Wk 4: Reading - The Art of PossibilityI must admit that the lighting of the spark was a step up to responsibility for me. Zander could not have painted a greater picture than when he shared some history from the Middle Ages. People, during this time, would often carry a metal box with a small flame so that if they needed a fire they wouldn’t have to go through the laborious process every time. The beauty of this is that individuals would willingly and easily share their spark with others so they could find their way. This selfless, passion-filled kind of living is alert to others and is willing to partner with them. Zander writes, “It is about playing together as partners in a field of light.” What a beautiful image!
Passion and possibility are contagious. It seems that the reverse is also true (negativity and apathy) and many times dominates our living. We must remember though that it is not about us, but about others and that we have a lot to offer others. We are gifted. We are talented. We have a spark to share. We must live to pursue passion and dismiss fear and encourage others to do the same. What a challenge for all of us!
Image taken from www.flickr.com with Attribution in Creative Commons. Some rights reserved by wickedboy_007.
Brett, I agree that passion possibility are contagious. The hard part is trying to avoid the negative. Sometimes we have to dig deep to try to find the positive. The good news is that we have the power to put out in the world what we choose. Yes, this can be challenging at times, but I think that is our contribution.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of sharing your own spark with others is pretty cool. I loved how the authors were able to paint such vivid pictures of the stories they told and give real solutions and suggestions for the difficult situations they encountered. While it was hard for me to get into this book during the first two chapters, I definitely feel like my mind was opened during the last ten. To have a mindset that we ARE talented and have something to share really makes you look at situations differently. I come across more and more teachings about that as I study the Bible and I hope to remember those things when difficult or unknown situations arise.
ReplyDeleteBrett, You brought up something I didn’t even think about. The giving of the spark was selfless, it’s not to go along with some agenda or for selfish motives. You are so correct about the contagiousness of the positives and negatives in life. I saw first hand this week the effects of this at my school. Due to budget cuts, several positions were cut, including mine, and a number of teachers were moved to other schools. There was a dark cloud over the school, we had an end-of-year luncheon on Thursday, the day after the superintendent brought all that bad news to the school, and the luncheon was so somber. On the flipside, upon hearing of my contract not being renewed, my fellow art teacher, who previously retired once already, said that she had been thinking about retiring again anyways and was retiring. Now, I’m just waiting to be asked back, and this selfless act of her for me, is such a blessing, brought some light to some of us crawling in the dark.
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