Home » Archive for March 2011

Adages of Wisdom Quotes by Master Sheng Yen

The deeper our compassion, the greater our wisdom and the fewer our vexations.

***

Simply deal with matters with wisdom and treat people with compassion, without worrying about personal gain or loss. Then we'll never be plagued by vexations.

***

To let the circumstances dictate one's state of mind is human; to let the mind dictate the circumstances is sage.

***

A big duck cuts a big wake; a small duck cuts a small wake. Big or small, each duck will paddle its own way to the other shore—but only if it paddles.

***

If the mountain won't move, build a road around it. If the road won't turn, change your path. If you are unable to even change your path, just transform your mind.

***

Diligence doesn't mean stretching beyond our limits. It means displaying unremitting persistence.

***
You have read this article Inspirational Quotes / Inspirational Wisdom with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/adages-of-wisdom-quotes-by-master-sheng.html. Thanks!

Norman Vincent Peale


"Imagination is the true magic carpet."












Author, Minister


1898 - 1993






 



Our minds are very powerful.  What we imagine, think and say can impact what we do.  Creative leaders should use their imagination not only for their creative work, but also for their personal lives.  Can you see yourself as a successful writer, artist or actor?  Can you see yourself sitting at a desk typing that great novel or standing at a easel painting your best painting?





Do you want to change some habit or relationship?  Begin by imagining yourself in a new role or relationship.  See yourself successfully behaving in a new way.  We call this positive visualization.  Most of us already do negative visualization.  Do you ever worry about the future?  Worry is a negative form of visualization.





Through the process of visualization we can change who we are.  This is the power of positive thinking.  The easiest thing in the world is to be negative.  It takes a lot more will power to be positive in a negative world.  I challenge you to take five minutes each day and visualize your success.










You have read this article American Speakers / American Writer / Habits / imagination / language / magic / norman vincent peale / Visualization with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/norman-vincent-peale.html. Thanks!

Marian Wright Edelman


"Remember your roots, your history, and the forebearers' shoulders on which you stand.  And pass these roots on to your children and to other children."















American Author and

Founder, Children's Defense Fund


1939 - 











As writers, artists, dancers and actors, we need to know our roots, our history and the people on whose shoulders we stand.  To whom do we owe a deep debt of gratitude for paving the way.  Who are your mentors?  Those who have taught you about your profession?  Have you said thank you?





And have you passed on your knowledge onto others?  Have you been a teacher or a mentor?  Do you readily share your knowledge or do you keep your knowledge hidden?  Age and years of experience do not matter.  Even the novice has something to teach the master.  Any master who does not feel he can still learn something is not a true master.  We all must be open to new experiences and new ways of thinking.





This quote also applies to our family history.  On whose shoulders do you stand?  Were you like me to be the first in your family to attend college?  To whom do you owe thanks for who you became.  Without your parents, your grandparents or your great-grand parents, you would not be here.  Do you know your family history?  Have you collected your family stories?  Have you passed those stories onto your children and your grandchildren?
You have read this article American Writer / Family / Gratitude / Knowledge / Learning / Marian Wright Edelman / Mentors / Teacher with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/marian-wright-edelman.html. Thanks!

Benjamin Spock


"Trust yourself.  You know more than you think you do."












American Pediatrician, Author


1903 - 1998





 









Spock wrote these words to the mothers of baby boomers in his best selling book, Baby and Child Care, and he launched a generation.  And his advice is just as important to creative leaders.  As artistic people, we need learn to trust ourselves -- our intuition.  The knowledge we have to write, to draw and to act is inside of us.  We need to learn to hear that small voice when it speaks and then to do what it says.  Too often we second guess ourselves and do what we think we should do.





Believe in yourself.  Believe in your talent.  Believe in your creative gift.  Believe in that small voice deep inside.  If you learn to trust yourself, you will be successful.
You have read this article American Writer / Attitude / Beliefs / Benjamin Spock / Encouragement / faith / trust / Voices with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/benjamin-spock.html. Thanks!

John Maxwell


"The fear of rejection or failure creates inaction."












American Author, Speaker


1947 - 


















Fear is a very powerful force that affects the lives of most creative leaders.  Some people are afraid to leave their houses.  Some people like me are afraid of heights.  Others are afraid of elevators.  This list could go on and on.  A person who claims that he is not afraid of anything is either delusional or a liar.  We are all afraid of something. 





