{"id":2304,"date":"2014-11-18T23:31:55","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T04:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/?p=2304"},"modified":"2014-11-18T23:58:19","modified_gmt":"2014-11-19T04:58:19","slug":"who-told-you-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/?p=2304","title":{"rendered":"Who told you so?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mouserish\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We all know the iconic picture.<\/p>\n

I can’t remember how old I was… when\u00a0 I saw this “scene” for the first time, but it was during a Saturday morning cartoon.<\/p>\n

Yes.\u00a0 The wise guru sitting at the very tippiest top of the mountain.<\/p>\n

Porky Pig, or Bugs Bunny… or somebody animated…. climbed all the way to the top of the highest mountain peak… and struggled and scuffled to make the arduous ascent.\u00a0 When he finally reached the top, he found the guru sitting there.\u00a0 A little dude with his legs all crossed up in a pretzel knot.\u00a0\u00a0 He was wearing a simple white robe, and a long white beard.\u00a0\u00a0 And Porky, (or Bugs), gasping to get a breath, asked him the “HUGE” question he needed the answer to.\u00a0 The guru gave him some ambiguous reply…. like… “A little mouse told me so.”, and it seemed as though the journey had been a big waste of time.<\/p>\n

I had no idea then what this was in reference to.\u00a0 In fact, it took me a long time to figure it out.\u00a0 The Secret Meaning of Life.\u00a0 The Secret Key to Finding Happiness.<\/p>\n

And what I have finally come to is this.\u00a0 There is no secret meaning of life, and certainly no secret key to finding happiness.\u00a0 There is no secret at all.<\/p>\n

I have always figured on…..\u00a0 the magic bullet, the golden ticket, the secret recipe.\u00a0 The guru at the top of the mountain with the great big answer to it all.\u00a0 But there isn’t any.<\/p>\n

The realization I have come to, is this.\u00a0\u00a0 I am on a personal journey.\u00a0 I am on that climb up the mountain.\u00a0 Sometimes I have to scramble and grapple to get to the next place… but what a beautiful place it is.\u00a0 I just have to stop, sit my butt down on the ledge… and look out over the wide expanse… the green valley filled with trees and teaming with life.\u00a0 The the birds circling in the air.\u00a0 The clouds.\u00a0 The sun.\u00a0 And then when I am ready to start climbing again… I climb.<\/p>\n

If I get to a point and meet a wise little fella at the apex of the climb… I hope we have a good visit.\u00a0 But then I continue on my journey.\u00a0 Maybe down a slope for a little while… and then back up again.<\/p>\n

There are few things I have learned along the way.
\n\u2022 Keep an open mind and try not to be judgmental.
\n\u2022 Learn from my failures… as well as my triumphs.
\n\u2022 Stop and take the time to ask WHY.\u00a0\u00a0 A guy named Naguib Mahfouz said…. \u201cYou can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.\u201d\u00a0 That is as true as it gets.
\n\u2022 Learn to listen to others… and listen well.
\n\u2022 Listen to myself.\u00a0\u00a0 Be in touch with my instincts.\u00a0 (** See earlier reference to “A little mouse told me so. **)
\n\u2022 Be okay with silence.\u00a0\u00a0 This may be the biggest one of all.<\/p>\n

A recent study in Science Magazine revealed that “67 percent of men and 25 percent of women would rather give themselves electric shocks than sit still in silence and be present with their own thoughts.”<\/p>\n

But wouldn’t you know it?\u00a0 Our current\u00a0 culture is one of constant communication and stimulation.\u00a0 Silence makes most people feel unnatural and uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

But that is when we really have the chance to cultivate personal wisdom. Whether you call it meditation or not… it is when I sit alone with my wandering thoughts\u00a0 that I find new direction.\u00a0 I learn from listening.<\/p>\n

To myself.\u00a0 To others.\u00a0 The Guru… and the little mouse.<\/p>\n

\n

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.\u00a0 —\u00a0 Ernest Hemingway <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know the iconic picture. I can’t remember how old I was… when\u00a0 I saw this “scene” for the first time, but it was during a Saturday morning cartoon. Yes.\u00a0 The wise guru sitting at the very tippiest top of the mountain. Porky Pig, or Bugs Bunny… or somebody animated…. climbed all the way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nowyouseeit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2304"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2309,"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2304\/revisions\/2309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gollypolly.com\/30473\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}