Did you ever think about how we learn … how we form our new ideas by borrowing the ideas and ideals from our shared experience? From our every word, our learned skills, how to move, eat, govern, solve questions that arise in our lives, it is learning how to put the borrowed pieces of life together in order to create the next solution … even if it is a partial solution.
Over a period of time, you may come to realize that there can be no greater inspiration than the examples others bring into your life. And there can be magic in borrowing these examples to resolve other questions in my own life. This idea gets fresh support when you experience some enlightenment of how someone has put the pieces of an unsolvable or difficult question together to make a sensible resolution to something … anything really.
Again after a gap has passed and new, unforeseen issues arise, others who share the creative dream of actually doing something positive with negative pieces of chaos demonstrate their magic creative process. If you believe in sending a child to school to learn how to read, write, calculate and put a cognitive process together to make life more sweet, how can you not believe that people can change?
As they say, to build a house, first we need good bricks. If the formative units are great, the structure has gained an option to turn out the way we want it to be. What I’m getting at is that we all contribute in putting together the example of how to make resolutions work … in reality. Whoever gains the credit for building the house should not discount the importance of borrowed ideas and thoughts of others. And those of us who contribute toward the building of good bricks should not discount the contribution made toward that accomplishment. It is tiring when we focus on those who are in the limelight, forgetting that sparkle was created mostly by others.
Today is the beginning of a new year. Actually, each day is the beginning of a new year. Of course, most people begin their new year in a positive light. Some folks make and keep New Year resolutions. Some folks, like me, make daily resolutions, and keep some of them. I suppose it all depends upon our insight as to how important these resolutions are in our achieving some level of satisfaction or happiness.
Not every culture begins their new year on the same date. Some cultures don’t even have the same 365-day calendar year. Did you know that the Japanese New Year also falls on January 1st this year? One way they celebrate is by sending New Year cards. Their primary purpose behind sending these cards is to tell their extended family that they are hale and hearty. You have to send cards within a stipulated day and the postal system in Japan guarantees to have them delivered on the New Year. (Isn’t that cool?) Students are hired on a part-time basis to deliver these cards. They are marked with a special word ‘nengajo’ that gets these cards separated from the others. I wonder if we could borrow that idea?
We were talking about our family fondly during the past few days. We agreed that as life has pushed us further away from each other, it may be advantageous for us to find a way back home, back toward being a more cohesive family. This is why we’ve focused on websites, learning how to provide an option to reconnect with each other. We are in the process of redesigning those websites to do a better job. We believe in the blessing of criticisms and change … hopefully for the better.
We all change in very subtle ways, but we essentially remain family, hopefully enriched by our shared experience. Let’s use an example of how we can use borrowed ideas. It is a made-up idea, so don’t attempt to put a face on it. Assume for a moment that you know a young man who has gotten into an emotional frenzy over a broken relationship.
He remains the same person who moved away with a bagful of hurt emotions and pent-up despair. He moped for the longest time, and you hoped it wouldn’t last, and he finally turned the corner and quietly resolved to make a new life, and return to his family and friends. But now that he is back, he’s changed for the better. You won’t feel it when you interact with him, but there is a change. And it was not just me who noted that. He did so too.
When he went away, he was empty and hurt, now he is filled with resolution. There is no doubt that he backed himself out of the depression mode. He has inspired himself to fight it out rather than give up and get sidetracked into a corner. He doesn’t have that nagging self doubt which was always an excess baggage for him. He let go of that, and hopefully, for good. Now he is more confident, wise and decidedly stronger. I think we can all take a leaf out of that book and inspire ourselves. That’s what we need at this critical juncture of time and place. What better way to begin the New Year?
This borrowed idea is all about a positive outlook and bringing in yourself the change you want to see around. An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.
So, have a happy year ahead, keep your resolutions fresh and alive, and don’t forget that it isn’t a bad idea when you borrow thoughts. Make an effort to keep your family, your friends, your club, community and life more a more sweet and memorable portion of your life. Jump right into that alligator pit and start swinging. Maybe, someday we can put the pieces of the puzzle together and see the larger picture.