When things have gotten really crappy for me, and that seems to be a frequently re-ocurring experience, I like to remind myself of two “truths.”  The first is that “the past does not equal the future.”  I have Big Tony to thank for that one.  The other is that “now is not forever.”  I came up with that zinger myself.  It seems that when things do get bad, we have a tendency to slip into patterns of thought that are the direct opposite of my “truths.”  I put “truth” in quotes because it doesn’t matter if either of those statements is actually true or false.  What matters is that they both can serve to help me out of the hole.  Thinking that the past always repeats and that things will never change will only keep me stuck deep down in there.  And believe me when I say that there are plenty who will happily help by picking up a shovel and throwing some dirt in.  Why is it that when you are down some folks relish in keeping you that way?  I guess because it makes them feel better about themselves to be able to look down upon you.  My last post was a lament about how horrible this month of July has been for me.  So far it hasn’t gotten any better, until today.  Today’s post is my attempt to begin climbing out of the hole I fell in around July 4th by reminding myself of those two truths.  Already the vultures are circling.  Will this be the one that does old Scott in, finally. they are asking themselves?  No it won’t.  Because you see, I may be pretty good at getting myself down into those holes.  It is the result of being someone who doesn’t commit lightly and who is not afraid of risk.  But I am also someone who clings to those two positive thinking truths that will either pull me out, or provide a shovel and a light for me to keep digging deeper until I strike gold.

The other day I found out that one of my employees has become interested in the teachings of motivational guru, Anthony Robbins. I dusted off my “Personal Power II” tapes that I purchased back in 1995, when I was about to embark on a major career change, and presented them to him. He, in his early 30’s, asked me, puzzled, if those were actually “cassette tapes?” A lot has taken place in my life since I first listened to those tapes. They did have a profound effect on my actions over the ensuing years. And that is what Robbins is all about….motivating you to take action. But now it seems that the “something magical” that happens when we get off our duffs and take action, really might be “something scientific.” These days whole new theories about how to create the life of your dreams have cropped up that are intertwined with some pretty “weird science.” But that “weird science” consists of cutting edge theories about how the universe operates. I’m speaking of quantum physics…that all matter is made of atoms, that atoms are in essence energy and that energy is made of pure consciousness, or thought. The so-called “law of attraction” is based on the idea that our thoughts create our physical reality. Not just in how they motivate us to take action, which is where Robbins always placed his focus. No, they actually “create” our reality….in other words, we can “think” our desired reality into existence. But if that is true, then why don’t I have everything I want right now? It seems that if you take any desired state of being that is not yet physically present, you can break down the process of bringing it into existence into five components. Those are (1) thought; (2) visualization; (3) action (planning and execution); (4) time; and (5) circumstances. The first three are completely under my dominion and control. The latter two are not. But is that necessarily true? Can we influence time and circumstances? Who or what is in control of those components, or is anyone? If you take as an example, getting into great physical shape, it seems that we can greatly influence time and circumstances. The more we focus our thought, visualization and action towards the goal of physical conditioning, the more we can influence the time interval and circumstances (such as sickness and injury) that could interfere with the accomplishment of the goal. But take another, more complicated, goal, like “success in business.” It seems that the factor that is most “out of our control” are the decisions of potential customers, who have their own thoughts, visualizations and actions geared towards creating their own physical states. According to the new quantum metaphysics and the law of attraction, we may be able to create our desired physical state with thought, but what about all those other thoughts that are trying to create physical states that may be in conflict with ours? Since the physical world we observe seems to be fairly stable, there must be some thoughts that dominate others to the point that their desired state wins? And where does the role of “God’s will” come into play in all of this? Is that another overriding component that I forgot to mention above? Does God just “step aside” and allow dominant thoughts to prevail in creating the universe, or does he play a more active role? I don’t have the answers to any of this, but it is intriguing to think about it.  I need the brain power of a Chris Langan to help me sort out all this “spooky action at a distance.” But it does appear that the more focused our thoughts, visualizations and, ultimately, actions are, the more we are able to influence time and circumstances in bringing about a desired state.

