As Nietzsche put it, if you have a why to live, you can bear almost any how. Our values make all the difference to whether we see ourselves as ‘miserable slaves to a baby dictator’ or as ‘lovingly nurturing a new life’. There is an important cognitive and ethical component to happiness. Professor, historian, and philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, draws on his study of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21 st century in, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind to observe, “happiness consists in seeing one’s life in its entirety as meaningful and worthwhile. Without hesitation, Renoir answered, “the pain is momentary, but the art will last.” A friend asked why he imposed such pain and inconvenience upon himself. To continue expressing himself through his painting, he had his brushes strapped to his wrists. But his voice wouldn’t be silenced that easily. Toward the end of his life, impressionistic painter Auguste Renoir had severe arthritis in his hands. The ancient Roman poet, Horace, poses a core being question, “why do you hasten to remove anything which hurts your eye, while if something affects your soul, you postpone the cure until next year?”įrank is exploring how our work is a way we can be true to our souls. The people with the deepest and most meaningful lives are those who have found and used their inner voice. Their art becomes an expression of that inner self. What you do with your talent is your gift to God.”Īrtists, writers, and performers often talk about finding their voice. Your special talent is God’s gift to you. He writes, “Everyone has a special purpose, a special talent or gift to give to others, and it is your duty to discover what it is. We become truer to our ego than our soul.Ĭhild of the Dawn: A Magical Journey of Awakening, is a parable by Gautama Chopra, based on work by his father, Deepak Chopra. We provide for our bodily needs while starving our souls. We become human doings rather than human beings. We rush around trying to do and have it all. Too often, our “dash” becomes a mad dash. I’ve become too busy reaching for the future to enjoy the moment.” Suddenly he turned to me with wonderment in his voice and said, “Dad, do you ever have those seconds when it just clicks in your head that everything is perfect?” I thought for a minute and then replied, “Not as often as I used to. We had the windows down and sunroof open as we listened to the world’s greatest baseball team - the Toronto Blue Jays - beating up the Yankees again. One warm June evening, we were driving home from a game. philosopher and poet, George Santayana, once said, “there is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval.” For many years I helped coach our son Chris’ baseball team. What really matters most to me, he asked himself. But how I live now is completely up to me. I didn’t choose my date of birth, and unless I take things into my own hands, I won’t get to choose the day I die, Frank reflected. Thinking about his own “dash” gave Frank a path to follow in his search for meaning. Under the person’s name it read the date of birth, dash, and the date the person passedīut the more I think about the tombstone, the important thing is the dash.” The meaning behind what is there for others to see. “I’ve seen my share of tombstones but never took the time to truly read. At the heart of the poem are four lines that really jumped out at Frank. Frank learned that the legendary Notre Dame football coach closed many of his speaking engagements by reading this poem. Part 4 in a series: Let’s Be Frank about Spirit and MeaningĪs he struggled to deal with what he was now calling his “trapped emptiness,” Frank came across a poem entitled “The Dash.” It was written by a former player and student of Lou Holtz.
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