I am fond of old books that came before me. I can't tell you why, but they have intrigued me since I was very young. It is not about looking at the past. It is more about having an interest in hearing what others have to say --- and I've learned there is much wisdom that is passed down to us to take in and apply to our lives and world today.
Once in a while through my research on other things, another old book comes to me. I particularly like ones that seem to be in conversation with me. Recently, I found one entitled, TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT YOURSELF written in 1950 by John Homer Miller. There is a great chapter in it called "Start Building the New World in Your Mind." Here are some excerpts to share.
"You want a better world. What you need to help make the world better is not more education of your intellect, but something spiritual and ethical added to your knowledge. You need educated emotions and a dedicated heart. Shakespeare once said that he can always tell a wise many by the fact that everything he says and does smacks of something greater than himself.
...only the consciousness of a purpose mightier than any man and worthy of all men can compose and fortify and control the soul of man. Knowledge is not enough. Knowledge is knowing about things which you can control, which you can master. Wisdom is knowing about and putting yourself under the influence of things which can master you.
Before you do what you can do for the world, do the more difficult thing---let something be done for you. Before you have any right to face the world, you must face yourself. Before you can really say anything worth while to others, you must first let something be said to you. Before can help make the world right, you must be made right within.
Great souls start from within and move out; they start at the center of civilization and move out toward the circumference.
Unless within my heart I hold
Abiding Peace,
No league of nations can succeed,
Nor will strife cease.
If I myself see every fault
In kin and friend,
The world may never see the day
When war will end."
How are you starting from within to build a new world in your mind?
May it lead to you being a beacon of PEACE. Imagine its power when connected to others with the same vision. Hold that thought!
Debbe
debbe kennedy
founder, president and CEO
author, virtual speaker and dialogue leader
Global Dialogue Center and
Leadership Solutions Companies
www.globaldialoguecenter.com
new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ Spring 2008 – Hardcover
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future
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