Personal Mastery LO20889 -Seeking Article

Richard Charles Holloway (learnshops@thresholds.com)
Mon, 15 Mar 1999 23:19:47 -0800

Replying to LO20879 --

Stephen,

my response is probably not what you are looking for...it's too long and
probably too old. however, your question reminded me of my earliest
memory of this idea of personal mastery...the essay on Self-Reliance by
Ralph Waldo Emerson. This essay has influenced me for most of my life.
I'll leave you with a taste...

"Life only avails, not the having lived. Power ceases in the instant of
repose; it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state,
in the shooting of the gulf, in the darting to an aim. This one fact the
world hates, that the soul "becomes;" for that forever degrades the past,
turns all riches to poverty, all reputation to a shame, confounds the
saint with the rogue, shoves Jesus and Judas equally aside. Why, then, do
we prate of self-reliance? Inasmuch as the soul is present, there will be
power not confident but agent. To talk of reliance is a poor external way
of speaking. Speak rather of that which relies, because it works and is.
Who has more obedience than I masters me, though he should not raise his
finger. Round him I must revolve by nations, kings, rich men, poets, who
are not."

for those of you interested in reading the entire essay, you'll find it at
<http://www.thresholds.com/articles/selfrel.htm> I've also included a Word
7 version of this essay that can be downloaded.

Stephen Kunich wrote:

> I'm looking for a couple of 3 to 5 page articles on Personal Mastery
> for a presentation at Southern Illinois University. Would you be able to
> send a few my way? Pro/con, connected with Maslow or Piaget, whatever
> angle you have; however, I am most interested in the angle of vision,
> reality, committing to making it happen type. I need this by Tuesday
> afternoon.

-- 
"Understanding is the fruit of looking deeply...this present moment contains
the past and the future.  The secret of transformation...lies in our handling
of this very moment."  -Thich Nhat Hanh


Thresholds <http://www.thresholds.com>
Meeting Masters <http://www.thresholds.com/masters.html>
Richard Charles Holloway - P.O. Box 641, Long Beach, WA 98631
Voice 360.642.8487 ICQ# 10849650




        Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com>
  Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>