The Great Within

Growing up I was very fortunate to have amazing grandparents. They lived close by and my brothers and I saw them quite frequently. My grandfather and I had a very special bond and he had a way of making me feel that I was special. As a child I was extremely shy and lacked confidence which made our relationship so important to me. He passed away shortly after I graduated from high school. He was a very intelligent man and ahead of his time in many of his thought processes and in the things that he accomplished. Mastery was maybe not something that he consciously strived for, but he was definitely well on his way to achieving.

 I realised many years later that I had learned to rely on outside validation to feel better about myself. Even now I still struggle with confidence and self worth on almost a daily basis. In the past when thinking about myself and greatness, I would not put the two together in the same sentence. I could sometimes see the potential for greatness in myself, but it scared me, and yet excited me at the same time.

When we look at nature all around us, we see greatness everywhere. We marvel at the intricacies and beauty of a flower, the amazing power of a summer storm, the resilience of a blade of grass, or the beauty of a sunrise or sunset. If we were to consciously see and feel the connection between ourselves with everything and everyone in the world, then we would be able to apply the same greatness that we see and feel in nature to ourselves. That very same greatness that can be found throughout the world is also found in each and every one of us. Believe and know that you are great!

 We need to believe and know whole heartily in the greatness all around us and in ourselves. That greatness will inspire and permeate into everything and everyone. What each of us believes will be drawn to us and we will create more greatness. Mastery would become the norm instead of mediocrity. 

Do we need to first surround ourselves with like minded individuals on our journey towards mastery? Or does it start with a simple belief in our own greatness that will change how we live our lives; attracting more greatness and more like minded people to us? 

Michele Ward

Numbers for the week

sit ups              910

push ups          935

walking           26.5         

Aok's               38

kempo             17

nunchuks         5