William Shakespeare

Honesty legacy

Posted on by Shari Swanson

In order to make good decisions, you need the foundation of the truth. Double check, triple check, go directly to the sources. And if your understanding of what is true changes, so must your behavior.

As M. Scott Peck said:

Truth or reality is avoided when it is painful. We can revise our maps only when we have the discipline to overcome that pain. To have such discipline, we must be totally dedicated to truth.

‘Revising our maps’ is his way of saying adjust our world view, our sense of what is right or wrong, our conclusions about happened. Bottom line: We will simply not get anywhere near where we want to go if we are operating with faulty maps.

Too many people these days are trying to adjust the ‘facts’ to conform to their world view (with misinformation or disinformation) rather than the other way around.

Like to the lark at break of day.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

I am a huge fan of birdsong. It is so joyful. Listening to a little bird, so unassuming, singing with all it has to welcome the day reminds us of what it is like to be alive—vibrant and grateful, blessed with a day ahead to sing our song however that might manifest itself in each individual life. Open. Ready. Eager even.

And yet life can bring us low. Consider Shakespeare’s 29th Sonnet below. He certainly gets what it is like to feel outcast and alone, bemoaning our fate, jealous of others’ future and friends, their talents and possibilities, when we feel we have none.

And yet,

There is, or maybe was, someone who brightened our spirits. Someone who loved us and, like the simple lark singing its joyful song, that love can change an outlook in a blink. And next to that love, all the treasure of kings is paltry.

For a perfect, tear-jerking read of this Sonnet, take a listen to Judi Dench in the clip below. and take a minute, sometime today, to listen to a bird singing its heart out and remember those you love and those who love you.

When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,

I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate,

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,

Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,

Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,

With what I most enjoy contented least;

Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,

Haply I think on thee, and then my state,

(Like to the lark at break of day arising

From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;

       For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings

       That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

You alone are you.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

unique

You alone are you. Of all the humans now and from the beginning of time and out into the future, billions upon billions of people, there is only one you. That’s quite staggering. And then when you factor in the other unique things about you–your family, your home and work, your life experience, your thoughts and feelings, even if scientists were to make an exact clone of you, it wouldn’t be you. You are special.

In this delightful video, preschool students take time to greet each other in a unique way.

 

What a lovely reminder that each of us is special.

Tend your garden.

Posted on by Shari Swanson

gardens

If our bodies are gardens, what’s growing there? Is your garden body overcome by weeds and neglect, or is it a colorful explosion of bloom and fragrance? Is it a barren landscape or carefully and lovingly tended?

Self-care isn’t selfish; its vital. Time spent caring for your own body and soul will flower into every aspect of your life.

Today, consider giving your future self a gift. Maybe you can start a gratitude jar where you jot down little things you’re grateful for as you go through the day to toss into the jar. Your future self can pour out the jar a month or year from now and be blessed again by all those memories. Or change your sheets and give them a spritz of fragrance. Your future self will smile tonight when they tuck into the crisp linens. Or set aside a bit of money each day for a week for a future splurge down the road. Or, perhaps, start today something future you will thank you for later.

There are so many things you can do for future you if you take a minute to think about it.  Taking the time now to do something for the you later reminds you that, even as you pour yourself out in caring for others, you matter, too.

But soft!

Posted on by Shari Swanson

Butsoft

Are there any more beautiful words in English literature than these: “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?”

These are Romeo’s words when he gazes at Juliet above on the balcony, but what if we were to bring these words into our everyday encounters?

But soft! Listen to the hush here, the rapt attention, all of his focus on her, just her. What if we were to whisper these words to ourselves before we talk with someone? But soft! The world fades, the focus sharpens, all of our attention is on that person. But soft! reminds us not just to be calm and attentive, but also to be gentle and reverent. Wouldn’t any conversation shift if it were preceded by such a lovely call to silence? Wouldn’t But soft! be a perfect pairing of words to bring back into common usage?

“What light through yonder window breaks?” Again, what if we were to look at each other this way? As light, as beings capable of making the world a brighter place. Even those with much of darkness about them have an inner light, a spark of good. What if we were to ignore the dark and focus on the light in each other? What a compliment it is to be called a light! Wouldn’t someone noticing our light make each of us want to shine ever more brightly? And wouldn’t that, accordingly, make the world an ever brighter place?

Look around. Someone wants your attention.

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?