Enjoy Time, or Waste It

Rereading an old journal recently, I came across another quote that had a big impact on me at the time. The journal is dated 1967, and the quote is attributed to Vernon Howard, but I did not record what book I found it in. The quote reads: "If we have not enjoyed the last hour, we have wasted it."

Over time my understanding of that quote has changed as my experience has changed me. And I have grown to appreciate the wisdom of that statement even more.

When I first read this statement, I took it to mean if I was not enjoying what I was doing, I needed to change what I was doing. And that led to a lot of changes in terms of jobs, where I lived, who was a part of my life, what I did in my free time. But I never reached a point where I could change enough things in my environment to enjoy every hour.

Over the course of many years, I came to understand that what needed to change was not my world, but me. And that has made all the difference.

Ready to Live?

Way back in the 1960's, when I first became interested in personal growth, I began to read widely. One author I really felt drawn towards was Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I read whatever I could find written by and about him, and was especially fond of his journals. I found an old journal of my own today, and chanced upon a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson I thought was worth sharing.

"We are always getting ready to live, but never living."

I think it is worth reflecting on whether the things you do every day are part of getting ready to live, or really living your life.

More on Teaching Stories

In my last post, I told a story that was inspired by a previous post, and I promised that I would have more to say about stories in this post.

I have another story today, it's the one I usually start with whenever I tell teaching stories, because it talks about the usefulness of teaching stories for personal growth.

The story begins...

I had a dream recently, in which I met an enormous wolf. I was terrified, and unable to move.

The wolf looked directly at me, and slowly walked toward me, until it stood directly in front of me. It sat back and looked down at my face.

Not knowing what else to do, I said "Hello". as if it was some neighbor's dog I had met on the street.

To my astonishment, the wolf replied with a hello of it's own.

Not knowing what else to do, I tried to make conversation, and blurted out that wolves appear in many stories that we humans tell each other. The wolf asked me to tell one. The only one that occurred to me was The Boy Who Cried Wolf, so I told that one.

After I had finished, the wolf said, "That is very interesting. We wolves also tell stories, and we have one called 'The Wolf Who Cried Boy'."

I remarked that it was a good thing that we could tell each other stories, and save each other from making big mistakes.

The wolf sadly shook it's head. "I am afraid that I have greatly over estimated your intelligence. Even stupid wolves know that a story does not teach before the experience."

End of story...

My experience has confirmed that stories teach more after the experience, and I have often found new levels of meaning in stories after having new experiences.