Inspire Me (December 2004)

True stories, quotes and information on inspiration, leadership and kindness to provide hope and direction in your life.

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids On a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain Slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? You better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask How are you? Do you hear the reply? When the day is done do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? You better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow? And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die cause you never had time to call and say,"hi" You better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. When you run so fast to get somewhere do miss half the fun of getting there? When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away. Life is not a race. Do take it slower Hear the music Before the song is over.

Story for the Month The Rewards and Risks of Personal Freedom By Charlie Badenhop

One of the first things I noticed about my newly purchased parrot, was that he couldn't fly. Chico's wings had been clipped and he was stuck here on earth just like us humans. Once the weather turned nice I took Chico and sat him on a branch of a tree in my backyard, hoping to make him happier. At first he seemed confused. He walked back and forth on the branch looking like an agitated father pacing back and forth in the maternity waiting room. I was surprised to see that he didn't flap his wings in an attempt to fly. Somehow he knew he was incapable. I always wondered how he knew such a thing.

One day, while sitting on his branch, Chico got way more agitated then he had been when I first took him outside months ago. He was pacing back and forth and talking up a storm. Then all of a sudden, he stopped pacing, let out a spine tingling scream, and started madly flapping his wings for the first time ever. About three seconds later, he lifted off from the branch like the space shuttle at Cape Canaveral! I was amazed and shocked. Little did I know his feathers had been growing back in, and just like a sly convict, Chico had been biding his time until the moment was ripe for escape! Chico made his break for freedom on a late Monday afternoon, and by late Monday night I knew he was not coming home.

Finally, on Tuesday evening Chico returned, but stayed way out of reach. I talked to him and showed him some food, but to no avail. Then I took his cage inside so he would not relate coming back to getting locked up again. Finally, I made him a firm promise that if he did come back I would let him out every day the weather was nice. Shortly after making my solemn oath, he flew onto my shoulder and I took him upstairs. From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him out early and he would fly around and be back before dark.

This routine lasted for about two months and then suddenly Chico became ill. The vet said that he had contracted a disease from the pigeons in the neighborhood. Within a few days he died, and I mourned his loss. Just once the thought crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly every day, he would still be alive. It was then that I realized that the quality of one's life is much more important than the number of years one lives. What sense is there in being a bird if you can't fly?

Chico made his initial break for freedom on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a chance when the conditions are right, knowing you too in your own way, were built to fly. If you don't set yourself free, what will be the purpose of your life? I would suggest that the quality of one's life is dependant on feeling one's essence, and living the design that is you. If you are a fish, your life needs to be all about swimming. If you are a bird, your life needs to be all about flying and spreading your message to all that you meet along the way. What sense is there in being you, if you don't really let yourself free and express your heart?

Quotes for the Month

"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that in itself is a choice." William James

"You don't have to buy from anyone. You don't have to work at any particular job. You don't have to participate in any given relationship. You can choose." Harry Browne

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." William Jennings Bryan

"Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality." Les Brown

"Before my accidents, there were ten thousands things I could do. I could spend the rest of my life dwelling on the things that I had lost, but instead I chose to focus on the nine thousand I still had left." W. Mitchell

Don't Kill Your Chances of Success Price Pritchett

I'm sitting in a quiet room at the Millcroft Inn, a peaceful little place hidden back among the pine trees about an hour out of Toronto.

It's just past noon, late July, and I'm listening to the desperate sounds of a life - or - death struggle going on a few feet away.

There is a small fly burning out the last of its short life's energy in a futile attempt to fly through the glass of the windowpane.

The whining wings tell the poignant story of the fly's strategy - try harder. But it's not working.

The frenzied effort offers no hope for survival. Ironically, the struggle is part of the trap.

It is impossible for the fly to try hard enough to succeed at breaking the glass. Nevertheless, this little insect has staked its life on reaching its goal through raw effort and determination.

This fly is doomed. It will die there on the windowsill.

Across the room, ten steps away, the door is open. Ten seconds of flying time and this small creature could reach the outside world it seeks.

With only a fraction of the effort now being wasted, it could be free of this self-imposed trap.

The breakthrough possibility is there. It would be so easy.

Why doesn't the fly try another approach, something dramatically different?

How did it get so locked in on the idea that this particular route, and determined effort, offers the promise of success?

What logic is there in continuing, until death, to seek a breakthrough with 'more of the same'?

No doubt this approach makes sense to the fly. Regrettably, it's an idea that will kill it.

' Trying harder ' isn't necessarily the solution to achieving more.

It may not offer any real promise for giving you what you want out of life. Sometimes, in fact, it's a big part of the problem.

If you stake your hopes for breakthrough on trying harder than ever, you may kill your chances for success.