Mantras
What keeps you going? It's a strange question I realize since many would respond with something about their work or a loved one or some aspect of their spirituality. This question is more focused on what maxims work for you or have worked for you in your life? I had a great chat with a colleague, Mike, the other day and we're sharing stories about growing up. I was recalling a very funny story about my parents giving me my first "sex ed" lecture for the first time and how something my father said stuck with me.
Throughout life, many small quotes, thoughts, etc. have left an impression on me. What I find is that I typically come back to a few of them no matter what experience it is. This list is by no means a top 5 or even the perfect advice for anyone else. They're just reminders to me of how sometimes just a simple small thought can vault us through a tough time or get us to remember what really matters in this world.
"All I've had I gave; all I saved I lost forever."
This quote was in our workout room in high school. I still don't know who said it. I remember for the longest time this quote stumped me. The day I figured it out, I felt a strange sense of enlightenment that hasn't changed since. In football I remember constantly our coaches rallying us to put our best effort into our practices. They wanted us to try as hard as possible because they knew the more we tried the more we'd be used to giving our all in the actual game. After football I realized that this mantra worked well with life overall. Think of missed oppurtunities you wish you could have taken advantage of but were paralyzed by some modicom of fear or neurosis.
"180 degrees from sick is still sick."
This quote is one of my favorite from my high school Pscyhology teacher. At times when we experience something bad or painful in our lives we tend to see the behavior that caused whatever consequence and change it. Sometimes we change it to such a degree that we're not giving ourselves a chance to heal. It's kind of like not riding a bike anymore after getting into a bad accident. One of the deeper lessons I take away from this is that it takes time for us to get back to a comfortable 'neutral' point when we experience tragedy. Instead of being to one extreme or the other we're find a moderate place where we've grown wiser and have learned from our actions but aren't afraid to continue living life.
"1/3 Tolkien, 1/3 Zepplin, 1/3 Bullshit."
This is a quote uttered by Scud: The Disposeable Assassin which was a comic book character written and illustrated by Rob Schrab. This quote always makes me laugh. Contextually, Scud uses this quote to justify how he talked his way out of a situation. As a storyteller and write I always appreciate this quote because this is a lot how stories are generated. Every story comes from some ounce of reality, and some ounce of inspiration, and some ounce of...well...bullshit. Tall Tales and Fish Stories (the one that got away) are important concepts to the storytelling experience. It doesn't ever take away from what truly happened (if recanting a real story) but adds to the staying power of a story. Additionally, in fiction, you'd never know what a writer is making up and what a writer is drawing from personal experience. Yet the mixture of the two creates for great reading.
"Who benefits?"
This is a newer one for me that I've drawn from another comic book reference. In the critically acclaimed Brad Meltzer series Identity Crisis, Batman is trying to solve the crime of a fellow superhero's wife's murder. At one point he has all the evidence but no suspect because he's trying to figure out who benefits. For me this thought often gives me pause there's some answer somewhere. Not that an answer is always needed but at times it's necessary to take some ample reflection to think about what was the cause behind certain things. It's also a question I think is best asked often in student affairs (see Big Mac Theory for more info).
"Sometimes you gotta throw me in the deep end of the pool...kersploosh!"
The final quote is another comic book reference. This one uttered by Impulse (now the current Flash) to his mentor Max after Impulse shows signs of learning and retaining. There are some momemnts where we challenge ourselves to try different things. The first time is always the worst for any experience. But we gotta rememeber that there's always more oppurtunities down the road and we can learn from them. Have a light atitude about some of the taxing moments in our lives "kersploosh" and realize that you'll be more confident in future endeavors.
Last point about mantras...their good reminders and small moments of zen to keep you going but I don't think any mantra has to be so solid that you can vary your thoughts based upon specific situation. As the classic early 90's phrase comes to mind, shit happens. Roll with it. Your mantra may not be applicable in all situations. It's ok. Find what works for you and push forward.
pb
Throughout life, many small quotes, thoughts, etc. have left an impression on me. What I find is that I typically come back to a few of them no matter what experience it is. This list is by no means a top 5 or even the perfect advice for anyone else. They're just reminders to me of how sometimes just a simple small thought can vault us through a tough time or get us to remember what really matters in this world.
"All I've had I gave; all I saved I lost forever."
This quote was in our workout room in high school. I still don't know who said it. I remember for the longest time this quote stumped me. The day I figured it out, I felt a strange sense of enlightenment that hasn't changed since. In football I remember constantly our coaches rallying us to put our best effort into our practices. They wanted us to try as hard as possible because they knew the more we tried the more we'd be used to giving our all in the actual game. After football I realized that this mantra worked well with life overall. Think of missed oppurtunities you wish you could have taken advantage of but were paralyzed by some modicom of fear or neurosis.
"180 degrees from sick is still sick."
This quote is one of my favorite from my high school Pscyhology teacher. At times when we experience something bad or painful in our lives we tend to see the behavior that caused whatever consequence and change it. Sometimes we change it to such a degree that we're not giving ourselves a chance to heal. It's kind of like not riding a bike anymore after getting into a bad accident. One of the deeper lessons I take away from this is that it takes time for us to get back to a comfortable 'neutral' point when we experience tragedy. Instead of being to one extreme or the other we're find a moderate place where we've grown wiser and have learned from our actions but aren't afraid to continue living life.
"1/3 Tolkien, 1/3 Zepplin, 1/3 Bullshit."
This is a quote uttered by Scud: The Disposeable Assassin which was a comic book character written and illustrated by Rob Schrab. This quote always makes me laugh. Contextually, Scud uses this quote to justify how he talked his way out of a situation. As a storyteller and write I always appreciate this quote because this is a lot how stories are generated. Every story comes from some ounce of reality, and some ounce of inspiration, and some ounce of...well...bullshit. Tall Tales and Fish Stories (the one that got away) are important concepts to the storytelling experience. It doesn't ever take away from what truly happened (if recanting a real story) but adds to the staying power of a story. Additionally, in fiction, you'd never know what a writer is making up and what a writer is drawing from personal experience. Yet the mixture of the two creates for great reading.
"Who benefits?"
This is a newer one for me that I've drawn from another comic book reference. In the critically acclaimed Brad Meltzer series Identity Crisis, Batman is trying to solve the crime of a fellow superhero's wife's murder. At one point he has all the evidence but no suspect because he's trying to figure out who benefits. For me this thought often gives me pause there's some answer somewhere. Not that an answer is always needed but at times it's necessary to take some ample reflection to think about what was the cause behind certain things. It's also a question I think is best asked often in student affairs (see Big Mac Theory for more info).
"Sometimes you gotta throw me in the deep end of the pool...kersploosh!"
The final quote is another comic book reference. This one uttered by Impulse (now the current Flash) to his mentor Max after Impulse shows signs of learning and retaining. There are some momemnts where we challenge ourselves to try different things. The first time is always the worst for any experience. But we gotta rememeber that there's always more oppurtunities down the road and we can learn from them. Have a light atitude about some of the taxing moments in our lives "kersploosh" and realize that you'll be more confident in future endeavors.
Last point about mantras...their good reminders and small moments of zen to keep you going but I don't think any mantra has to be so solid that you can vary your thoughts based upon specific situation. As the classic early 90's phrase comes to mind, shit happens. Roll with it. Your mantra may not be applicable in all situations. It's ok. Find what works for you and push forward.
pb
posted by Peter Brooks at 1:42 PM
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