It takes courage to look fear in the face and still do something when you are afraid.  If you give into fear, you will freeze on the spot and not move.  Creative leaders face a lot of rejection of their ideas and work.  But we must keep going.  What is the worst thing that can happen?  People don't like us.  So what?  Every famous writer, artist, singer or actor has people who don't like them.  No one is liked by everyone.  So why should you and me expect to be liked by everyone?  In fact, think about the famous people whom you don't like.  You, in a sense are rejecting them.



I learned a powerful lesson from a professional speaker.  He told me that 10% of your audience will not like you.  They may not like the color of your hair.  Or the sound of your voice.  Or the tie you are wearing.  And it has held true for me.  Ten percent of my audience don't like my loud voice.  So I focus on the other 90%.  I don't let my fear of rejection prevent me from speaking.



Rejection is a good thing.  It keeps us humble.  We are not perfect so we shouldn't let success go to our heads.  It lets us know that we are ahead of our time.  We have found people who don't like our work and that is okay.  So don't let fear stop you from creating and producing new work.



(For those who read my blog regularly, I apologize for not leaving an entry yesterday.  I have spent the last two days in the hospital because of dehydration.  I checked out about three hours ago and am healthy again.)
You have read this article Acceptance / Actor / American Speakers / American Writer / Artist / Courage / Creative Leaders / Failure / Fame / Fear / Humility / John Maxwell / Perfection / Writer with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/john-maxwell.html. Thanks!

William James


"The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated."












American Philosopher and Writer


1842 - 1910














When was the last time you received a compliment?  Today?  Last week?  Last month?  When was the last time you gave someone a compliment?



We all have a need to appreciated and thanked for what we do.  Unfortunately, our society is very poor at delivering compliments and praise.  And people praise artists and writers even less.  If you want to receive more compliments, you must give more compliments.  We live in a very negative world where people feel it is kool to be in your face putting you down.  If we are going to change the world, we must first change ourselves.





I know that many writer groups are very negative and hostile.  They seem to enjoy tearing each others work to shreds.  And that does nothing but discourage the new writer.  Writers need a lot of support, encouragement and nourishing.  I don't believe in criticism -- negative or positive.  Most writers and artists are their own worst critics.  They can tell you all the things that they did wrong before you do.



I challenge you to look for the good in others and compliment them on what they do good.  Compliment the good you see in their writing or their art.  Be sincere and honest.  Don't lie.  Even in the worst of painting you should be able to find something to compliment honestly.  So start today.  Don't wait.  It will cost nothing, but the positive rewards will be great.
You have read this article American Writer / Appreciation / Challenge / Change / Compliments / people / William James with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/william-james.html. Thanks!

Michael Chabon




"A book itself threatens to kill its author repeatedly during it composition."












American Novelist


1963 - 











Do you an unfinished novel laying on a shelf in your office?  Do you have unfinished paintings hidden in a closet somewhere?  I spent 4 years working on a novel before I quit to write a book on pet loss with my wife.  Many published and unpublished writers have books they have never finished.  And the same is true with painters.  In fact, painters often paint over old paintings.





In an essay, Burn Before Reading, recently published in the New York Times Book Review (March 6, 2011), Dan Kois identifies a few novelists with unfinished novels. 




  • Saul Bellow

  • Truman Capote

  • Michael Chabon

  • Junot Diaz

  • Jennifer Egan

  • Nikolai Gogol

  • Chang-rae Lee

  • Harper Lee

  • Richard Price

  • John Updike

  • Evelyn Waugh





So take heart, my friend!  You are not the only one who did not finish a novel, a painting, a song or a poem.  The difference between those who are successful and those who are not is the successful artists and writers keep creating new works even if the old ones are not finished.  So keep writing.  Keep painting.
You have read this article American Writer / Determination / Discipline / Failure / Heart / hope / Michael Chabon / painting / Persistence / Progress / Writing with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/michael-chabon.html. Thanks!

Be A One-Day Good Person

An inspirational conversation between Confucius and his disciples :

Confucius : "We may do whatever we like in our lifetime ; steal, kill, torture, rape, cheat, whatever ......"

One disciple replied : "Wow...it sounds great ! But what are the conditions required for it ?"

Confucius : "The condition is very easy. You can do evil for the rest of your life, but just one day before your death, be a good person."

Disciple : "But Master, we do not know when we will die."


