Tag: strong
066 Creative Journey
by Charles on Jan.06, 2013, under Creative Journey Blog
Hello my friend,
Welcome to the 66th installment of The Creative Journey, the experience of one Charles Yerkes, Eadarian Poet, perpetuator, and otherwise mildly creative and excessively modest personage.
It has often been said that if you want to know who a person truly is, then simply watch how they handle the little things in life. Who a person is manifests itself in the little, seemingly non-important things of life. Things such as: does the person routinely interrupt conversations with out so much as an, excuse me? And do they then talk about whatever they want without regard to the topic of the current conversation? Does the person pick up after their pet when out in public areas, parks, or even a neighbors yard? Do they throw unwanted trash out the car window instead of taking it to a trashcan? Are they chronically late, for no good reason? Are they shoddy in parking the car and so take up two spaces instead of one? Is everything simply about having fun? Are the first words out of their mouth, everyone else does it?
“But,” you say. “These are really small things.” Exactly. And they are indicators of who a person truly is. Is the person a small petty person or a considerate one? Is the person dependable or unreliable? Can the person be trusted or not? These are all things that can be learned by watching how the small things are handled. If they do what is right, what is required, what is respectful, and what takes extra effort in the small things; then they have the character that will do them in the more important things. Or to state it another way, if a person does not have the character needed to handle the small things in life well, he does not have the character to handle the large ones well either. This is simply a fact of human behavior.
“So, are we to try and force people to do these small things well?” No. That would be stupid. Quite stupid. You never really change anything by merely removing a symptom. How little things are handled are mere symptoms, not the problem. It is similar to the symptom of pain when one has a broken bone. Painkillers can remove that symptom, the pain can be eliminated, but the problem, the cause of that symptom, is still there. The removal of the pain does not mend the broken bone. So too forcing people to fix the symptoms of poorly handling the little things does not make a person have the character to handle them well, it merely hides the poor character… for a little while. But the poor character is still there and will resurface shortly. The key is to develop character in people that is strong and courageous. For when this is done, the little things will be handled well – for they are only an indicator of who the person truly is.
No one is perfect, and everyone will handle the little things poorly from time to time. That is life, a part of being a human being. And it is possible to focus too much on the little things so that life gets bogged down always trying to do things “right”. Which will also be a negative experience. People perform the small things unconsciously, this is why they are a good indicator of who the person is; it is a true revealing of who they are. And do not take this as an invite to go and start pointing out the imperfections of others. But rather, this is an invite to observe yourself; to learn about your own character and to look for ways to help it grow.
Grow in peace.
Charles Yerkes
Eadarian Poet, Perpetuator, Photographer, and Fiddle Player
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To choose a past installment(s) of The Creative Journey click here. To view a Quote of the Week, click here.
061 Creative Journey
by Charles on Sep.12, 2011, under Creative Journey Blog
Hello my friend,
Welcome to the 61st installment of The Creative Journey, the experience of one Charles Yerkes, Eadarian Poet, perpetuator, and otherwise mildly creative and excessively modest personage.
Taking a brief pause in preparing the newest topic for the Creative Journey to relate something I just read that is related to a previous entry. This goes back to Creative Journey entries 56, 57, and 58; the subject being Meek not mousy.
I found some incredibly precise and clear statements about Meekness that were just too cool not to share. These come from a book Broadman Press published in 1971, Creative Expectancy by Albert McClellan.
The man of meekness is firm without being hard.
He is shrewd but not wily.
He is strong but not destructive.
He is intelligent but not overbearing.
The man of meekness seeks no credit.
He listens intensely with the heart.
He asserts his love and even his ideas but not himself.
When in trouble the man of meekness does not run.
He does not create false issues or cast false images.
He is no prima donna.
He is not afraid of his enemies.
He never builds himself up at the expense of others.
He is never concerned with what he calls, “My rights.”
He makes no proud assertions.
He does not contemplate his own meekness.
He fights with words and ideas but not with doubts and slurs.
He defends himself with true spirit and an open attitude but not with the destruction of others.
He stands by his convictions and admires his enemies who stand by theirs.
He pitches his battle on fair ground; if he loses, he asks no quarter; if he wins, he helps bind up the wounds of his enemy.
None need fear losing anything to the man of meekness, neither purse, nor character, nor life.
He sits at the foot of the table until he is asked to come higher.
He goes to the bottom of the line and spells his way to the top, never boasting.
He is big enough to look any man in the eyes, but small enough so no man has to look up to him.
To some he looks like a zero, to others a world of hope, a world of wholeness, through whom the earth is about to be reborn.
This sums up rather well the idea of meekness. This is strength under control. I’ll even venture to say that this is the path to true freedom, but that can be a discussion for another day. 
Believe it or not that wraps things up for this entry,
Have a great one!
Grow in freedom;
Grow in peace.
Charles Yerkes
Eadarian Poet, Perpetuator, Photographer, and Fiddle Player
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If you liked this blog entry, check out the shirt designs based upon it. Just click here for: Meek not Mousy, here for: Bold, Daring, Meek, or here for: Meek and In Control at our cafepress store.
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To choose a past installment(s) of The Creative Journey click here. To view a Quote of the Week, click here.
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Worth Quoting
Never be so libelous as to call a man perfect; once a person is so labeled it is too easy to tear him apart for being what he is, a human being.
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