Things people do sometimes really piss me off, you know? I can remember certain events in history that really got me mad, fighting mad. Events like the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. When I saw those guys pull the man from the truck and smash a brick against his head, I wanted to kill those MFs. When I saw video clips of that plane smashing into the World Trade Center, I had the same visceral reaction. I picked up a book this morning by the religious writer and author, Charles Swindoll. I began to read it and quickly realized it must have been written around the time of September 11th, because Swindoll immediately launched into a tirade against those who perpetrated the act, saying that no hell is hot enough for them to burn in. But these days it seems I have learned, or I am learning, to see things from a different perspective. I guess living in a foreign country does that to you. You see, folks here in Costa Rica, while they are fairly fond of the U.S., don’t really see things the same way. For other countries and peoples, the U.S. is not the one country on this earth blessed by God and vaulted to a position of world preeminence. The fact that the U.S. has the weight of the proverbial 800 pound gorilla to throw around isn’t regarded by folks here as a redeeming quality. There are no excuses for brutal and senseless acts of violence like the two mentioned above. The direct perpetrators should be punished, no questions asked. But it is a worthwhile endeavor to try to understand the perspectives that motivated the acts, rather than just adopting the attitude that their’s (perspective, that is) is wrong and our’s is right. When the event of September 11th occurred I was on the big island of Hawaii attending an event by motivational speaker and author, Anthony Robbins. Robbins’ reaction to the event is something I will never forget. Robbins changed the format that day and instead opened up a forum where participants could express their feelings. A Jewish man from New York expressed his outrage and condemned the Muslim faith for condoning violence. A Muslim from Pakistan expressed his understanding for the feelings that would drive young Muslims to engage in such a homicidal suicide mission. Robbins proceeded to have both men come to the stage and for the next several hours took them on a journey of “out-of-self-discovery.” As only Robbins can do, he coaxed and cajoled each man into stepping into the other’s shoes. By the end both adopted a much better understanding of the other’s perpective. It seems to me that so much violence and mayhem takes place in the world due to our refusal to look at things from any other viewpoint than our own. This is especially true when it comes to either religious or political viewpoints. Instead we get stuck in this we’re right and they’re wrong sort of thinking that provides an excuse for us to try to force our way of thinking on them. It never works and usually the results of this effort are disastrous. I believe a better way is just to accept that the world is a complex and diverse place. It is simply illogical to think that any one part of it is blessed and ordained by God and the rest condemned. God created all of it. I believe if we can learn to at least try, as hard as it might be, to stand in someone else’s shoes and see things from their perspective, even though it is dramatically different from our own, we can understand them (and they us) and thus find a way to peacefully co-exist. And maybe, just maybe, the process of doing so will help us become a bit more ”perspicacious.”

Several years ago, I believe it was early 2001, I attended a seminar by the master of motivation, Anthony Robbins. The seminar was called “Date with Destiny.” I have to admit it was a very impactful experience and in many ways marked a change in the course of my life that continues to this day. The one thing that had the strongest lasting impact was my development of a “statement of purpose” for my life. It was supposed to be a constitution of sorts that would guide all my life’s goals. In the same way that the Congress can never make laws that contravene the constitution, I could never set goals that would take me in a different direction than what my life’s purpose demanded. Since that time I have set and re-set goals for my life many times over. However, I have never changed that statement and it remains a guiding force in my life. I have always kept it in a very personal place and have been reluctant to divulge its contents to anyone other than those that have my complete trust. After all it is important to me and I don’t desire to subject it to criticism or ridicule…..it is my personal statement developed at a time when I was highly emotionally charged to write it to have profound meaning for me. However, since I have divulged so much information in this blog, which in many ways has served as a catharsis for me, I will take the bold step of presenting it here in this post. So here goes…..the purpose of my life is to be a vessel overflowing with abundant life and to pour it out so that others might be fulfilled. In the past couple years I began to look at that statement and question exactly what I meant by “abundant life.” Was it life in some religious sense, or in the secular realm, or a combination of both? So I came up with the following statement of what the term “abundant life” means to me. Abundant life is a life constrained only by a sincere desire to be and to do good and to have a positive influence on this world. These statements are meant to form a signal, or road sign if you will, that constantly directs me towards a pre-determined course. The overriding goal is to finally reach the end of that course (and we all know what that means….cuz we’re all going to reach that end some day) and be able to look back and say, yea, even though there were many detours along the way, I did stay consistent with that general direction. I am proud that my statement is not all about me. Because our lives should not be all about us. There is a world out there that we were put here to have an influence on. And as Robbins often says, that influence can either be as an example, or as a warning. I guess it could also be a little bit of both, as mine certainly has been. At the age of 48 and considering that longevity fortunately has “run in the family,” I am a little more than half-way through the journey. The post of a few days ago (Mired in Mediocrity) may have given the signal that I am woefully dissatisfied with my life. Matías, one of my employees here at Package Costa Rica, read that post and commented that he thought I was being way too hard on myself. I guess he’s right. The idea that my life is at this point “mediocre” had much to do with feelings about materiality. That “materially” I am not where I would like to be. But my purpose statement really has nothing at all to do with material, now does it? I could die completely destitute and still have fulfilled it. In fact, the whole idea that “he who dies with the most toys wins” is completely contrary to my statement of purpose. It is more about giving than taking. So I guess I will “take” back what I said in that post about my life being “mired in mediocrity.” It was just me throwing a little personal pity party. There are so many non-material things that I have right now that I should be thankful for. I am also grateful to have a statement of purpose that inspires me in good times, as well as those not so “good.” What’s your purpose? Do you know? Shouldn’t you know?