Confucius : "Therefore, suppose that tomorrow you will die. Be a good person today ...!"
You have read this article Inspirational Wisdom / Inspirational Words with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/be-one-day-good-person.html. Thanks!

George Bellows


"The ideal artist is he who knows everything, feels everything, experiences everything, and retains his experience in a spirit of wonder and feeds upon it with creative lust."















American Painter


1882 - 1925













Dempsey and Firpo

(1924)


Do you experience the world in a spirit of wonder?  Are you surprised by the things that happen or have you become cynical and negative?  A creative leader must be like a young child soaking up life and enjoying every moment of it.  Everything that happens to us — good, bad and indifferent — is fuel for our creative lust.  I don't believe artists and writers experience the world at a deeper level then other people.  It's more they have learned to use that experience to feed their creativity.






Creativity is both sexual and sensuous.  When we are painting and writing, we have a deep desire to create, to give birth.  We can feel the lust in our loins, the joy in our hearts.  How powerful is your desire to create?  Can you feel it deep within your body?  Does every part of you tingle with excitement?  Can you taste the lips of your lover?  
















You have read this article American Artists / Creative Expression / Creative Leaders / creativity / Desire / George Bellows / Passion / Sex with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/george-bellows.html. Thanks!

A. S. Neill


"Take from others what you want, but never be a disciple of anyone."












Scottish Educator, Writer


1883 - 1973











Life is about learning and everyone we encounter, whether in the virtual world or the physical world, has something to teach us, but no one is the master of all knowledge and wisdom.  No one deserves our devotion or discipleship.  We need to each independently investigate truth for ourselves.  We need to come to our own conclusions.  If we choose to blindly follow one person, we have failed ourselves.  We have let ourselves down.





From time to time in my life, I have wished I knew someone who had all the answers and I could sit at his feet and soak in his wisdom.  But I have never encountered that person and I have had to depend on my own thoughts and wisdom.  I have had to learn to investigate what truth is for myself.  And sometimes I make mistakes and sometimes I get it right.





People often feel they need heroes and gurus.  They keep looking for THE answer.  We put people on a pedestal and when we discovered their actions don't match their words, we tear them down.  We punish them for leading us a stray.  What we fail to realize is that there are no perfect people — no wise men sitting on a hill, only fools trying to get by.





As artists and writers, we must be careful not to worship other artists and writers, not to put them on pedestals.  We need to independently investigate what they have to teach and then make our own choices.  Truth is a slippery slope.  What we believe to be true today we may discover tomorrow was an illusion.





For your listening pleasure, here is one of my favorite Beatles song:  Fool on the Hill.














You have read this article A. S. Neill / Beatles / British Writers / Disciple / Discovery / education / Flaws / Gurus / Illusion / Imperfections / Inconsistencies / Independent Investigation / Knowledge / Learning / Teacher / truth / Wisdom with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/a-s-neill.html. Thanks!

Paulo Coelho


"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it."












Brazilian Novelist


1947 -











When one door closes, another one opens.  There is a method buried within the madness of the world.  The universe wants us to succeed, to find our way home, to taste the fruit of the vine.  Yet most of us do not listen with our hearts.  We hear only the shrill sounds bombarding our ears.  To be successful, we must first understand the power of desire.





Do you have the passion to be a creative leader?  Do you desire to write?  Then write as if your life depended on it.  Do you desire to paint?  Then paint as if your heart will explode if you don't put paint to canvas.  When our actions are aligned with our passion, then the universe opens and we are lifted into the heavens.  We are able to find beauty in the mundane like a jar of pickles, a can of tuna or a bottle of orange juice.  





When one door opens, another one closes.  The end can be found in the beginning.  We all travel circles within circles.  And nothing changes but what must remain the same.  So believe that your gift of creativity is yours to share with the universe and accept that the universe is a flower within your heart.


















You have read this article Achievement / Brazilian Writers / Desire / Passion / Paulo Coelho / Universe with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/paulo-coelho.html. Thanks!

Suzanne Valadon


"I paint with the stubbornness I need for living, and I've found that all painters who love their art do the same."












French Painter


1865 - 1938














Suzanne Valadon was the daughter of an unmarried laundress.  When she was 15, she joined the circus, but was forced to quit a year later after falling off a trapeze.  She eventually became a model for artists including Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec where she studied their artistic techniques.  She is best known for painting female nudes but also painted landscapes, florals and still life.  She sometimes worked as long as 13 years on a painting before showing it in public.





