Inspirational Quotes for the WEEKEND

By Dr Charles Leyman Kachitsa

Story telling is an art. It is through story telling that knowledge has ever been passed from one generation to the next. There is no heritage without story telling. The technological advances we see in the world today are a result of some people listening to stories and identifying a gap with potential in using available natural resources to make progress and bring inventions that our forefathers never imagined.

Relative to story telling is the art of listening. In fact there can not be story telling where there are no listeners. Listening requires being present where the story is being told, being very conscious. To be more productive, one needs to be an active listener which means not only capturing the words being spoken in the story but having discernment to extrapolate positively where the potentials are.

As to the type of stories one listens to, requires people to exercise wisdom. People need to graduate from one stage to the next. Mostly as a child one would like listening to more folklore type stories which are meant to enhance imaginative powers and also to teach lessons in a softer way. As you grow up, you would start listening to real stories and when matured to some hard to comprehend stories which with experience one is able to digest.

It is therefore natural that in adulthood you would expect one to be attuned to stories of their age, if an adult is fond of tuning in to children stories you would adjudge that person as immature or seen as having something wrong within them. Let\’s choose wisely which stories we listen to, in case of doubt run away!

The quotes this week are a continuation of extractions from a book about the shifting knowledge that humans realise they have as they reconnect with their creator. I am sure the selected quotations below from this book will enlighten you to one or two life lessons. Read and enjoy:

TOWARDS A NEW WORLD VIEW by Various Authors Edited by Russell E DiCarlo

\”As various polls suggest, public interest in spirituality is rising, while the numbers of people enrolled in traditional organized religions are dramatically declining. This paradox is due in part to the following: ——- The recognized distinction between spirituality (the personal experience of a higher power) and religion characterized by theology, dogma, narrow interpretations of the scriptures (influenced by period, tradition and background) and material and political ambitions. ——- The awareness that Western religions have focused exclusively upon God transcendent, residing outside of his creation, an observer. Yet, God is also immanent — always noted by Eastern traditions — residing deep within the human heart. This is causing a synthesis of the two views, and the perception that God, greater than the created whole, is also present in every part.\”

\”Philosophy – literally, the \’love of wisdom\’ – owes its existence to the human power of self-reflection, a capability that distinguishes man from animal. ……. Philosophy relies on the ability to mentally distance oneself, to step back, to question. We employ reason to lay bare the most basic assumptions of our world views. Through our philosophies, we weave a story about the universe that helps us to make sense out of a chaotic world and satisfies the ever-questioning intellect.\”

\”Incidentally, academics like to get wrapped-up in their own specialized worlds. I think there are some surprises coming fast and the academic world is poorly prepared, aside from the little snippets they may pick up in Omni Magazine. One of my concerns has been how to introduce these ideas in an intellectually respectable fashion.\”

\”Our sense of low self-esteem and unworthiness can also be traced to some old, European ideas about how children were supposed to be raised. Most of us in this country are still heir to the old type of child-rearing that says, \’A child should be seen and not be heard\’ or \’Adults know best.\’ Every time a parent with an authoritarian point of view raises a child, self-esteem will be low because the child never quite measures up. In some way you are being told what\’s wrong instead of what\’s right. There has been a great deal written about changing modes of child rearing. That has everything to do with self-esteem. The more authoritarian the parent, the lower the self-esteem of the child.\”