It's not personal, it's just business
Robert Fulgham closed his well-known
work All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in
Kindergarten with the
following thought: "Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the
whole world had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay
down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and
other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our
own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out
into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."
He was reminding us that no matter how old we grow it is wise to remember that probably the most important guides to living were learned when we were very young. It seems so easy for us to forget those lessons which give meaning to our lives. Oft times we believe we can navigate this world as we choose, make a mess of our own life and the lives of those around us and let someone else clean it up. By living this way we will eventually learn, however, that when we go out into the world there will be no one to hold our hand, no one to stand by us. How sad.
Recently while surfing on the web we found a site on discovering meaning in life through movie themes. if you have read many of these columns you may have come to the correct conclusion that we watch a great many movies. This site was very interesting as one of the movies discussed was the Godfather, Part I
This excited Diana as she has said for years that everything you need to know about how to be successful in human relationships you can learn from that movie. The discussion on the web site focused on one possible meaning of life a being derived from "power". As a powerful mafia family the Corleones' position is threatened. After the unsuccessful attempt on the Godfather's life, his sons debate how best to respond to the assassination attempt and the desire by other mafia families to take over their "business". In this scene Michael Corleone says that he will kill two men who are responsible in part for the assassination attempt. His brother Sonny says that Michael is making this personal. Michael says, "It's not personal, it's just business."
Power attainment becomes the focus of many people who believe that it is more important than anything else for them to have power over other people. They like to think of themselves as, "The most powerful man (or woman) in town." Their power rests, of course, in creating fear in people. They not only desire that others fear them, their entire position depends on that fear. The danger in this is that they often forget that there are those who will not cower before them, those who will stand up, and live their life without fear.
So, you can find meaning in life from literature and from movies. But I have decided that there is another place to learn about how to have success in life. Puppies. that's right, puppies. Beamer came to live with us in November. She is really energetic. Diana read that you should puppy-proof your home before bringing a new puppy into it. Let me tell you, whoever wrote that just didn't understand puppies. There is no way to puppy-proof your home! A puppy comes up with new ideas before you have taken care of the last idea she had! But in all of the frustration of training the new puppy, there are some valuable lessons for us which deal with meaning in our everyday lives.
One of the greatest lessons we have learned is that we often need the help of others. After Beamer had a particularly active morning recently we decided it was time to call in an expert. deCoucy (dee COO' Cee) seemed the dog for the job, after all he is eight years old and knows the canine ropes. So we began taking the two of them out to the yard together to do "dog business". Beamer watched deCoucy and heard him get praise and a dog cookie and she quickly began to mimic him. deCoucy may have even said, "Don't worry Beamer, it's not personal, they just want you to take care of your business properly."
Another lesson here is that offering praise gets you a lot farther in life than giving criticism. So don't forget, it is good to have the help of a friend and always offer praise sincerely.
He was reminding us that no matter how old we grow it is wise to remember that probably the most important guides to living were learned when we were very young. It seems so easy for us to forget those lessons which give meaning to our lives. Oft times we believe we can navigate this world as we choose, make a mess of our own life and the lives of those around us and let someone else clean it up. By living this way we will eventually learn, however, that when we go out into the world there will be no one to hold our hand, no one to stand by us. How sad.
Recently while surfing on the web we found a site on discovering meaning in life through movie themes. if you have read many of these columns you may have come to the correct conclusion that we watch a great many movies. This site was very interesting as one of the movies discussed was the Godfather, Part I
This excited Diana as she has said for years that everything you need to know about how to be successful in human relationships you can learn from that movie. The discussion on the web site focused on one possible meaning of life a being derived from "power". As a powerful mafia family the Corleones' position is threatened. After the unsuccessful attempt on the Godfather's life, his sons debate how best to respond to the assassination attempt and the desire by other mafia families to take over their "business". In this scene Michael Corleone says that he will kill two men who are responsible in part for the assassination attempt. His brother Sonny says that Michael is making this personal. Michael says, "It's not personal, it's just business."
Power attainment becomes the focus of many people who believe that it is more important than anything else for them to have power over other people. They like to think of themselves as, "The most powerful man (or woman) in town." Their power rests, of course, in creating fear in people. They not only desire that others fear them, their entire position depends on that fear. The danger in this is that they often forget that there are those who will not cower before them, those who will stand up, and live their life without fear.
So, you can find meaning in life from literature and from movies. But I have decided that there is another place to learn about how to have success in life. Puppies. that's right, puppies. Beamer came to live with us in November. She is really energetic. Diana read that you should puppy-proof your home before bringing a new puppy into it. Let me tell you, whoever wrote that just didn't understand puppies. There is no way to puppy-proof your home! A puppy comes up with new ideas before you have taken care of the last idea she had! But in all of the frustration of training the new puppy, there are some valuable lessons for us which deal with meaning in our everyday lives.
One of the greatest lessons we have learned is that we often need the help of others. After Beamer had a particularly active morning recently we decided it was time to call in an expert. deCoucy (dee COO' Cee) seemed the dog for the job, after all he is eight years old and knows the canine ropes. So we began taking the two of them out to the yard together to do "dog business". Beamer watched deCoucy and heard him get praise and a dog cookie and she quickly began to mimic him. deCoucy may have even said, "Don't worry Beamer, it's not personal, they just want you to take care of your business properly."
Another lesson here is that offering praise gets you a lot farther in life than giving criticism. So don't forget, it is good to have the help of a friend and always offer praise sincerely.
In this new year let us all
remember to take care of our business
properly--
the world will be a better place.
the world will be a better place.
(written January, 2002)
Posted: Sat - January 21, 2006 at 07:15 AM
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"Chance favors only the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur
"Art arises from basic needs-a strong need to express and celebrate our everyday events.
In a museum most people spend less than twenty seconds looking at a work of art."
"Art arises from basic needs-a strong need to express and celebrate our everyday events.
In a museum most people spend less than twenty seconds looking at a work of art."
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Published On: Jan 21, 2006 07:16 AM
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Published On: Jan 21, 2006 07:16 AM