To be a creative artist, you need to be persistent because many obstacles will get in your way including your own need for perfection.  The creative journey is only for the stubborn.  How long are you willing to work at your painting?  Your writing?  Your acting?  Or do you give into family pressure?  Societal pressure?  





What are you willing to sacrifice for your creative work?  What are you willing to give up?  Life is never easy and the same is true for the creative leader.  There are many days when you will take one step forward and three backwards.  Do you have the stubbornness to keep going even when you see very little light at the end of the tunnel?





Suzanne Valadon was the model for these paintings by Renoir:







Dance At Bougival











You have read this article Creative Journey / Creative Leaders / Determination / Discipline / French Artists / Landscape / Obstacles / Passion / patience / Perfection / Persistence / Suzanne Valadon with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/suzanne-valadon.html. Thanks!

Pablo Picasso


"There is nothing more interesting than people.  One paints and one draws to learn to see people, to see oneself."












Spanish Artist


1881 - 1973













La Vie
(1903)


For me, people are central to being a creative leader.  The stories that writers share are about people and their relationships.  When I speak on leadership, I talk about leadership being defined as people working with and through people.  I love paintings and photographs that involve people.  People communicate so much meaning through their expressions and gestures.  I find people fascinating because in them I see bits and pieces of myself.  Through interactions with others I learn more about myself.  People teach me important lessons that I need to learn.





If I were the only human remaining on this planet, life would be boring.  When I was young, I thought I would like to be a hermit and withdraw from the world, but I no longer feel that way.  I do need people.  Having said that, I must confess that I am still an introvert.  What that means is that many people take energy from me and I must have alone time to restore my energy.  Extroverts by nature enjoy people and are re-energized by being with people.  After spending two hours in a mall, I am exhausted and must withdraw to replace my energy and recharge my spirit.  One of the few places where I can be re-energized by people is when I am speaking in front of an audience.  Some audiences will take the energy that I give out when I speak and return it to me ten-fold.  Other audiences will absorb my energy and suck me dry.





Who are the people in your life?  Do they help restore your energy or do they drain your energy?  What about the people in your stories, your paintings and your songs?  Are your relationships positive and life-giving?  Or are your relationships toxic and destructive?  What are the people in your life teaching you?  Even the most difficult people in our lives are there to teach us lessons.  What are you learning about yourself?  And what are you teaching the people in your life?






You have read this article Energy / Extroverts / face / Introverts / Learning / Pablo Picasso / people / Relationships / Spanish Artists / Speaker / Spirit / story / Writing with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/pablo-picasso.html. Thanks!

Robert M. Persig


"To live only for some future goal is shallow.  It's the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top."












American Writer


1928 - 











Those of us who set goals sometimes get so caught up in the goal that we live only in tomorrow's world and forget about today.  We think that when we publish our first book or sell our first painting that everything will be perfect.  The future that we imagine is never what we thought it would be.  We still carry the negative baggage that we have today into the future.  If we have marital problems today, we probably will still have them tomorrow.  We need to learn to live with ourselves no matter what our living conditions are.  Whether we are poor or rich, we are still the same person.  If we are unhappy when we are poor, we will be unhappy when we are rich.  Learn to be happy now.  Enjoy the moment.





Have you stopped to smell the roses today?  Spring is just around the corner and the hard winter of 2011 is sliding out the door.  Are you finding joy in the moment?  Have you seen the first robins or the red-wing blackbirds?  Have you given those you love a hug and told them that you love them?  Take a walk today.  Taste the wind on your lips.  Smell the fresh air.  Dance with the rain drops.





Goals are important but they should not dominate our lives to the point that we ignore the beauty around us.  Don't live in the future because it has not come yet.  Don't live in the past because it has already gone.  Live in the moment where you are.  Love yourself for who you are now.
You have read this article American Writer / Goals / If Only Thinking / imagination / Imperfections / Robert Persig / Spring / Zen with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/robert-m-persig.html. Thanks!

Eugene Delacroix


"Finishing a painting demands a heart of steel: everything requires a decision, and I find difficulties where I least expect them. . . . It is at such moments that one fully realizes one's own weaknesses."












French Artist


1796 - 1863













Greece Expiring on the Ruins
of Messolonghi
(1826)


In one of my filing cabinets is a novel that I spent four years writing but never finished.  As artists and  writers, we often start projects but never finish them.  Sometimes we lose interest.  Sometimes we are not happy with the outcome.  It does not match what we see in our mind's eye.  Sometimes we are afraid to finish — afraid to make the necessary decisions.  The joy and excitement is in the creation of something new.  The hard work is in finishing.





