles of the rock are “lucky,” because they eventually see the light of day and can be made useful, the young boy learns, to build other things, to be a foundation for other purposes.

The second thought comes from a surprising place. While watching Ultimate Fighting Championship 89 (Sorry, I was intrigued!), color commentator Joe Rogan (Yes, Fear Factor Joe Rogan, but with a full beard!) said “Pressure makes Diamonds!” to one of the winning fighters. And he is right! Millions of years of pressure force coal into the precise atomic alignment that we know as diamonds. Some more precise and beautiful, others less precise but still very useful.

So, consider yourself a particle on the day you were born. You are at the bottom of the heap of humanity with millions of others born around the same time. You have experiences. You take on knowledge. You begin to grow. At the same time, you are surrounded by the pressures of your life. The first day of kindergarten. Your first test. Your first kiss. Your first graduation. Your values and principles begin to crystallize. You acquire more knowledge. You experience more of the richness of life. You grow larger as a person. You face even more pressure. Your first job. Your first tax return. Your marriage. Your first child. And these pressures cause to you to grow in ways you never thought possible. Still more pressure. Financial concerns. Downsizing. Moving your family to a new location where you know nobody. Growth to solve those dilemmas, and others too numerous to mention. Pressure that you could never conceive. And then it happens! You finally arrive at the Earth’s surface! You have been exposed! You are large enough to be used for other purposes: educating the smaller particles about your journey to the surface, building foundations that support other purposes. And you are beautiful! Your vision and values have crystallized in a way that you can peer inside yourself and see your purpose on this Earth. And it is all good!!!

May you encounter particles of growth each and every day of your life! And may that knowledge help you find yourself deep within your crystalline self. I know it is there, because I have finally, at 48 years of age, found the purpose for the rest of my life! And knowing you have found the right thing feels wonderful!!!

Until next time!
Julius

The Challenge of Life: One Man's Opinion

"The challenge of life is not living up to the expectations of our parents. It is living up to the expectations of our children."
-paraphrased from Sam Johnson, former CEO of SC Johnson, a Family Company

Sam Johnson spoke these words during a documentary of his trip that retraced the trip of his father to find new sources of carnauba wax for the family company. While I'm sure that he gained a new appreciation for his father's original trip, I believe that Mr. Johnson learned more about himself and his life.

Many in the psychiatric community believe that our parents play a pivotal role in our lives before the age of three. Many of the values and decision models we use over the course of the rest of our lives are etched into our subconscious in those first 36 months of life on Earth. Our life map.

But what happens when our lives are very different from those of our parents? What happens when our parents lived and taught from a model that no longer exists for us? What happens when our parents never treated each other with respect and love? What happens when we need tools that we never received?

We cannot possibly know how life will unfold for our children. And the more children we have (and my wife and I have five), the more varied the outcomes of their lives will probably be. But there are a few things that we can know with a great deal of certainty:

• They are going to need to know how to show someone that they love them and care about them. Not only as a friend, but at a very intimate level. If you never saw that in your family of your origin, chances are you don't know how to do this. And it's not clear to me just where you go to find the instruction manual. If you know, please share the location!
• They are going to need to know to keep learning. The world changes at a very rapid pace. If you don't believe me, check out where the Dow Jones Industrial Average was just a month ago! I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said "Learning is the only true sign of life," and I think that he got it right. I'm currently on my fourth job, and will probably have one or two more before I am done. I've worked on cleaning products, diapers, dusting cloths and now beds. And even with all of that learning, I still have a lot to learn about life.
• They are going to need to know that all of us travellers on the planet Earth are in this thing together, more so today than ever before, and likely less than tomorrow. Technology has made the world a very small place with few secrets. The sooner we can understand each other, the sooner we can help each other make tomorrow better than today. Reading about the collapse of global financial institutions and how we all plan to pay for our next tank of gas leads me to believe that we have a long way to go.
• They are also going to need to know that they can never quit and give up hope. Hope brought our forefathers to this country. Hope mended us after the Civil War. Hope brought us back from the Great Depression. Hope put us all on a rocket ship to the Moon. Hope will help us to solve the incredible problems we face today, and the more complicated, unimaginable problems of tomorrow.

And hope is what drives those of us, like Sam Johnson, who were not given the correct map during the first 3 years of our lives. Hope keeps us searching for answers. Hope keeps us moving along the path to a better life. And hope keeps us working for our children, so we can teach them that even in our darkest hours, there is a better way! And that we will not rest until we teach it to them!

Until Next Time!

Julius