We were living the process as we were creating it.*
Joseph Jaworski

Life is created by the onwards rush of life over the curved wing of the soul.**
Robert Macfarlane

There’s no foolproof plan,
I’ll never be ready,
But this desire is
soul-deep in me –
I might as well begin.

What will you begin today?

(You’re welcome to print off the doodle to colour while reflecting.)

*Joseph Jaworski’s Source;
**Robert Macfarlane’s The Old Ways.

We must also show him that the task he is responsible for is always a specific task. It is specific in a twin sense: one, that the task varies from person to person – in accord with the uniqueness of each person. Two, that it changes from hour to hour , in accord with the singularity of every situation.*
Viktor Frankl

May you and your responsibility be one,
May you become more responsible
for who you are and what you do.

Develop your skills but also
strengthen your core –
This will tire before your abilities let you down.

You are who you are, but
you will also be who you will be –
Growing, innovating, transforming.**

Don’t be tempted to pick up another’s responsibility –
That is theirs and this is yours:
This will never be theirs or anyone else’s.

*Viktor Frankl’s The Doctor and the Soul;
**Anna Katharina Schaffner highlights ten ancient arts for personal development and growth (the suggestions are mine:
Know Yourself: perhaps create a “portrait” of your abilities and character
Control Your Mind: you are the noticer of your thoughts
Let It Go: let go of whatever, thoughts, feelings, plans prevent us growing
Be Good: always look for opportunties to speak or to do goodness to another
Be Humble: admitting our gaps and flaws will enable us to grow more
Simplify: from a centre of silence, solitude, and slowness, strip away the unnecessary
Use Imagination: be playful, create stories, follow rabbit-holes, play games
Persevere: develop grit one more faithful act at a time
Mentalise: put yourself in another’s place, to see and understand their perspective
Be Present: experiment with unwiring and unplugging to be body, mind, and soul here.

In life, too, the peaks decide the meaningfulness of life, and a single moment can retroactively flood an entire life with meaning.*
Viktor Frankl

If you haven’t decided what to master, pick anything that scares you, fascinates you, or infuriates you. Don’t ask, “Is this the real me?” or “Is this my passion?” Those questions lead to endless searching and disappointment.**
Steven Pressfield

You are probably already experiencing some aspect or other of
what it is you want or need to focus on more with your life.

There’s a simple way for bringing these into sharper focus
so that you can explore them more, towards shaping them as your path.

Try carrying around a notebook or zine for a couple of weeks,
Making a note of the what, why, who, and when of your high energy moments.^

These will highlight the things you must do,^^
The activities and practices and rituals in which your abilities, energies, and values come together.*^

*Viktor Frankl’s The Doctor and the Soul;
**Steven Pressfield’s Do the Work;
^You are basically noticing what your body is noticing in terms of energy or excitement: What are you doing?, Why are you doing this?, Who are you doing it with or for?, and, When are you doing it (as in the beginning or end of something, or the time of day)?
^^You may also keep a list of the energy-draining moments, again in a what-why-who-when format. These become the things to avoid, or at least manage – and you will manage via your high energy abilities;
*^It is likely that we’ll begin to see how these things have arisen out of so much of our more difficult moments in life. As always, you can drop me a line if you think I can help: geoffrey@thinsilence.org.

Self-transcendence is the essence of existence. Being human is directed to something other than itself.*
Viktor Frankl

Am I my brother’s keeper? No, I am my brother’s brother.**
AleXander McManus

We thought it was all about us,
But, like water through our fingers,
Life is always seeping from us –
And yet, when we live for something else,
Someone else,
Like clay, life becomes
uniquely formable, satisfying,
Joyfully meaningful.

*Viktor Frankl’s The Will to Meaning;
**AleXander McManus in a session on Blue Moments, reflecting on Cain’s question to God.

There cannot be a ‘you’ without an ‘everything else,’ and attempting to think about one without the other makes no sense.*
Oliver Burkeman

Everything is relational, and ultimately, personal.**
AleXander McManus

None of us are done becoming;
The more we recognise and seek to
connect with the world of which we are a part –
Rather than apart –
The more we’ll experience our unrepeatable, imperfect,
But beautiful becoming, with
meaning, adventure, generosity, and love.

*Oliver Burkeman’s The Antidote;
**AleXander McManus speaking in a session on Blue Moments.

Medals are small things in the light of the stars […].   There’s only one thing in the world of any real importance, and that is goodness.**
Maria Mitchell

[Good’s] existence is the unmistakable sign that we are spirit creatures, attracted by excellence and made for the good.^
Iris Murdoch

It may not gain as many followers, register
as many hits, it may even go unnoticed, but
there will be a way in which you can bring
what you love to be about into the world
of another and make something better –
What is this for you?

*A play on the title of Jim Collin’s best-selling book Good to Great, with a choice between greatness and goodness, where goodness is notoriety and celebrity status, and goodness is making the world better;
**Maria Popova’s Figuring;
^Iris Murdoch’s The Sovereignty of Good.

When we set up pleasure as the whole meaning of life, we insure that in the final analysis life shall invariably be meaningless.*
Viktor Frankl

Our goals are often not even our own; we borrow them from peers, celebrities, and what we imagine society expects from us. French philosopher René Girard called this mimetic desire: we desire something because we see others desiring it … our goals mimic the goals of others.**
Anne-Laure Le Cunff

There’s no escaping it –
or is there?

In many ways I am the product of
a wealthy Western culture.

And more: I am a sixty six year old
white male married for forty five years.

My list could go on,
But no-one is a list.

We will ultimately be defined by
our curiosity, openness, and ability to change.

When we learn from others – cultures, genders, ages, species –
We reset our limits:^

Here’s where our role as an author becomes vital. The constraints of your life are the womb of your creativity.^

*Viktor Frankl’s The Doctor and the Soul;
**Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s Tiny Experiments;
^I just wish it could make me younger;
^^AleXander McManus’ FutureU.

Worry less about making a mark. Worry more about leaving things better than you found them.*
Austin Kleon

“Yes” is magical. It brings possibility and forward motion. But it’s almost impossible without “no” and can be just as frightening … Getting to know requires caring enough to make a difference and being brave enough to tell the truth.**
Seth Godin

One day,
We’ll want to say “yes” to
the thing we really must do,
But if this is simply a yes added to
all the other yeses then
it’s probably not going to happen,
At some point
we’re going to have to say
“no” –
The really important stuff
demands our soul.

*Austin Kleon’s Keep Going;
**Seth Godin’s blog: Getting to no.

Happy is the man who can make others better, not merely when he is in their company, but even. when he is in their thoughts.*
Seneca

We’ve built a circle of reactions about the latin word for ‘throw’ but we rarely say the word itself. When we ject on behalf of others, creating possibility and connection, the effort pays off.**
Seth Godin

Does this [idea/thought/gift/action] come from the best me I can be?
Will it really improve the life of another?
Especially those who are different to me?

Before we throw something “in there” or “out there,”
It’s going to be helpful to search for the truth and
be open to some surprise and redirection.

*Ryan Holiday’s Discipline is Destiny;
**Seth Godin’s blog: Ject!

You’re doing it wrong.  But at least you’re doing it.  Once you’re doing it, you have a chance to do it better.  Waiting for perfect means not starting.*
Seth Godin

Doodles are a great way of reminding myself that
I don’t need perfect, I only
need to begin –
I didn’t know what this was going to be
until I started,
Then a 1970s sitcom came to mind,
Leading me to the problem with perfection …
And the great thing about doodling.

*Seth Godin’s blog: “You’re doing it wrong.”