MONDAY BYTES – December 26, 2011
Dec. 26 is boxing day and no, this doesn’t refer to fisticuffs or the official day for returns and exchanges at the mall. Although the origin of the holiday is murky, it has to do with donations to the needy, which were collected in church boxes and busted open for distribution the day after Christmas.
Why not select your own significance for the holiday, and make it your own? In this season of high stress, what with being overloaded on sugar, shopping, family, and expectations, maybe the charity should begin at home! After all, it’s about this time each year, the wind-up to New Year’s, that worries over finances, health, and career start to set in.
Here’s a suggestion: to celebrate boxing day, imagine a box in gold and make it the receptacle of your best qualities. Years ago, Israeli composer Lior Navok, in a talk to a classroom of students, focused on creativity and motivation. His advice made a big impression and in the new edition of Beyond Talent, I detailed Lior’s talk: “He described the drive we have to create, the internal fire, as a gold box. It is something absolutely personal and irreplaceable in each of us, a precious gift that we need to safeguard. Lior’s image of the gold box is powerful—a kind of visual touchstone, useful for reminding musicians of their individuality. His metaphor itself is a gift: when you conjure it, you may also find it has a centering and motivating effect.”
For this week:
Instead of making New Year’s resolutions only to renege on these, how about turning your attention to the contents of the gold box. Ask yourself, what will enhance your motivation, your internal drive—your ability to move ahead with your goals? What would help you in the coming month to do the work you most need to do?
As always, I appreciate your feedback and comments. And I’d especially love to know what you’re planning to do!
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Dream big, Plan smart, Live well!
