Sunday Musings - October 13, 2019
The tenses of our journey
For the first time in a long time I have skipped 3 days of writing. I made this decision 3 days in a row first based on commitments I had made to clients and second based on the fact had I attempted to write it would have been to keep to a schedule rather than because I had the time and energy to focus and organize my thoughts.
It is easy for me to allow a schedule I have created to dictate my actions whether or not the action are consistent with my stated values.
I recall, as a young man, it often felt as if life just happened to me. I “found” myself in the military and later at military school. I allowed my doubts about my worth and my fear of making mistakes to dictate the decisions I made. Often the decision was to do what I thought would make others happy. The others might be a family member or the Naval Captain to whose billet I was assigned. My relationship with my fear was such that I often allowed it to be in charge and then might later get angry and blame others.
For many years the lessons my fourth grade English teacher attempted to instill in me were sitting in a box in the closet at my parent’s house. I had made a decision to leave it there. I had little appreciation for the power of grammar. Frankly I do not recall Mrs. Shepherd telling my classmates and I that our appreciation and use of grammar would or could determine the course of our lives. I vaguely recall her talking about tenses of verbs. I do not recall being able to connect the uses of a certain tense with the trajectory of my life journey. I do believe she mentioned (probably many times) that verbs were action words and nouns were the subject of such actions. I do recall consciously sitting in church where we were strongly admonished to avoid sin (there were many to avoid) and to engage in righteous behavior (any behavior which was boring or absent of fun), but I do not recall connecting the lessons Mrs. Shepherd was teaching with the admonishments one was taught in church.
Today my goal is to be more intentional about both the nouns and verbs I choose to guide my life journey. When, early in the a.m., I write down my spiritual intentions for the day I want to be clear that I am making a commitment to take responsibility for both my decisions and the ensuing actions.
I love the power of grammar because of the fact that if I follow some basic rules the listener is more likely to “hear” me and I am more likely to be able to move away from life just happening to me to intentionally making decisions and taking action based on my values; to owning my power to create the life which will make me proud of my human footprint.
On a number of occasions, as an adult, I have taken a review course in grammar. Doing so does not ensure that my friends and colleagues no longer have to gently correct the grammar in a document I create. It does ensure that I appreciatively listen and attempt to follow their advice.
Today I am in charge of the nouns and verbs I use and the ensuing results. I will not pretend as if life just happens. Life does just show up some days but I decide on the action verbs by which I live out this life journey.
Written October 13, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
The tenses of our journey
For the first time in a long time I have skipped 3 days of writing. I made this decision 3 days in a row first based on commitments I had made to clients and second based on the fact had I attempted to write it would have been to keep to a schedule rather than because I had the time and energy to focus and organize my thoughts.
It is easy for me to allow a schedule I have created to dictate my actions whether or not the action are consistent with my stated values.
I recall, as a young man, it often felt as if life just happened to me. I “found” myself in the military and later at military school. I allowed my doubts about my worth and my fear of making mistakes to dictate the decisions I made. Often the decision was to do what I thought would make others happy. The others might be a family member or the Naval Captain to whose billet I was assigned. My relationship with my fear was such that I often allowed it to be in charge and then might later get angry and blame others.
For many years the lessons my fourth grade English teacher attempted to instill in me were sitting in a box in the closet at my parent’s house. I had made a decision to leave it there. I had little appreciation for the power of grammar. Frankly I do not recall Mrs. Shepherd telling my classmates and I that our appreciation and use of grammar would or could determine the course of our lives. I vaguely recall her talking about tenses of verbs. I do not recall being able to connect the uses of a certain tense with the trajectory of my life journey. I do believe she mentioned (probably many times) that verbs were action words and nouns were the subject of such actions. I do recall consciously sitting in church where we were strongly admonished to avoid sin (there were many to avoid) and to engage in righteous behavior (any behavior which was boring or absent of fun), but I do not recall connecting the lessons Mrs. Shepherd was teaching with the admonishments one was taught in church.
Today my goal is to be more intentional about both the nouns and verbs I choose to guide my life journey. When, early in the a.m., I write down my spiritual intentions for the day I want to be clear that I am making a commitment to take responsibility for both my decisions and the ensuing actions.
I love the power of grammar because of the fact that if I follow some basic rules the listener is more likely to “hear” me and I am more likely to be able to move away from life just happening to me to intentionally making decisions and taking action based on my values; to owning my power to create the life which will make me proud of my human footprint.
On a number of occasions, as an adult, I have taken a review course in grammar. Doing so does not ensure that my friends and colleagues no longer have to gently correct the grammar in a document I create. It does ensure that I appreciatively listen and attempt to follow their advice.
Today I am in charge of the nouns and verbs I use and the ensuing results. I will not pretend as if life just happens. Life does just show up some days but I decide on the action verbs by which I live out this life journey.
Written October 13, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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