Question:
Is life couched in irony?
Discussion:
I have a simple thesis. Any goal that you set in your life can only achieved by working the underlying irony. Miss the irony and you'll miss the chance to fulfill your goal. Instead of talking in circles, how about I give you some examples? :)
(a) Want to be a good leader? Commit yourself to serving others. More people are conferred the honor of leadership when people notice their life of service. John Paul II? Gandhi? Mother Teresa?
(b) Want to be loved? Love others. Jesus asked Simon, "Do you love me?" Simon said, "Yes Lord, I love you". Jesus said, "If indeed you do, then love others".
(c) Want your shots in tennis to have more direction and depth? Stop watching where the ball goes at it leaves your racket and start keeping your head steady and focused on the hit point. Nadal, anyone? The more distress you find yourself in (caused by your opponent), the more you need to focus on controlling things on your side of the court.
(d) Want kids to care about you? Commit yourself to caring about them and forget about how and whether they respond. I mean, really caring about them - work on being completely selfless, completely involved and completely loving. I was teaching my 7-year Godchild how to keep score in tennis; I could literally hear the gears turning in her brain as she tried to wrestle with 15-0, 30-0, 40-0, 40-15, 40-30, Deuce, 40-Ad, Game. I had absolutely no expectation that she would get it - all I expected was for us to work at it. And then, miracle. :)
(e) Have you ever read or heard about the prayer ofSt. Francis of Assisi ? Note the following verses and then contemplate the sense of irony put that has been put forward.
I could go on and on but you get the point...go forth and meet life and its ironies. And by the way, never forget the ultimate irony. When we say that we are alive, isn't it true that we are really dying, every second of the day? So, if you ever wonder what to do with your "life", I'll tell you to just give it away (to whoever needs it). My grandfather, "Bhau", meaning "brother", gave his life away. Long after he passed, people remember the smallest of favors he did them without asking for anything in return. Bhau understood it. He got it. Bhau knew that he was given an opportunity to make others' lives better and he committed himself to that cause and in doing so, he enriched himself. Bhau lived and loved life's irony. That is the lesson he taught me and which is the basis of this blog.
(c) Want your shots in tennis to have more direction and depth? Stop watching where the ball goes at it leaves your racket and start keeping your head steady and focused on the hit point. Nadal, anyone? The more distress you find yourself in (caused by your opponent), the more you need to focus on controlling things on your side of the court.
(d) Want kids to care about you? Commit yourself to caring about them and forget about how and whether they respond. I mean, really caring about them - work on being completely selfless, completely involved and completely loving. I was teaching my 7-year Godchild how to keep score in tennis; I could literally hear the gears turning in her brain as she tried to wrestle with 15-0, 30-0, 40-0, 40-15, 40-30, Deuce, 40-Ad, Game. I had absolutely no expectation that she would get it - all I expected was for us to work at it. And then, miracle. :)
(e) Have you ever read or heard about the prayer of
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
I could go on and on but you get the point...go forth and meet life and its ironies. And by the way, never forget the ultimate irony. When we say that we are alive, isn't it true that we are really dying, every second of the day? So, if you ever wonder what to do with your "life", I'll tell you to just give it away (to whoever needs it). My grandfather, "Bhau", meaning "brother", gave his life away. Long after he passed, people remember the smallest of favors he did them without asking for anything in return. Bhau understood it. He got it. Bhau knew that he was given an opportunity to make others' lives better and he committed himself to that cause and in doing so, he enriched himself. Bhau lived and loved life's irony. That is the lesson he taught me and which is the basis of this blog.
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