If you realized how powerful your thoughts are

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought

Peace Pilgrim

From 1953 to 1981 a silver haired woman calling herself only "Peace Pilgrim" walked more than 25,000 miles on a personal pilgrimage for peace. She vowed to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." In the course of her 28 year pilgrimage she touched the hearts, minds, and lives of thousands of individuals all across North America. Her message was both simple and profound. It continues to inspire people all over the world.

Motivational: The Authentic Swing

By Sandra Ford Walston

We find ourselves in an atypical predicament. This dilemma is what I call a “national defining moment.” It means everyone must step up and claim their courage to confront an elusive problem called “uncertainty.” How do we unite to find the courage to step up when society, much less our parents, do not prepare or teach us about the virtue of courage?

After thirteen years of researching the actions of courage, I extracted several common themes, along with the twelve behaviors of courage. One theme was the notion of sacrificing or choosing to take an immediate hit to achieve a long-range goal. Courageous people choose to forgo immediate satisfaction by taking risks and hurdling obstacles. They identify, claim, and apply the original definition of courage, meaning “heart and spirit.” In other words, when a situation requires them to “step up” and display their authenticity, they do!

The movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance” was about a post-WWI golfer and a mysterious caddie. Set in Georgia, the dispirited Savannah folks decide a tournament will boost their war-torn morale. But, they fancied a southern pro to represent them. A traumatized golfer with flashbacks reluctantly commits to play in the tournament. In the middle of the night, he uncovers his abandoned and dusty clubs to hit golf balls in his backyard. While he chops away at the ball, out of nowhere, a mysterious man with suitcase in hand walks out from the countryside. With clever indifference, the stranger discreetly starts to coach the frustrated hacker.

Bagger Vance is the inexplicably wise caddie that teaches the troubled golfer how to reach deep inside and find his “authentic swing.” The caddie tells the conflicted golfer: “This is the authentic swing you were born with—the one you came into this world with—the authentic swing is all that you are! You’re just caught up with life’s ‘ought’s and should’s’.” The underlying message is not a new one. The heart’s message is about having the courage to examine self rather than remain self-righteous.

Uncertainty is an inevitable condition throughout life. We are in a time of second-guessing ourselves, reacting with knee-jerk reactions. Courage comes into play when you’re reflective. The essence of courage is a spiritual energy from the heart that in defining moments motivates a person to take action. Courage is much more complex than spontaneous reactions to traumatic events. Using courage as an ally means bundling a combination of courageous actions such as continually learning, persisting to be mindful of defining moments, and being 100% accountable for choices. Oftentimes, missed opportunities will never be seen again.
Without the development of courage, other virtues such as grace and humility will struggle to find their place. Courage is the umbrella to all the other virtues. Frankly, I am unwilling to let anyone else design my life!

Sandra Ford Walston is known as The Courage Expert. She is a leadership and organizational effective consultant and internationally published author of Courage. Call 303.696.1010 or email swalston@walstoncourage.com or visit www.walstoncourage.com.

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The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Narcissism and self-deception are survival mechanisms without which many of us might just jump off a bridge.
Todd Solondz