Dear all,
I found the following to be one of the many gifts which I got from the
Tulsa Think Tank where a great group met face to face to explore the
possibilities of online-communication and experiencing. You may have seen
the announcement by Simon Priest in December.
This one is so beautiful that I wish to share it with you:
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The Power of Sublime
by John Chen
Sunday, February 04, 2001
So I was invited to a *Digital Think Tank* in Tulsa, OK which was focused
on doing experiential activities online. After the 2nd night, and a few
beers, I got into a deep conversation about a seminar I created once on
the fly that included a Dodge Viper and about "Going First Class" in life.
My cohort, Rich, pondered, what if we did a similar type of seminar about
doing something SUBLIME?
The word intrigued me, as I hardly ever used the word, sublime. To Rich,
sublime is doing something unexpected for no purpose what so ever. For
instance, meditating in the forest, dancing for no reason, or giving
subways tokens away for free. The seminar would gather a collection of
people, it would do a short piece on teaching what is sublime and then
instruct them to something sublime in the next 24 hours, then report back
and debrief the entire experience.
I, being a person of action, asked, what if we tried it out today? What
if we did something sublime in the next 24 hours? Rich was ready to
ponder, but not ready to act, so as he left to go to bed, I decided I
would personally try it, I would do something sublime.
So I started asking my brain, what is sublime? I was in a beautiful
location, how about meditating on a walk through the woods? How about
trying to dance with the deer? How printing out little quotes and leaving
them all over the seminar room? Being late at night, and too tired to
wake up early or stay up later to implement, I rejected all of these ideas
and looked for something simple.
Finally, I got it! I*m so respectful and aware of all the people it takes
to put on any event, and I wanted to thank my housekeeper for doing such a
great job of cleaning my room yesterday. So I did something I rarely do,
(I bet my wife would love it if I did this more!), I cleaned my room.
Then I write my housekeeper a note:
Dear Housekeeper,
Thank you for doing such a great job in cleaning my room yesterday. I
wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it, so I thought I*d do
something for you today. I did something I rarely do, I cleaned my room.
What I*d like you to do is take the time you would normally take to clean
my room, sit down and write down everything that you*re grateful for.
When you*re done, take the note and place it somewhere special.
Thanks again for taking the extra care in my room and for making my visit
to Tulsa better.
(Then I left her a tip of a penny, a dollar coin, and a $10 bill)
A penny for your thoughts
A dollar for your trouble
Ten dollars to make a difference in your life
(Then I found this quote in the book *The Way of Adventure* that I was
currently reading) "This is one simple rule: you must give more than you
can afford. And be grateful for whatever you receive. Always." * Aymara
saying
Sincerely,
Your Room 16 Occupant
I left the note on the corner of my well-made bed, arranged with a pad of
paper and a pen, with the note lit by the overhead light. I left the room
and had a spectacular day at this Think Tank where I got a chance to
present and create new ideas about Building Trust Online and how to
Experiential Initiatives Online.
When I finally got a break before dinner, I was genuinely excited to see
what happened! While I was not tied to any result, I was curious to see
if anything happened. I opened my door, dropped my stuff and turned on
all the lights as I searched high and low to see if I was left something.
I had almost exhausted all the locations and was getting ready to resign
myself that this was just an unselfish act to the universe when all of a
sudden, I spotted it.
Above the desk, on a small shelf, underneath my well-placed sunglasses,
was a folded note. I smiled as I reached forward to slide the note from
underneath my glasses. I carefully unfolded the handwritten note and
read:
I have a great deal
to be grateful for.
I*m 50 years old.
I have a super husband
of 35 yrs last Dec 28th. I
have two beautiful
daughters 19 & 30 yrs old.
I have healthy & intelligent
grand daughters. Twin 9 &
oldest 11 yrs. My mother
is healthy & still a part
of my life. I have
contracted the housekeeping
here at the learning
center 4 ½ years. My husband
and I get to work
together. Are able to
make a living. Have been
able to enjoy life & see
the natural beauty of
life while making our
living. Thanks for the cash
will help with energy crunch.
Most of all. Thanks
so very much to notice
the pride I do take
in such an insignificant
job as cleaning your
room. I do try always
to do a good job.
Your thank you is
very special.
Your Housekeeper
God Bless You & Your whole family.
I stood dumbfounded, struck by the power of sublime.
What could you do today that would be sublime?
CopyLeft John Chen & PlayTime Inc. * Creating Life Changing Adventures 2001
http://www.playtimeinc.com
You are free to distribute as long as you include the credit of the author
& website and you include your name if you add additional value to this
information.
-----
Liebe Gruesse,
Winfried
--"Winfried Dressler" <winfried.dressler@voith.de>
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