Creative Cliff Illusion, Lessons from a Father

Question: The tiny things you’re thankful for.

Quote: Dare mighty things.

Framework: Creative Cliff Illusion.

Tweet: Lessons from a father to his kids.

Article: Failure into success.

 
What tiny things are you thankful for?

American author Kurt Vonnegut delivered a beautiful commencement speech at Rice University in 1998.

In the speech, he closed with a story I love:

Up to this point this speech has been new stuff, written for this place and this occasion. But every graduation address I’ve delivered has ended, and this one will, too, with old stuff about my Uncle Alex, my father’s kid brother.​

A Harvard graduate, Alex Vonnegut was locally useful in Indianapolis as an honest insurance agent. He was also well-read and wise. One thing which Uncle Alex found objectionable about human beings was that they seldom took time out to notice when they were happy.

He himself did his best to acknowledge it when times were sweet. We could be drinking lemonade in the shade of an apple tree in the summertime, and he would interrupt the conversation to say, “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

So, I hope that you Adams and Eves in front of me will do the same for the rest of your lives.

When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud: “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

There are a lot of tiny beautiful things in life that are easy to miss if you’re moving too fast to appreciate them. When we recognize them—when we lean into gratitude—we find new joy and happiness in our lives.

 Συνέχεια εδώ