I recently came upon this old Zen saying:
Sit quietly,
doing nothing,
spring comes,
and the grass grows by itself.
It sounds really nice, like you can just spend the day in a hammock watching life unfold around you because it's going to happen anyway. Sounds nice, yes, but having been sick this past week, I am reminded of just what the results of my doing nothing can be. You see, even though the grass continued to grow without me, so did the mess in my house, and when I sit quietly and do nothing, usually nothing is exactly what gets done. This is not a complaint, I expect that my life should require effort on my part, and it makes me feel like what I do matters somehow.
I think that this saying has it's time and place, but the people that I admire most, those that have made a difference, none of them sat quietly and did nothing. Yesterday William F. Buckley Jr. died, and whether or not you agree with the things that he had to say, he accomplished a great deal. He was incredibly prolific, having written about 4 dozen books, hosted "Firing Line" for many years, and had a regular newspaper column, and that is just a fraction of the things he did. I was looking on Wikipedia yesterday at just the size of the list of his accomplishments, and it occured to me that I have something in common with this man, and it's not just politics, it is that he had the same number of hours in his days.
I don't want to be like Buckley, even though I like to write, I don't really want to be a writer, although Buckley was one of the reasons that I used to think that I did. I just believe that good things come through doing, not waiting, and he was a doer. I don't want to be the kind of person that says, "I couldn't because...(insert excuse here)." I would rather have a go at it.
I don't need to make an impact on the whole world, just my corner of it, little by little. Sitting and doing nothing gets you just that.
"Act like you expect to get into the end zone."
-Joe Paterno
(Hey Mike-check it out, I quoted Paterno)
3 comments:
Julie, are you kidding me? Do you think I'd miss that Paterno quote! Great work!
In fact, great post. There is wisdom here for all who will hear it.
As for that Zen saying, let me add, that if you sit quietly and do nothing for long enough, the grass that you are watching grow will consume you (unmoving biological material makes for great fertilizer).
Another Paterno-ism that might apply in your situation (and all of ours): "Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves."
Here's a suggestion for making a difference in the world. Write a letter or email to JC Watts and tell him we need him to run for president as an independent. Do it in honor of W.F. Buckley!
Peace, sister.
I don't know much about Watts, but my husband seems to think he'll be on McCain's ticket. He is a friend of McCain's so he probably won't run against him.
This one from Vince Lombardi fits well, too: "The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have."
If McCain is cognizant what century this is, he will ask JC Watts to be his running mate. I, however, see another blockbuster ticket in the Dole/Kemp vein.
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