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Imagine if the wheel was never invented?
Or the compass.
Or the internal combustion engine.
Or the telephone.
Or the light bulb.
Or the printing press.
Or penicillin.
Or the airplane.
Or the computer.
Or the internet.
Or the I-phone.
Or Facebook?
Thanks to human ingenuity, and the power of the human
spirit to innovate and create, the boundaries of human life are redefined for every
generation of human beings.
If the human spirit was alive in the second half of the 4th
Millenium BC, when the wheel was created, it is alive in the first half of the
first half of the 21st century –electric cars and solar heating being some
of the products which testify.
We never know where the human spirit will take us and what
it is capable of.
It is a force which cannot be measured.
We don’t get human spirit in proportion to our height and
weight.
We don’t get human spirit in proportion to how physically fit
we are.
We don’t get human spirit in proportion to our standing in
society.
We don’t get human spirit in proportion to the money we
make, or the jobs we do.
The human spirit is available to all of us in as large a quantity
as needed.
And it only waits to be ignited.
What will ignite the human spirit?
For Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, it was Mt Everest
and the desire to climb to the very top of it.
For Wilbur and Orville Wright, it was the idea of creating a
totally new form of transportation– a flying machine.
For Elizabeth Cady Stanton, it was the desire to strike
down the unfair law that kept women from voting.
In each of the examples above, once the spirit was ignited,
there was no looking back.
Hillary and Norgay, Wibur and Orville, and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, steadily pursued what they had set out to do, even though the
challenges were immense and the obstacles were great.
Neither slow progress, nor repeated failures, nor
unexpected setbacks could turn them back from what they had set out to achieve.
When Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway were climbing Mt. Everest,
on the day of their final ascent, they woke up to find their boots stuck knee-deep in the ice. This did not deter them from their
goal. They just waited for the sun to thaw
the ice around their boots to begin their final ascent.
After Wilbur and Orville Wright began their experimental
flights in 1896, they experienced repeated failures. But after every failed attempt,
they went back to the drawing board to make improvements, and eventually, one
day in 1903, they were able to make their first successful flight.
When Elizabeth Cady Stanton did not make headway, even
after 5 decades of pursuing women's suffrage, did she throw up her hands and give up
the fight?
No, she never gave up the fight till the day she died.
And thanks to her efforts, and the efforts of others like
her, in 1920, 18 years after her death, Congress passed the 19th
amendment and women were at last given the right to vote.
That’s the power of the human spirit.
Once it gets going, it is unstoppable and indefatigable.
Helen Keller, blind and deaf by 19 months, seemed destined to
live an impoverished intellectual life.
But when, with her teacher’s help, she learned to associate
the water which was running over one hand with her teacher's spelling of the word w-a-t-e-r
on her other hand, her spirit was instantly ignited.
After learning that first word w-a-t-e-r, she was
unstoppable and indefatigable in her desire to read and write.
She learned 30 words on the first day alone and went on to
become an accomplished reader, writer and activist in her life.
Such is the marvel that is the human spirit.
Once it is turned on, it will produce its own energy to
keep going – whether that energy is fueled by the desire to accomplish
something, by the potential for glory, the wish to help other people, or the yearning
to change the world and make it a better place.
An ignited human spirit is also courageous.
Have you ever watched America’s Got Talent?
On the show, you see people taking all kinds of risks with
their bodies and their lives.
You see people doing all kinds of fantastic and
unimaginable things.
That’s because there are no limits to what we can do when
our spirits are ignited.
We are bold, we are confident, we are unafraid.
We may start out in trepidation, but our spirit takes over
and our fears evaporate.
In fact we laugh in the face of fear, doubt and uncertainty.
At the company I am currently on assignment with, there is
a guy Louis who goes skydiving every weekend.
Every weekend Louis goes up in a helicopter or plane and jumps
out of it.
Louis’ spirit is greater than his fears.
The human spirit is up to the most extreme physical
challenges.
It’s also up to the most extreme mental and emotional
challenges.
Whatever those challenges may be.
A depression
A loss
A serious illness
Or a death
The human spirit can triumph over any problem, any loss,
any tragedy.
It can give us the strength and courage and the purpose to
go on.
In 2010, two dear friends of mine lost their son in a
terrible accident.
Their response to this loss was nothing short of amazing.
You can read about it in my post Lessons from My Personal Heroes.
Do you need inspiration?
Look no further than the people who do not let adversity
defeat their spirit.
Take on a new challenge and let your spirit shine.
Set your sights on a lofty goal and let your spirit shine.
Put yourself through tough conditions and let your spirit
shine.
Rise up from a loss or defeat and let your spirit shine.
Let your spirit be seen in the passion with which you follow
a dream.
Let your spirit be seen in the determination with which you
stay a course.
Let your spirit be seen in the inexhaustible energy with
which you dedicate yourself to a cause or idea you believe in.
Let your spirit be seen in the courage with which you face
tragedy and misfortune.
The human spirit will make sure you are never robbed of
your power to act.
The human spirit will make sure you always find a reason to live.
And the human spirit will help you be courageous even when the odds are stacked against you and your resources are limited.
David slayed Goliath.
A man in a loin cloth lead India to freedom.
A man with little more than the words “I have a dream” got
the Civil Rights Movement going.
Yes the human
spirit is alive and well.
In every home.
And in every human
heart.
Where will the
human spirit take you and what will ignite it?
Will it get you
into a car and into making a journey you have longed to make, ignited by the
open road?
Will it get you
out of laziness and excuses into yoga pants, gym shoes and a new determination
to seek better health?
Wherever it gets
you, know you have in you, a power that’s greater than any obstacle.
A power that’s
greater than whatever stands between you and a vibrant tomorrow.
A power you have
used before, and which is still and will always be available to you.
The power of the human spirit.
As
always thanks for reading and have a great day and week….M…a Pearl Seeker like you. Thanks to Ajay and Majella for their comments on my last post, The Element of Creating a Space Between Our Thoughts and Its Hope for Elevating Our Choices, Feelings and Behavior and thanks
to the rest of you for your votes. Much appreciated.
1 comment:
Hugely inspiring post, Minoo...it motivates us to charge on relentlessly under all circumstances, to excel in all spheres of our lives, overcoming all obstacles. Keep up the great work
Ajay
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