Quote of the Day - Goethe

"Do not hurry; do not rest." - Goethe

Oprah's Lifeclass: Deepak asks, "What Are Your Unique Skills?"

The fifth question Deepak Chopra encourages us to ask ourselves in order to create a soul profile is "what are my unique skills."

I was recently told, "you are the most hopeful person I know." I had not realized it was hope that I had been feeling, but now I see it and appreciate it as a gift. I manage to find hope through any situation. I always return to it, especially regarding matters of love and faith.

"If you can find hope, you might find faith."
              - Sister Delores Hart

I want meaning, I seek meaning, I find meaning. I inspire others to find meaning in their own experiences. I am good at crying, and I enjoy making other people cry - as horrible as that sounds. When people cry it makes me believe they are in a deeper place in their minds or hearts that they do not normally visit. I take pride in being able to cry over one well-written line, one note in a song, a commercial, an idea.

I am good at listening without judgement. People often come to me if not for advice, then to just have their story heard. In return, I am open and honest as often as possible. I see the good in people and choose to trust them. I am not afraid to tell people how much I care and how I feel about them. I can find good compliments to give. I am compassionate and empathetic and some say I can write well. Sometimes, I think I can (or have), too.

I am not skilled at improv, at giving speeches on the fly. I can't think of come-backs, witty one-liners, and I am not great at answering questions under pressure and without careful thought. I am not good at small talk. I am not patient. I am not good at simple math.

I am skilled at sending letters by mail or e-mail and brightening people's day in that way. I can inspire. I am good at reflecting and overthinking. I recognize good dancing, good movies, and good writing. I am good at finding quotations.

Sometimes it is easier to have someone else tell you what your unique skills are. This was one of the more difficult questions to answer.

What are your unique skills? What makes you different than everyone else? What can you do better than anyone else?

Quindlen... Love Her Words

"It is so easy to exist instead of live." - Anna Quindlen

"Dreamers of the Day"

"A true prophet sees others, not himself. He helps them define their own half-formed dreams, and puts himself at their service. He is not diminished as they become more." - Mary Doria Russell, Dreamers of the Day

Also from Dreamers of the Day...
"Usually the next war is being planned before the ink on the treaty is dry."

"All men dream...but not equally. Those who dream by night wake in the day to fnd that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."

"It was not scandalous or sinful or dangerous to understand a different point of view...it was simply good manners and a more interesting way to live."

"Foreigners nearly always wish to simplify the Middle East, Agnes. They cannot tolerate to feel ignorant long enough to understand it."

Live in such a way...

"We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather around us, that they may see their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer perhaps even a fiercer life because of our quiet."-William Butler Yeats

Wow. I want to live in this way.

This quote gives me goosebumps. It is profound. It is wonderful to read aloud and see which phrases slow you down...."beings gather around us," and "because of our quiet."

I include an image of Caravaggio's Narcissus because it demonstrates how still water can draw a being to its surface and see his own image reflected. If we live in such a way, calm and quiet like still water, can people see themselves when they look upon us?

Narcissus, however, is not moved to live a "clearer" or "fiercer" life. Instead, he is decieved by the reflection and falls in-love with his image.

Simple Advice

I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. - Anna Quindlen