Tag Archives: embrace

Failure

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For years I was told, “you’re not invincible!” This coming from an person who hides behind their own fears. Have you ever met someone who continually told you could not do something? Dealing with someone with this mentality can be very harmful to your own psyche and can have lasting effect. My advice…run away as fast as you can or merely do not share your thoughts or ideas with them or anyone.

It is not a question invincibility or not, but belief in going beyond normal boundaries established by most. The majority being the 99% of the population that believes in boundaries laid before them. This did not stop Jabez when he prayed to God for expanding his boundaries, during a time of despair.

“Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory,

that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil,

that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

1 Chronicles 4:10

There is clearly a significant difference between those who believe in limits and those who redefine them. Michael Jordan cut from his High School basketball team, only to prove the world how wrong they were. Abraham Lincoln never stopped:

  • 1816: His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
  • 1818: His mother died.
  • 1831: Failed in business.
  • 1832: Ran for state legislature – lost.
  • 1832: Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
  • 1833: Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next17 yearsof his life paying off this debt.
  • 1834: Ran for state legislature again – won.
  • 1835: Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
  • 1836: Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
  • 1838: Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
  • 1840: Sought to become elector – defeated.
  • 1843: Ran for Congress – lost.
  • 1846: Ran for Congress again – this time he won – went to Washington and did a good job.
  • 1848: Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
  • 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
  • 1854: Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
  • 1856: Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than100 votes.
  • 1858: Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
  • 1860: Elected president of the United States.
  • 1864: Re-Elected.

With perseverance and determination, these famous people moved beyond the normal constraints and redefined their own boundaries. What was this magic formula?

“I didn’t fail. I just found 10,000 ways on how not to make a light-bulb.”

~Thomas Edison

Simple determination and a Dream of being something, others told them they were not, these nonconformists redefined the boundaries for the majority. One very big secret is they never told anyone their ideas until they were accomplished.

“Only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible.”

~Albert Einstein

In Tae Kwon Do basic tenets are taught: Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit. While all are noble, the greatest of these is indomitable spirit. Indomitable Spirit is the ability to go beyond when everyone else stops at the false boundaries established by the majority. Indomitable Spirit is a summary of the other 4 tenets.

Stepping into the Canvas with an Indomitable Spirit. Knowing that my words shared with  others can have a lasting effect on my goals, thereby allowing silence to lead the way until goals are met. Through perseverance and integrity, self-control and courtesy, we can harmoniously mingle with the majority while maintaining spirit. While the Pilgrim believes in the boundaries established by others, the Warrior breaks these boundaries…and redefines them for the rest.

The Pilgrim calls on others to aid, when the Warrior calls on His Creator…

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. -Philippians 4:13

Oneness

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Many spiritual traditions discuss oneness or becoming One with the Universe, but what does this mean? Oneness is a feeling a person gets when they see themselves as a Divine Creation part of the collective whole. They see themselves as everything or everyone around them, contemplating their every action as cause and effect. Their actions are carefully planned, as they may affect the next seven generations.

Judgment becomes a thing of the past with self-actualized people, as they see themselves as part of the collective body of the Universe. When they admire a quality in a person, they are admiring a part of themselves they like…or hope to emanate. In opposition, they show anger towards negative behavior mirroring negative parts of themselves. Referred to as the Shadow effect, Debbie Ford brought much awareness to this field of study. While the majority look in the mirror to see themselves, the self-actualized looks in the mirror and sees everyone else.

Looking beyond the mirror, we look beyond the flaws of the flesh. It is during the identifying process of our imperfections, that we gain perfection. The path of the enlightened is first seeing that we are not perfect. Next is seeing all imperfections as perfectly imperfect. When we see the collective whole as imperfectly perfect or vice versa, then we have found Oneness. Lao Tzu discussed The Way, Jesus discussed the Way, Buddha Discussed the Way, Zoroaster Discussed The Way, even Homer Simpson discussed The Way (ok, maybe not Homer Simpson but his distant cousin Homer, author of Iliad and the Odyssey). The result of The Way is…Oneness. We become One.

When we find oneness we essentially come to a place where “All Is Good.” No bitterness and only Unconditional Love. Co-creating the life we always dreamed of, we begin the descent down the river singing, “Row, Row, Row your boat. GENTLY down the stream. MERRILY (with much emphasis on merrily), MERRILY, MERRILY…Life is but a dream.”

Stepping into the Canvas singing this childhood song, paddling only when needed. Drifting effortlessly down the stream of Life, we no longer worry about when we will reach our destination or how we will get there. Instead, we Let Go and We Let God. Faith is our navigator, hope is our first mate, and Love is the name on the back of our boat.