May 05, 2003 7:18 P.M.

Scraps of Thought

Often something sparks an illumination in my thoughts and I run to jot it down quickly before I forget it. The result is that I have a spiral notebook with pages of scribbled handwritten �scraps of thought� which I later find almost impossible to transcribe.

Here is a sampling.

Scrap 1: Remember my entry of April 17, �Everybody Has a Story�? Last week I saw a sequel to the original telecast. It seems that this is now a frequent feature on CBS�s �The Early Show�. It is hosted by its originator, Steve Hartman. The concept behind the feature is life changing. This particular day, Steve closed the program by commenting on how the awareness that �everybody has a story� effects casual encounters with strangers. He said, �We sometimes simply �dismiss� people. We see their faces, make a mental judgment, and dismiss them.�

This sounds normal, doesn�t it. But the �they have a story� awareness changes our casual tendency to just dismiss someone out of mind. It colors our response and reaction to him or her.

Scrap 2: I have found a daily radio personality which I consider well worth listening to, as I go through my daily routine. Maybe it is because he is somewhat of a �homespun philosopher� himself, but actually, he is a commentator and moralist who is the author of several books. He broadcasts from a local station in the southern California area, but is syndicated across the country. His name is Dennis Prager. You will occasionally find �Prager� quotes in these entries. He is one of those people who often drop powerful �one-liners� more rapidly than I can write them down.

Each Friday, he has the tradition of setting aside one of his three broadcast hours for �The Happiness Hour�. Some years back he wrote a book entitled �Happiness is a Serious Problem�. This subject is very dear to his heart, and on this show he proposes a thesis which has something to do with the subject of happiness, and discusses it. Last Friday, he was discussing how happiness is often an action, rather than a feeling, and these �one-liners� were zinging their way into my notebook.

�Do what is happy, generous, and loving, and you will become that.�

�Let your feelings be shaped by your behavior, not the other way around.�

�DO, - even if you don�t FEEL. Then you will FEEL.�

�If you act happy, even when you don�t feel it, soon you will feel it.�

�Feelings are important to YOU. Behavior is important to OTHERS.�

�Behavior shapes the heart, even when the heart cannot shape behavior.�

And this last thought, � The more you say �Thank you�, the more grateful you will actually become.�

In all these comments, Dennis was not negating the importance of feelings, but challenging his listeners to �rise above them� and see if the feelings could not be reshaped by personal action.

Counselors frequently use this �behavioral modification therapy� when helping some people with extreme fears and panic disorders. The patients are taken through the feared experiences, and the actions begin to lessen their fear.

Society has had a few decades of �getting in touch with our emotions�. That has been incredibly valuable as we learn about ourselves and others. But it would seem that the pendulum is swinging�now that we are aware of the emotions�to the question of how we choose to act. The first is personally revealing; the second is character forming.

Let me tell you a story. One of those little parables with a kick.

One day a Rabbi, Reb Zusha, died and went to heaven. He stood before God and apologetically said, �God I am so sorry that I was never as great as Moses.�

God replied, �Reb Zusha, I never expected you to be as great as Moses. But you were not as great as Reb Zusha could have been.�

Some experiences in life reveal our character. It is up to us if we use those experiences to improve our character.

Thanks for reading.

Text � copyright 2003 - 2008 The Homespun Philosopher

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