Just came across this wonderful inspiring article posted on @mlint007 @ AF Source
Reading the 8 habits I immediately thought of Steven and his attitude towards life gleaned through his writings and live interviews, and what I read and heard of him.
#1 Highly Spiritual People Give Rather Than Take.
To give is indeed divine. Some research on altruism suggests people commit selfless deeds precisely because such acts make them feel good,therefore refuting the notion of selflessness. Hogwash. Is breathing selfish? If we didn't give, and give generously, we'd die. I really believe that. Giving is human nature; it's just that we forget our own Spirit-Nature sometimes. Giving can take many forms; simply paying attention to someone is a gift. (SM maxim 12:I believe I can control how much I give, however what the result is, is not within my power. So, give happily and openly accept the result.)
#2 They Say Yes More Than They Say No.
Naysayers are a downer. "No" closes our hearts like cholesterol.
(Naturally, this excludes saying "No" to drugs or other
self-destructive, noxious or illegal behaviors.) "Yes" affirms life.
People always would rather hear yes rather no. Unless it's when you ask
your doctor, "Do I have herpes?"(OPM - I Seldom Say "No/It's Not")
#3 They See Possibilities, Not Problems.
As Shunryu Suzuki writes: "In the beginner's mind there are many
possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few." And this may be the
only time you hear Norman Vincent Peale quoted right after Suzuki-
roshi, but there is something to the power of positive thinking, if not
"The Power of Positive Thinking." Spiritual people are optimists. They
believe in belief. They are the lemon-to-lemonade folks, the
problems-as-opportunities advocates, the positive spin.(SM saying:Your state of mind will invoke the kind of situations your encounter!Remember to greet each day with positiveness and optimism!Even during the occasional falls, don't be scared! Get up, slap your hands, and continue to walk forward with a smile!)
#4 Walk A Mile in Your Shoes.
They understand that empathy means feeling another's pain but not so much that they take on others' pain and become another's pain. With that empathy, they tend to know exactly what to say or do for you to make you feel better. In gratitude, we say to them, "You are a saint." Even when we do not mean it literally, it is true -- literally. (SM weibo: Regarding human acts, there is no absolute right or absolute wrong.Spanning these two are countless reasons! It's not that doubts don't exist but that I believe whoever is more tolerant and understanding will naturally gain much more in the end;..News article: SM Empathizes Youth; OPM-a yardstick in us all)
#5 They Count Blessings in Small Wonders.
They do not expect Spirit
to appear accompanied by fire and brimstone and a big neon sign
flashing in the sky. They are not waiting for the Big A-ha. Nor are they
waiting for the cure to cancer, the job promotion, or the love of a
lifetime. They appreciate the tiny details: the smile of a child, the
sparkle in an old person's eyes, the morning's first ray of sunlight.
While others have recommended not to sweat the bad small stuff,
spiritual people savor the good small stuff. (SM maxim 10: :Life is a mixture of joy and sorrows. Just like that year when I injured
my eye in an accident, fortunately, eyeball was not shattered, also
face was not marred. This truly is ‘fortune within the unfortunate’. ... Therefore, when you
have, please treasure, when you don’t have, just let it go. Do not be
prideful when you do have, yet do not wallow in self-pity when you lose
it." I've lost count of how many times Steven has used the word, "gratitude" in his writing and interviews.)
#6 They Give Compliments Generously, Accept Them with Humility.
There is no limit to people's need for praise and appreciation. I
suspect that even Donald Trump deep down is desperate for a compliment.
Spiritual people do not see people's "need" for support as a weakness or
flaw. They see it as a cry for love, and they comply without
hesitation. On the other hand, those who respond to a compliment with
grandiose objections and deflections, who cannot accept a compliment
with grace, probably feel they are not worthy of it. But they are worthy
of it. Even the Don is worthy of it. (Without doubt Steven gives compliments freely and generously. Just read his weibo entries, articles in his opm column, and news articles, or listen to his radio interviews and you'll know that Steven is a vocal appreciator of other people's good, at the same time, accepts compliments on himself with humility and grace.)
#7 They Worship Where and When the Spirit Moves Them.
They don't need a temple or church to practice their spirituality, nor do they need a Sunday morning service at 10 a.m. They don't even need a rabbi or a priest or a lama or sensei. Their spiritual setting is a forest, a beach, a mountain top. Their setting is a movable spiritual feast, for they know the true spiritual setting is within. And it
travels with, and within, them wherever they go.(Can't verify on this 7th habit for Steven but from his writings and interviews, Steven is a very introspective person. I recall being very surprised when he first time revealed his belief in Christ on his October 1st 2010 weibo entry. "But I kept questioning and doubted. But, now I truly believed",)
#8 They Laugh a Lot
Have you noticed? Santa ho-ho-ho's his way down the chimney. The Dalai Lama giggles his way to enlightenment. Alfred E. Neuman has that eternal grin. The Laughing Buddha is, well, laughing. Spiritual people are happy. Not just the smiley-face kind of happy, but the deep-down-content kind of happy. If you have trouble getting to happy, try this trick I learned years ago from no less a sage source than the musical "Bye Bye Birdie": "Just put on a happy face." The act of smiling
alone triggers a happy hormonal shift, from "gloomy mask of tragedy" to "spreading sunshine all over the place." And what could be more spiritual than that? (SM: "Friends asked me: Why always smiling? Ho ho! ...Just que sera sera whatever will be, will be, and be happy and at ease! If not unhappy, then it is happy! that being the case, why not smile? " ..."I’m not God, I can’t say I do not pursue materialistic desires, however, I also understand 'contentment'. So long the pursuit is not blind or
overly excessive then 'contentment' can be found everywhere")
Related material -- IF poetry in relation to Steven's own person
No comments:
Post a Comment