What paintings have you not finished?  What songs have you stopped writing?  What stories lay buried in a drawer unfinished?  Maybe it is time to pick up the manuscript or the painting and try again.  Approach it from a new angle, a new perspective.





Then again, maybe it is okay not to finish the work.  Maybe we were just practicing, preparing ourselves for greater work yet to come.  So don't beat yourself up because you didn't finish.  Things come to fruition in their own time, not our time.
You have read this article Creative Journey / Eugene Delacroix / Failure / Fear / French Artists / Obstacles / Stumbling Blocks with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/eugene-delacroix.html. Thanks!

David Frost


"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."












British Journalist, Writer


1939 -











There is a paradox here.  If you seek success, you rarely find it.  If you do what you love, you will be successful even if it is not in the way that you imagined it.  As I grow older, I begin to define success less as money and fame and more as loving relationships.  The same is true of my artistic work.  It becomes less about the money and fame, then it is about the process of creating.





What is your passion?  What is your love?  Are you following your passion?  Are you doing what you love even if it is for only five minutes a day.  I dreamed for years of writing full time, but it was not to be.  But I have spent lots of hours writing.  The value is in the writing, the creating, not in doing it full time.  I challenge you to find 15 minutes every day to do what you love.  Don't wait until you can do it full time because it might never happen.  Do it now and success will follow.  Just be ready for the unexpected.  If life throws you a wrench when you are making other plans, just tighten the bolts and keep going.
You have read this article Attitude / Beliefs / British Writers / creativity / David Frost / Fame / Fortune / greatness / LOVE / Passion / Persistence / purpose / Success / Work with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/david-frost.html. Thanks!

Berthold Auerbach


"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."












German Novelist, Poet


1812 - 1882











Of the arts, music holds the greatest sway over the soul.  It has the power to soothe the pain and free the spirit.  For many of us, certain songs bring to mind special moments and times.  What music do you listen to during times of trouble?  Do you sing in the shower or while walking alone along the railroad tracks?  What music inspires your creativity?  Do you paint to the sounds of rock and roll or write to the concertos of Bach?  What music moves you to dance with joy and to celebrate life?





Here is a link to a free ebook of Landolin by Berthold Auerbach, published by Project Gutenberg.  





And here is a Bach concerto for your listening pleasure.












You have read this article Berthold Auerbach / dance / German Writers / Music with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/berthold-auerbach.html. Thanks!

Barbara Kingsolver




"Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin."















American Novelist, Poet


1955 - 











Memory is a sly devil that pretends to wear the cloak of truth, but deceives us both in our youth and our age.  He helps us forget our deepest pain and yet remember the slightest hurt as if we were crushed by a gigantic rock.  We confuse the facts and remember only partial truths.  As writers and artists our memories can serve as either our greatest muse or our evil jailer. Our memories help us create powerful stories that fill the hearts of our audiences with tears.  When our memories marry our creativity gifts we give birth to a host of angels and when our memories seek a divorce we our left standing naked in the garden.





Feed your memory well.  Give him love and affection and the occasional hug.  Listen to his footsteps as he wanders through your mind.  Visit the rooms that he constructs and marvel at his genius for disguise.  Remember to forgive him when he fails you and leaves you standing in the rain.  Celebrate his victories when he makes you look good in front of those you love, but do not give him the keys to the kingdom.





Here is Barbara Kingsolver discussing the creation of fictional characters that interact with the historical figures like the Mexican artists, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, in her novel, Lacuna.















You have read this article American Writer / Barbara Kingsolver / Memory with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/barbara-kingsolver.html. Thanks!

Five Children Playing The Wishing Game

Once upon a time, five children were playing the wishing game. The child who came up with the best wish would win the wishing game.

First was a young boy, maybe seven or eight, and he said if he could have any wish he would wish for a McDonalds hamburger with double fries (because his mother wouldn’t allow him to eat hamburgers).

So they asked the second child if she could you think of a better wish. And the second child was a young girl and she said that she would wish for a McDonalds restaurant so she could eat as many hamburgers as she wanted.

Then came to the third boy. He had more time to think as the others and he said that he wants a billion dollars. So he could buy a McDonalds restaurant, then buy a video game store and play all the video games he wants. Then he would buy a school so he could spend all day playing video games then give himself good grades. Then he’d buy a university and pass himself through that too. Then he still has enough money for the rest of his life. So he asked if anyone could think of a better wish than that.


