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It's the little things that work, that you don't pay attention to, that stay with you the longest.

Staples. I realized, as I stapled my homework, that I was using the stapler that used to be in the kitchen of my house when I was growing up. I'd been using that stapler since I was old enough to know what it was. That very stapler. It's been with me longer than friends.

An eraser. I've been using the same white mars plastic eraser since sophomore year in high school, over six years ago. I bought it for a drafting course I took over the summer. It's such a small thing, I expect I would have lost it by now. But I've brought it everywhere, and I've never lost it. It holds a firm shape from years of being used by the same hand.

These things, they're inanimate objects, but they're still part of my history. I almost want to give that stapler to my children. An heirloom stapler. Heheheh heh.

---

Cris asked me, "How do you know when you have to write something down?"

"When I phrase it properly in my thoughts." When I think something significant, I think it over again a few times till it sounds right. That's how come I know it's worth saying.

He looks at me, bright-eyed, "So it's universal."

No, not universal. Is greatness universal? Great minds think alike. Creative people find ways to harness that energy.

---

I think of myself in terms of greatness, majesty, genius, nobility. Is that wrong?

I don't think so. I recognize it in people that see it in themselves. It's that simple. For people that believe in it, genius bends to suit them. There are as many different kinds of genius as there are kinds of people. If you choose to live up to that, it manifests in a way that is actually easy for you. Not necessarily easy--genius must work to be of any use to others (and if not of use to others, what is it for?)--but in a way that comes naturally. I respect people that allow themselves the beauty of excellence.

Which brings me to another point--the gift of excellence puts one in a position of service. There is no way around it. If you assume the mantle of being better at something than other people, it is your duty--your goddamn duty--to use it to further us. To push our limits. To pioneer. That is the deal. If status elevates you, the only reason is so you can use your position to help others. No exception. It angers me that people would accept honor without using it properly.

And on the spirit of greatness (just so you know I'm not being egotistical :P), here's a quote:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We are born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our persence automatically liberates others."
- Marianne Williamson

Can I get a witness!

---

to shine as children do...

At work today a little boy was with his mom, riding in the cart. I noticed him from a mile away, as he noticed me; when I passed by him, he was present. The little boy was so intense and aware; clever, taking in his surroundings, and learning, quickly. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Boo." He couldn't have been older than two or three, but he had the uncanny look of an adult human being. He observed me, and he was thinking. This was not a child that got bored. He could see into things. In a world of people who don't access that state of mind, it is easy to forget that you have that in you. That it is who we really are. He was brilliant. He did shine.

But hey--it takes one to know one.

1:50 a.m. 2004-04-08�

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