Seneca, in his work On Tranquility of Mind (12.5), says that, “It’s not activity that disturbs people, but false conceptions of things that drive them mad.”
The 29th “law of Power” is: Plan all the Way to the End.
The 2nd “habit” of “highly-effective people” is: Begin with an End in Mind.
Holiday offers that planning all the way to the end doesn’t guarantee that you’ll reach the end (that’d be VERY foolish), but that NOT planning to the end virtually guarantees you won’t.
After some time sitting with this teaching, I’m left with a few things:
Additionally, as someone who thinks in pictures, to me, our “clear intentions” are the stage backdrops of the “great play” of life (Maha Lila).
In other words, all the actions, lines, songs, and thoughts that take place on “life’s stage” needs to have the clear intention of linking what is happening in the “now” to the far-off goal (the backdrop).
The backdrop informs and guides the actions happening on stage, toward the END of the story.
On one hand, it helps when there’s a script, director, stagehands, and assistants.
On the other hand, when there’s only a stage, other actors, and a backdrop… and it’s ALL ad-lib…
… well, that’s a different story. ;)
Without clear intentions and clear directions, we’re “driven to failure.” (Holiday)
Remember, a still mind, like still water, allows the sediment of delusion to sink to the bottom, thus unveiling clarity.
(See y’all tomorrow)
The 29th “law of Power” is: Plan all the Way to the End.
The 2nd “habit” of “highly-effective people” is: Begin with an End in Mind.
Holiday offers that planning all the way to the end doesn’t guarantee that you’ll reach the end (that’d be VERY foolish), but that NOT planning to the end virtually guarantees you won’t.
After some time sitting with this teaching, I’m left with a few things:
- Implicit expectations prevent one from having clear intentions.
- Explicit expectations help to clarify those intentions.
- Self-knowledge helps explicit expectations to arise naturally.
Additionally, as someone who thinks in pictures, to me, our “clear intentions” are the stage backdrops of the “great play” of life (Maha Lila).
In other words, all the actions, lines, songs, and thoughts that take place on “life’s stage” needs to have the clear intention of linking what is happening in the “now” to the far-off goal (the backdrop).
The backdrop informs and guides the actions happening on stage, toward the END of the story.
On one hand, it helps when there’s a script, director, stagehands, and assistants.
On the other hand, when there’s only a stage, other actors, and a backdrop… and it’s ALL ad-lib…
… well, that’s a different story. ;)
Without clear intentions and clear directions, we’re “driven to failure.” (Holiday)
Remember, a still mind, like still water, allows the sediment of delusion to sink to the bottom, thus unveiling clarity.
(See y’all tomorrow)
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