Namaste!
Nothing Gold Can Stay Gold
by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is
gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost wrote in this poem that nothing gold can
stay and, truthfully, isn't that how most of our days
go? The alarm rings, your eyes open, and, yes,
another day has come. It starts fresh but quickly
turns to another day to work, another
day to pay bills, another day to listen to co-workers,
customers, and family members complain about what
ails them. Sounds pretty depressing, doesn't it? The
golden hue quickly departs from our day and we go
through
the motions...waiting for some shimmer to come
back.
What if I told you that you can keep that
shimmer and STAY GOLD?! Stay Gold!? What's that
about? Staying gold is about approaching each day
with an attitude of newness, optimism, and hope. It is
about living without the blinders. To beat the daily
doldrums and to keep each day GOLD, try these
three
strategies:
Tithe
With tithing, I am not talking about giving money
(unless
you really want to). I
am referring to giving 10% of
yourself in everything that you do. Not 110% - there's
no such number. It's that 10% that makes the
process, procedure or task unequivocally yours. It
says, "I own this" and, my friend, you have to OWN IT.
Even if that process has been around since Noah got
off the Ark, you can make it yours. Give it the flair
that
only YOU can. There is only one of YOU and no one
can compare.
Find the "golden nugget"
Let's face it, sometimes we can get handed a big bag
of lemons. We have 3 choices when it gets handed to
us. We can 1) Drop it and run like the wind; 2) Walk a
few steps with the bag and complain the whole time
about how heavy it is, how you are never going to have
time to make lemonade, and wonder if there is some
other poor soul you can give it to; or 3) Grab it, run a
10K race with it, and when you have completed the
run, quench your thirst with freshly made lemonade.
All moments of life (even the seemingly bad ones) can
teach us something and make our lives interesting. It
is our attitude towards the "bag" that makes all the
difference in our ability to run the race.
Have Fun
Approach everything with the heart and playful nature
of a child. You have to remember that this isn’t a
dress rehearsal, it’s the only life you have and you
should be having FUN! If you’re not, you are missing
out on all of the funny things that happen around us.
As Dr. Suess said, “From near to far, from here to
there, funny things are everywhere”…all we have to do
is keep our minds on the look out. Try to build some
fun into every day – even if it’s only a few minutes - we
need that time to relax, unwind and rejuvenate.
In your life, practice tithing, finding the golden nugget,
and make sure to have fun everyday. Then, sit back
and watch how the gold of each day will brilliantly
shine. As Johnny said to Ponyboy Curtis in the
book "The Outsiders;" "Stay Gold, Ponyboy, stay
gold!" Step up, step out, and stay gold!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to
do, something to love, and something to hope for."
- Allan Chalmers
Keep laughing, leading, rockin', and connecting!
- Chip
