While I was cruising the internet, I came across an intriguing link Marlo Thomas had posted on the Huffington Post website. It focused on a thought provoking commencement speech given by Maria Shiver at USC in May.
I paused to listen. And soon, I understood why. Deeply admiring Maria’s articulation and ease (me being a newbie to “formal speech giving”), I found her theme so universal, so eastern, and so Attitude Reconstruction. Pause.
“What I’m seeking is within me.”
I especially loved her quote from Sir Edmund Hillary atop Mr. Kilimanjaro “It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
Such a simple truth, and yet so foreign to my upbringing and my culture. If we pause, we have an opportunity to determine what is true for us – not what other people say – and we open ourselves to the rewards of silence.
This is such a difficult concept to embody because our senses are focused “out there” so we can navigate in the world. We have gotten lost in the external. The world of money, power, and doing is enticing.
But according to Attitude Reconstruction, there’s another factor that keeps us from looking within: the emotions of anger and love naturally take our attention outward.
When we have unexpressed anger we naturally project it onto other people, things, and situations in a critical and blaming way. We don’t accept what is, so we judge it and believe that our way is the way – selfish. The accumulation of this anger is what we are experiencing in our society today.
How we do create the opposite? With love. Love also takes our attention externally, but simultaneously we stay in touch with our hearts, our intuition, our Self, and look within for answers. Coming from a place of love allows us to naturally accept, appreciate, and respect our world. We give without any motive besides to increase love.
Thankfully these values are coming more into vogue as the years go by, so hopefully the people who embrace them will continue to take more leadership roles.
Can you think of a leader or public figure who embodies these values? Share with us at: Facebook
