Encouraging Words by Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones
“Do something every day that you don’t want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain… I do not perform duties for duty’s sake, but because their neglect would make the man uncomfortable. A man performs but one duty – the duty of contenting his spirit, the duty of making himself agreeable to himself.” ~ Mark Twain
They say we are not hard-wired to endure 11 months of social isolation with no actual end in sight. They also say living in uncertainty for an extended time can suck the energy out of you to a point of total lethargy, leeching your creative essence dry. Pandemics tend to do that. Whoever “they” are may be on to something. Here I sit at my computer staring at my “things to do” list and, to be transparent with you, I am not feeling the love. The last thing I want to do now is another “thing.” My logical mind wanders into a discussion with itself saying, “You’ve worked hard for the past few months and you deserve a break.” My mind is lobbying for a day with no obligations or commitments, but it is also aware of the trap it is setting for itself. This is when I become most aware of that place within me wherein instant gratification lies in wait, chomping at the bit, hoping to ambush and undermine my commitment to my predetermined duties of the day. When I first read Mark Twain’s aforementioned quote, I recoiled from it because it challenged me to live up to my highest potential when I wasn’t in the mood for living up to anything. So goes the journey of a soul wishing to honor its goals, purpose and evolutionary path; many are the micro-moments when inspiration to do what Emerson refers to as “the thing” we do not want to do comes and goes in a heartbeat. The practice is to initiate and stay with the action even after the inspiration has long faded in the wind. This is a high call to duty–to ourselves.
I interpret Mark Twain’s use of the words “doing your duty” as being synonymous with the commitment to one’s self to develop and grow more into a being of infinite possibilities by not settling for the road more traveled which is, without question, the road of instant gratification. In practical application, how does the wisdom of Twain and Emerson resonate with you? What does “doing something you don’t want to do” mean? Does jumping out of an airplane or bungee jumping qualify, just because you are afraid to do so? It could, but it might also include the more mundane things we often might dodge such as taking out trash, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, finding an alternative to going to the gym, communicating with someone we have been avoiding, finishing that project we’ve been putting off, and so on. Regardless of what it might be, it means putting wheels under that which is ours to do to create a life worth living.
A pandemic can be a great excuse to avoid going the distance of any endeavor–but there is a place within us that knows when we are selling ourselves short. Sometimes I have difficulty doing the one extra thing (whatever it may be) even when I know, as a result, I will have the power Emerson promises; that power always comes in the form of delayed gratification. There is nothing as empowering as the emotion which arises from within when we stand toe-to-toe with our own dragons of lethargy and slay them. Does this mean to say we should never take a day off to do nothing but relax and regenerate? No; it means when we take those days, we can know it’s sponsored by a conscious, proactive choice made from a place of authentic power rather than instant gratification or lethargy.
What “duty” might you do today that would make you, as Twain says, agreeable with yourself? You need look no further than the finish line for this day you have already drawn and then choose one thing that, in your heart, you know is not on the agenda which needs doing and do that thing.
Once you start the process, it will amaze you how the Universe conspires to do its part. There is more power available to you than you might imagine when you just do the thing. Yes, now.
Peace, Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones
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