March 01, 2005
Man cannot remake himself without suffering. For he is both the marble and the sculptor.--Alexis Carrell
But the focus of today's thought is sculpting: The exhibition features the conservation of a statue of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled the Roman Empire from A.D. 161 to 180...
A sculptor begins with an unformed piece of marble. He must be able to envision what he wants to create. Then, armed with tools and courage, he begins to chink away at the marble he does not need. Every day he examines how it looks and what he wants it to become.
How true it is that every one of us who is trying to be a better person is like the sculptor. We envision who we want to be and what kind of qualities we believe in. Some of these qualities might be kindness, good self-esteem, the ability to love and feel loved.
If we are honest, we must also look with the artist's eye at our faults. We might see some jealousy and resentment, or feelings of superiority. Our faults, human as they are, are like unwanted marble that keeps our most loving selves from taking shape. Carving away at our faults is hard work, and sometimes even hurts. Yet we do not do this work alone--we can only do it with he help of our God. What can I chisel away today?
We can learn to control our reactions. Our bruised egos often push us to respond to other people in hurtful, thoughtless ways. Yet taking a moment to remember that everyone touched by an event has a different perspective helps us remain silent when our egos want to scream.
Deciding who is right and who is wrong wastes many precious moments every twenty-four hours. What we can learn in the program is that no one has to be right or wrong. We can decide, instead, that we'd rather be peaceful and let others have their own opinions.
We experience a rush of exhilarating freedom each time we back away from an unnecessary confrontation. The first few times we back away we may be uncomfortable, because arguing had become our habit. But we can make a habit too of not arguing. Serenity and empowerment will be the rewards.
No one makes me argue.
Reading this quote today reminded me of a trip we took two years ago to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. It is amazing what wealth can bring into one's life and into the lives of others... On one hand this billion-dollar legacy to the life and lifestyle of a very rich man stands open to all. Carving out a hillside and history in the making. I wrestled with the thoughts of self-serving interests and a family who would open the doors to unobtainable riches to the world. Think about a man who collected works dating from 250 B.C. to the 6th century A.D., highlighting Greek and Roman antiquities and the likes of Rembrandt or Gainsborough.
But the focus of today's thought is sculpting: The exhibition features the conservation of a statue of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, who ruled the Roman Empire from A.D. 161 to 180...
A sculptor begins with an unformed piece of marble. He must be able to envision what he wants to create. Then, armed with tools and courage, he begins to chink away at the marble he does not need. Every day he examines how it looks and what he wants it to become.
How true it is that every one of us who is trying to be a better person is like the sculptor. We envision who we want to be and what kind of qualities we believe in. Some of these qualities might be kindness, good self-esteem, the ability to love and feel loved.
If we are honest, we must also look with the artist's eye at our faults. We might see some jealousy and resentment, or feelings of superiority. Our faults, human as they are, are like unwanted marble that keeps our most loving selves from taking shape. Carving away at our faults is hard work, and sometimes even hurts. Yet we do not do this work alone--we can only do it with he help of our God. What can I chisel away today?
We can learn to control our reactions. Our bruised egos often push us to respond to other people in hurtful, thoughtless ways. Yet taking a moment to remember that everyone touched by an event has a different perspective helps us remain silent when our egos want to scream.
Deciding who is right and who is wrong wastes many precious moments every twenty-four hours. What we can learn in the program is that no one has to be right or wrong. We can decide, instead, that we'd rather be peaceful and let others have their own opinions.
We experience a rush of exhilarating freedom each time we back away from an unnecessary confrontation. The first few times we back away we may be uncomfortable, because arguing had become our habit. But we can make a habit too of not arguing. Serenity and empowerment will be the rewards.
No one makes me argue.
I have chosen to.
Today I will be quiet and peaceful and let others have their own opinions.
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