Dear and lovely Bold Ones (and welcome to new Bold Friends),
This is a compilation of sidetracks leading from a quote I read somewhere on the internet.
Live Bold List 6: B. Be. Begin. Being. Benign. Thanks Goethe
1 Beginning (the inspiration):
Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.” – Goethe
Magic + boldness + action. What a strong statement. No dilly-dallying! I love it.
(Johan Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer (born 1749) and multi-specializing person (sometimes called a polymath, he was a Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Natural Philosopher, Diplomat & Civil servant). His most famous writing work that we have heard of is a 2-part play called Faust. The painting shown above was by Stieler and done in 1928. And all that was gleaned from the fabulous wikipedia. Am I getting too didactic? I will move on.)
2 Musing (the ‘b’ words flow, mind is wandering, where is it going?): Begin. Be (see 3). Being. Be benign (see 4). Begin the beguine (“beh-geen”). I am taking the hint from this Cole Porter song as a reminder to start dancing!
3 Be: Breathe. In. Out. Repeat.
4 Be benign: I did not realise the fullness and loveliness of the meaning of this word: kind, warmhearted, good-natured, friendly, warm, affectionate, agreeable, genial, congenial, cordial, approachable, tenderhearted, gentle, sympathetic, compassionate, caring, well-disposed, benevolent. Wow! Cool, huh? *Not just to others, to yourself too! Another great reminder.
5 Behaviour: Actions can start little and still add up.
Small scale, garden action: Here Squawkfox explains how to save heirloom tomato seeds.
Small scale, global action: This Saturday there are many organised Walks against Warming, and later candlelight vigils all around the world to attempt to indicate to the politicians at the Copenhagen climate summit that we want them to act on our and our earth’s behalf.
6 Appreciate how lucky we are. Make a mental note to yourself or the universe or whoever you talk to. The mere act of recognising our thanks seems to bring more of a swell of the same good feeling.
Thanks for reading all the way down. Glad you could be here.
Just to let you know, my next post will be a bit of an information one, about buying tshirts, to celebrate the free shipping on 3 tshirts or more for the next couple of weeks. Then I will begin a series of short lists to wrap up 2009 with things to celebrate.