Man must deal with himself. It is his reality he must face each morning when he rises. He must be, he must move, he must create. – Louis L’Amour, The Lonesome Gods

We quote Louis L’Amour here from time to time. As we’ve noted, the critic who said L’Amour would have benefited from a freshman composition course was probably right. L’Amour was not our most technically brilliant writer. He was, however, completely self-educated, a man with nothing better to do than to live and learn. The fact that he spent most of his young life wandering and living while he learned the writing trade gave him and his work the insights into our human experience that few match. It’s one of the things you pay us writers for.

There is no substitute for personal examination. Every one of us must look ourselves in the mirror every morning and the reflection looking back is always us. There is no escaping it; it is always there, young or old, richer or poorer, good times or bad. Relentlessly, daily, it updates us on our life’s progress.

Man must deal with himself.

Are we doing well and have earned the right to look that image square in the eye? Or are we squandering our time here and find ourselves avoiding it’s relentless gaze?

Each of us must answer this question individually. You can’t answer it for me and I certainly can’t answer it for you. If we are making use of the talents and ambitions issued us at birth, there is no reason we shouldn’t smile at what we see in the mirror. We are living the life we were meant to live.

If we are not making good use of our time and talents, we may well be avoiding the reflection in the mirror.

He must be…

We must be doing something more than merely surviving. It must come from something deep inside us.

…he must move…

We must be moving to someplace different and better than what we are today.

…he must create…

Not all of us are artists, but we all have the canvas we are creating our lives on. We must ask ourselves what we are putting on that canvas? Is it something beautiful we want the world to see, or is it something we’d rather keep hidden?

We were all issued certain talents and ambitions at birth. The happiest lives are spent by those who maximize those talents, who do with their lives what they are meant to do.

It doesn’t matter what it is, either: painting a picture, building a chair, raising a family, running your own business. We were all cut out for different things and this world runs smoother when we are doing those things. We can’t go against our grain.

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There is not much sense in setting one’s foot upon the road and not traveling the fullest possible distance. – James Madison

James Madison was one of the most useful people our nation has produced. A planter from Virginia, he served our country in the House of Representatives, as Secretary of State and was the fourth president of the United States and his influence on our Constitution cannot be underestimated, the result of his guiding hand. Today’s thought was directed at Thomas Jefferson, who didn’t really want to go on as a long a trip with Madison as Madison had suggested.

There is no substitute for getting the most out of our time on this planet. There comes when everyone must examine their life, usually when our time comes to die. I don’t have personal experience in this matter yet, but it seems to me no one staring eternity in the face is wishing they would have worked more or watched more television. They are probably wishing they had done less of these things, honestly.

We must withdraw every possible benefit from every circumstance life offers us. We must keep forging ahead with our path until we are told “all right, that’s enough’.

My own personal experience comes from sports officiating. Like most officials I started out working youth sports. I did some junior college baseball and that was as high as I got. The JC I was working for joined a conference and the conference didn’t hire me. All right, I ended up having a completely satisfying high school officiating career, with more championship and other big games than most received. I became about as good as I was going to get and accomplished all I cared to, one of life’s great prizes.

There is not much sense in setting one’s foot upon the road and not traveling the fullest possible distance…

To do less is to cheat ourselves and when we cheat ourselves we are also cheating our fellow beings because only when we are getting the most out of our individual experiences can society get the most out of our collective experience. We must withdraw every benefit from every situation.

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In short, I am convinced, by both faith and experience, that to maintain one’s self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime. – Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) was an American writer, naturalist and philosopher. He was born and spent his life in Massachusetts. Though Walden is generally accepted as a classic of American literature, Thoreau earned his living independently of writing, as an educator, surveyor and in the family pencil-making business.

Walden is a chronicle of his time living in a cabin at Walden Pond. Thoreau spent two years at Walden Pond, though the book is condensed into a single year period.

Thoreau may well be our species foremost proponent of making our time serve us and his influence on this column is acknowledged.

We only have one shot at life on this planet. This is true regardless of your religious beliefs. You may believe you are destined for eternal life with a supreme being, or you may believe you are coming back as something else or you may not believe either of these things. In all cases, you have only one chance at this particular life.

Now, there are some born into circumstances that give them little chance for anything more than hardship. There is little we can do about this because it is the way the world is built. Since time immemorial there have been those born with little chance.

If you’re reading this, you probably do not fall into that category. If you’re reading this you have an Internet connection and know how to read. Odds are your time on this planet is relatively easy.

So it’s reasonable to ask yourself is your passage on this planet a hardship or a pastime? Only you can answer that.

We have two options. We can get the most out of the talents we were issued at birth or we can fight the natural order and spend our lives chasing pleasure and reacting to outside circumstances and influences.

We must all follow our path. Now, your path may not lead to fame and fortune. Good. Fame and fortune are demanding masters. We must follow our hearts and trust our instincts. Doing so leads to life being a pastime, a life spent making your time serve you, instead of a life spent merely serving time.

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…in the midst of an extreme situation, the wise are patient…Healing will follow upheaval. – Deng Ming Dao, 365 Tao

Patience, the old saying goes, is a virtue and patience can take many forms.

There is short term patience, the type of patience required to get through a trying day. There is long-term patience, the type of patience that allows us to take a long-term view of life. There is the patience noted in today’s thought, the patience required to make it through an extreme situation.

All three are necessary for a well-lived life.

Not every day is great. Sometimes our fellow beings annoy us. Sometimes it’s a family situation, or maybe someone at work is not complying with our view of how things should be going. Maybe our lunch isn’t being delivered as fast as we would like. It’s helpful in these situations to take a breath and realize that everything eventually, passes, and a hectic, bustling moment won’t last forever.

Long-term patience, the patience required to construct a well-lived life, is important, too. We must realize good things take time and have the patience to achieve our desired end. Few people become what they were meant to be in their 20s, and those who do sometimes have unsatisfying 30s and 40s.

Extreme situations usher extreme emotions. Chaos in life, such as illness or death or a natural disaster bring emotions we may not be familiar with, emotions that appear to demand immediate action.

… the wise are patient…

Patience is not easy. Sometimes we want to smack someone. Sometimes what we want out of life is not happening as fast as we think it should. Sometimes things go wrong and our instinct is for immediate action. We must sublimate these instincts.

The most satisfying lives are lived by those who have patience in these situations. We must realize that chaos passes and that if we follow our heart and trust our instincts, what’s meant to happen in our lives usually does.

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