Giving

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. "
Sir Winston Churchill, British politician (1874 - 1965)

It's very fortunate that I am exploring the concept of blitz - I need it! Indeed, such is the growing intensity of demands on my time that I suspect that this is part of my research. I am being forced to validate and discover the essence of the blitz concept and show how it can be applied in practice.

Before we go racing off again, it is worth reflecting on what it is all for - ultimately. Why do I want to accomplish all those tasks quicker, achieve all those goals, meet all those demands etc? Why do I want to climb the ladder of achievement faster? Well, I guess, it depends on whether the ladder is leaning against a worthwhile wall - that leads to something I will ultimately value. Why do we work? Well, let me recount an interesting dream I had a number of years ago.

In this dream, I was speaking to my grandfather. He said to me:

"Bobo, why do people work so hard?"

I said "Well, because they need to make money and ..."

"Why do they need to make money?"

"To have the things they need and also to have the things they want"

"In other words, to survive comfortably?"

"Well, yes, I guess you could say that"

"Until?..."

"I guess until the end of their lives"

Grandad smiled. " Ok, so let's summarise. Most people work hard, go through a fair amount of stress, miss out on the true joys of life etc, in order to survive comfortably until they die."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well, some people love their work! Some people are able to live life fully (work and play, relationships etc)"

"Yes, but they are a small minority. The majority are surviving comfortably until they die. And the rat race is to see how comfortably you can survive until you die"

"So, in a sense, we are trying to solve the problem of being alive, by putting in tremendous energy to survive comfortably until the inevitable".

I was feeling pretty depressed at this point.

"Yes, and if that is truly the situation, you could avoid the whole problem by not being alive in the first place!"

"So, life has to be more than surviving comfortably until you die."

"Yes, your life must serve some purpose, must bring something lasting into the world. And you have to find what it is you can bring - we all have a gift"

This dream was a turning point in my life, and came to me during a period of great turmoil. It gets to the heart of the matter of living, as does the simple quote by Sir Winston Churchill. Surviving comfortably is an important wall to lean your ladder against, and the comforts can be great fun in themselves, but this will only take you so far - the wall is not high enough to reach the destination of deep fulfilment. Bringing your gift into the world is a wall that has no limit, and ultimately is what makes life truly worth living.

The key thing I have learnt is to find out what your gift is and bring that essence powerfully into WHATEVER you do. When you do that, you tap into something very special indeed - the piece of the jigsaw that links us all. And, in that place, you become present enough to experience it, to truly live...

"Behold those wretched souls who tiptoe through life, hoping to make it safely to death" - anon