The Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Enthusiasm. One of my absolute favorite words. Did you know that it comes from the Greek enthous “possessed by a god” (theos (God) and en (within))? I love that. So, when you’re enthusiastic, GOD is within you. And, equally important, when you are NOT enthusiastic, God has left the building that is you.

Never forget Emerson’s wisdom that “Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is due to the triumph of enthusiasm.”

Find the God within you. Get enthusiastic.

Socrates: “Know thyself.”
Emerson: “Trust thyself.”

In my mind, those four words come close to a complete philosophy on how to live. Add a fifth word: “Love” and I think we might just be there. Try it out. Let me know what you think.
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The complete passage from Self-Reliance: “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark.”

That’s hot. Do you realize how conditioned we are?

As Nietzsche says (see Notes), “They have turned the wolf into a dog and man himself into the man’s best domesticated animal.”

It truly, in the words of Emerson, demands something godlike in us to cast off the common motives and trust ourselves as the masters of our fate—to dare to dream the impossible and to trust our Highest Selves on this precious hero’s journey.

Reminds me of one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost.

To quote the punch line: “I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I… I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.”

Where’s your path?!? You following or leading?

Have the courage to take the path less traveled by, my friend!

I guess he felt pretty strongly about it. :)

Here’s a simple process to get out of coward-dom:

Step 1. Ask yourself: What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?
Step 2. Just do it.
Step 3. Repeat.

Wallace D. Wattles says (see Notes on The Science of Being Great): “There is, as Emerson says, some central idea or conception of yourself by which all the facts of your life are arranged and classified. Change this central idea and you change the arrangement or classification of all the fact and circumstances of your life.”

Wow. That’s powerful.

We have a central idea or conception of ourselves that organizes EVERYTHING in our lives.

How do you see yourself? As a poor kid who grew up without a lot of money, love, whatever and now plugs away at life trying to do his best, finding moments of happiness amidst the haze of challenges? Or, as an infinite being blessed with the opportunity to give your greatest gifts to the world in this brief, beautiful human experience? …

Again: How do you see yourself?

Makes a difference. A big one. Change that one idea and…

OK. You’ve got a beautiful vision of your life. Awesome. You’ve got great thoughts about how you’re going to show up in the world, what you’re going to create and all that good stuff. Fantastic. Now… Take some (massive!!) action!!! In the words of Emerson’s contemporary (and protégé), Henry David Thoreau: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost, that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.”

To our foundations!

I love that. Luck? I’m not so sure that exists. Behind all our stories about this person or that person getting “lucky” is a person who worked her butt off. Even if we’re talking about a musician or model who got picked up out of nowhere. Do you think he/she didn’t seize that opportunity with all her soul once it was given to her?

In any case, it’s too easy for us to look at someone else’s success and say they were “lucky.” Too often, that’s simply a poor (!) excuse for our own laziness—our own lack of trust in ourselves. Ick. Catch yourself the next time you think someone got “lucky.” Trace that thought back. And then see how YOU may not be living up to your highest potential. THEN, DO SOMETHING BOLD with this precious life of yours and get “lucky.” :)

That’s gotta be one of the most beautiful thoughts.

Reminds me of a story told by Wayne Dyer in his fantastic book The Power of Intention (see Notes) in which he pretty much captures the science of this truth: “The positive effect of kindness on the immune system and on the increased production of serotonin in the brain has been proven in research studies. Serotonin is a naturally occurring substance in the body that makes us feel more comfortable, peaceful, and even blissful. In fact, the role of most anti-depressants is to stimulate the production of serotonin chemically, helping to ease depression. Research has shown that a simple act of kindness directed toward another improves the functioning of the immune system and stimulates the production of serotonin in both the recipient of the kindness and the person extending the kindness. Even more amazing is that persons observing the act of kindness have similar beneficial results. Imagine this! Kindness extended, received, or observed beneficially impacts the physical health and feelings of everyone involved!”

Powerful stuff. I say we overdose on kindness today!

(Well, we don’t need to worry about that overdose, because, as Emerson tells us: “There can be no excess to love, none to knowledge, none to beauty.”)

Think about that carefully. Kinda reminds me of Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich thought (see Notes): “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

More from Emerson: “Our desires presage the capacities within us; they are harbingers of what we shall be able to accomplish. What we can do and want to do is projected in our imagination, quite outside ourselves, and into the future. We are attracted to what is already ours in secret. Thus passionate anticipation transforms what is indeed possible into dreamt-for reality.”

And: “Do that which is assigned to you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much.”

Well… What are you waiting for? You’ve been inspired. It’s time to reap your destiny!

Marcus Aurelius (see Notes), the incredible 2nd century (Roman) Emperor and (Stoic) Philosopher teaches us that: “Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts; for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts. Soak it then in such trains of thoughts as, for example: Where life is possible at all, a right life is possible.”

And, we know that Aristotle taught us that: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Countless others have commented on the subject as well.

From J. Paul Getty’s admonition that: “The individual who wants to reach the top in business must appreciate the might and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him—and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires.”

To George Washington Carver’s wisdom: “Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.”

And, Thomas Edison’s sage reminder: “The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn’t like to do.”

Emerson takes it a few steps further: “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

So, how are your thoughts? Your actions? Your habits? Your character?

Trace them closely.

Shape them consciously.

Reap your destiny.

I love the idea of the best ship zigzagging from one port to its destination.

It’s the perfect metaphor for our lives. We’re so quick to beat ourselves up the moment we feel “off-track.” Rather than spend all that energy persecuting ourselves, why not simply “re-commit” and see the big picture?!?

The key?

We need to create the dynamic tension Robert Fritz describes in his classic The Path of Least Resistance (see Notes). According to Fritz, we need to get a good idea of what we want (enough to know when we get it) and then take an honest look at our current reality, make a fundamental commitment to do our best and then simply do the next thing in front of us.

Make the phone call. Write that email. Write the plan. Join the gym. Go for the run. Take out the trash. Do whatever needs to be done—maintaining the tension between your ideal and your current reality as you move closer to your ideal vision of life.

And, of course, learn to smile when our perfectly laid out plans go to the wayside. As they say, the best way to make God laugh is to tell her your plans. :)

Have fun, do your best, laugh a lot, and remember: “The years teach us much the days never knew.”

Let’s concern ourselves with more than our shadow on the wall, shall we?

Besides. Who wants to be a hobgoblin, anyhoo?!!? :)

Karma.

In Sanskrit, the word literally means “act, or action” but has the deeper meaning denoting the entire cycle of cause and effect.

Emerson hits the essence of karma elegantly (as he tends to do) in his brilliant essay Compensation. Every act, every word, every thought plants a seed. (You know that by now, right?)

Begs the obvious question: Are you planting any seeds right now you’d rather not see harvest?!? We must become very (!) aware of the seeds we’re planting. And, of course, plant the seeds that we look forward to seeing blossom.

What thought or habit pattern do you have in your life right now that you KNOW is not bearing the fruit you want to see? Now a good time to change it? :)

You might recall how Rumi (see Notes) stressed the ills of envy: “On the way there is no harder pass than this: fortunate is he who does not carry envy as his companion.”

And: “Indeed envy is a defect; worse than any other.”

Emerson takes it a step further.

To envy anyone is simply ignorance—failing to recognize your own unique divine spark.

Don’t envy. And definitely don’t imitate.

BE. YOU. ALL of you.

Well, my friend. One more question for you:

What did nature create YOU to do?!? :)