The fourth child, a girl, had to think very deeply and she came up with a better wish. The fourth girl was very clever. She said if she had a wish, she would wish for 3 wishes. With the first wish she would wish for a McDonalds restaurant, with the second wish she would wish for a billion dollars, and for the last wish she would wish for 3 more wishes. So she was clearly winning the wishing game.

But there was one boy left, and he would go on to win the wishing game. But how can you find a better wish than an infinity of wishes? He said, "If I had one wish, I would wish that I was so content that I would never need another wish again." And that wish won the wishing game.

That describes nirvana, enlightenment, that you are so content that you don't want anything else. Most people in the world want an infinity of wishes, to be wealthy, to be powerful, but to be so content that you don't want any more wishes, this is enlightenment.


Enlightenment Story by Venerable Ajahn Brahm
You have read this article Inspirational Stories with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/five-children-playing-wishing-game.html. Thanks!

Marc Chagall


"The role of the artist is tragic today because, while the world's horizons have been extended, the human heart is as small as ever."












Russian Artist


1887 - 1985













The Prophet Jeremiah
1968



In the last 150 years the world has known many technological and scientific advances.  We have put men on the moon and invented thousands of items that make life easier for human beings from the light bulb to the iPad.  But the human heart has not changed.  We remain selfish, angry and territorial.  We kill, murder and steal.  We still break the Ten Commandments as well as the laws of man.  We are cruel, mean and unforgiving. 





Artists create beautiful paintings that inspire us all, but are abusive to their wives and girl friends.  Writers create powerful stories that touch the heart, but are rude, crude and demeaning to those around them.  Actors may explore the emotional depths of characters they play, but are unaware of their own self-destructive tendencies.







Stained Glass Windows
in Saint Stephen Cathedral,
Metz, France


Human beings have two natures: a violent one and a compassionate one.  And both often reside in the same person in varying degrees.  And we have not changed in thousands of years.  Every time we take a step forward and seem to be improving, we take a couple of steps backward.  Consider all the greed that helped create the latest financial recession.  





I learned years ago that I can't change the world.  The only person I can change is myself.  I ask myself, "What can I do today to make myself a better person tomorrow?"  And every day is a struggle.  Some days are better than others.  And some days I slip back into old habits and behaviors that are destructive to myself and to others.  Each day is a new beginning.  A new opportunity to be a better person than I was yesterday.  All I can hope for is that I am able to make a difference in somebody's life.  That I can touch one heart today.  Give hope to one soul.
You have read this article Achievement / Actor / Artist / Beliefs / Compassion / Flaws / Habits / Imperfections / LOVE / Marc Chagall / Renewal / Russian Artists / soul / Sowing Seeds / world / Writer with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/marc-chagall.html. Thanks!

Rabindranath Tagore


"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark."












Bengali Poet, Novelist, Musician, Painter, Playwright


1861 - 1941











Do you believe in your artistic talent?  Do you have faith in your creativity?  Do you let your creative light shine or do you hide it under a bushel basket and refuse to share it with the world?  Creative leaders need to have the faith that they are on the right path.  Even in those darkest hours before the dawn, you need to understand the sun will rise again — that your creative work is important.  Don't give up on yourself.  Don't give up on the work you do.  You are unique and special.  No one else can create the paintings, the poems or the novels that you can create.  If you don't use your creative gift to produce art, the world will have lost much.  So pick up your pen and write.  Pick up your brush and paint.  Pick up your guitar and sing.








Here is a poem by Tagore:








My Song


by Rabindranath Tagore








This song of mine will wind its music around you,


my child, like the fond arms of love.





The song of mine will touch your forehead


like a kiss of blessing.





When you are alone it will sit by your side and


whisper in your ear, when you are in the crowd


it will fence you about with aloofness.





My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams,


it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.





It will be like the faithful star overhead


when dark night is over your road.





My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes,


and will carry your sight into the heart of things.





And when my voice is silenced in death,


my song will speak in your living heart.












You have read this article Beliefs / Bengali Writers / Creative Leaders / faith / hope / paint brush / pen / poetry / Rabindranath Tagore with the title March 2011. You can bookmark this page URL http://gem-vita.blogspot.com/2011/03/rabindranath-tagore.html. Thanks!
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)