Each year during the holiday season, those of us who write often offer our readers something deep and hopefully meaningful on which to contemplate.
This year I offer you my favorite prayer. I must tell you that I attempt to live by this creed but often fall short. It is the Prayer of Saint Francis and it is attributed to the 13th-century saint Francis of Assisi. Along with the prayer I have included a few personal thoughts for your consideration.
"Make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;"
where there is hatred, let me sow love;"
What is your intention as you interact with yourself and those around you? Is it clear? Saint Francis suggests that we be a model of peace, serenity and love for all to witness. It is easy to look around and see so much wrong in today's world. The challenge is to see not only the bad but to seek all the good, to focus on that and to be a contributor to that. We cannot expect the world to become a better place when we are not contributing in loving ways. Just for this moment be love.
Mahatma Ghandi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
"where there is injury, pardon;"
So often when others hurt us we want revenge. Our challenge is to forgive. We do not need to forget. It is imperative to know the color of one's stripes and the type of animal you are dealing with so you may take care of yourself and them but at the same time if we choose to hold on to pain created from an indiscretion we ultimately hurt ourselves. Just for this day, live and let live. Forgive and be forgiven.
"where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy"
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy"
Here we are challenged to seek out others who have lost their faith, their hope, their spark. To allow others to stand tall on our weary shoulders so they can see across their darkness to the light that awaits them. Just for this day, Keep Hope Alive!
"grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love;"
to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love;"
Our challenge here is for us to actively be the difference in others lives. To think and act beyond our personal needs. I once heard that we make a living from what we get and we make a life from what we give. Just for this day, think less about the "me" and more about the "we"!
"for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned."
You will find as I have through out my life that when I am able to give without expectation and when I forgive without even an apology, I am free to be the best Pete that I am capable of being. The challenge just for this moment is to give yourself a tremendous gift through the offering to another a gift free of strings. You need to be open to receiving in order to allow someone to give. If you do not allow others to give to you, you rob them of an opportunity to feel good about themselves. Just for this day give without strings and receive with an open heart. To one who has in some way offended, offer forgiveness, just because.
"and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."
In order to go beyond what we have already achieved we must be willing to shed our past and let go of our old outdated habits in order to make room for the new. This can be quite challenging for it requires us to question what and who we think we are. Most feel threatened by this and thus choose not to grow. Remember, what got you here will not get you there. If what you are currently doing was enough you would have already gotten what it is you seek. For this moment think about what you really want and what you will need to let go of and embrace in order to attain that which you claim is important. You will know when something is really important to you when you make the necessary changes in your life in order to move toward it by making a public proclamation, and this time really meaning it.
I wish you and yours the very best this holiday season. May all of your dreams come true in the New Year.
If you would like to contribute an idea for an upcoming article or would like more information about my Guest Service & Leadership Programs, please visit my web site at www.PsCompetitiveEdge.com.
Until Next Time,
continue to Strive for Excellence.
Peter Scott
| |
|
| |
|