Thursday, June 17, 2010

No Greatness in Making Anyone Feel Small

Today I previewed Kevin Hall’s new book, Aspire. I admit that, coming on the heels of more than 20 self-help, I can be anything I want type-books, my enthusiasm and attitude were a little limp. I mean sheesh, I’m living in the now, the secret is no longer a secret, and I can meditate and mantra right along with the best of them.

I’m not making fun of anything here, except for the fact that when I decide to do something it’s with a vengeance. While the last 18 months of searching, trying new concepts and growing have been wonderful, the fact that I went at it with such velocity is kinda like missing the point, right?

Back to Aspire. The Forward, by Stephen R. Covey, seemed to go on forever (yawn). I fast forwarded to chapter one. I am hooked.

Hall has identified 11 words whose deepest meanings can cause us to be the kind of people we aspire to be, maybe are born to be. In chapter one, we meet Pravin who reveals one of the words, Genshai. Here’s an excerpt:

Genshai (pronounced gen-shay) means that you should never treat any person in a manner that would make them feel small. As children in India, we are taught to never look at, touch, or address another person in a way that would make them feel small. If I were to walk by a beggar in the street and casually toss him a coin, I would not be practicing genshai. But if I knelt down on my knees and looked him in the eye when I placed that coin in his hand, that coin became love.

Genshai also applies to treating ourselves small. How often in a month, a week, a day do we dishonor ourselves? Forget our greatness? How often do we view ourselves through judgmental, foggy glasses instead of with a clear view?

Today, I learned a new word, Genshai. With it comes the responsibility to treat myself big. I can do that.

Promise to never treat yourself small. Will you do that?

Dawnya

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