20 - On a Sunny day when you jump

It's at the lake on a Sunny day when you jump into the water

Transcript

Current Episode Introduction

This episode is informed by the verse of the poem representing the letter:

• S

• It's at the lake on a Sunny day when you jump into the water

It includes a brief description of the verse, a personal reflection demonstrating how the verse has facilitated my own resonance with Doses of God in my life, a statement of gratitude, and a few guiding questions that may be considered for your own reflection.

Description

Here is description of the verse:

• It's at the lake on a Sunny day when you jump into the water

• When you jump into the lake on a sunny day, you are taking advantage of the beautiful conditions that God places into your life. You jump at the opportunity to get in, swim around, and have some fun. The experience was designed for you and you quickly decided to act upon it. Your presence is keen. Your mind is clear. You are not distracted by relentless thoughts or external obstructions. Many similar opportunities, graced with ideal conditions, emerge throughout our lives. We might choose to jump onto the dance floor during a wedding reception, jump at the chance to go out with friends or a spouse for an evening, jump at the opportunity to take a family vacation, jump into an exciting assignment at work or school, or jump into a personal project that allows us to follow our passion. We must choose to jump into these opportunities when they arise. If we don’t, they will soon pass. God gives us ideal conditions that we can quickly act upon. Acting upon these conditions will allow us to live a life of balance and satisfaction.

Reflection

Here is my personal reflection on the verse:

• To me, this verse is about being spontaneously and voluntarily courageous in a way that allows me to jump into, or act upon, an exciting or intriguing opportunity. It is about making a relatively quick decision to engage in behaviors beyond the certainty of my normal routine based on an intuitive sense, or even a slight cognitive understanding, that any present discomfort induced by current uncertainty will likely lead to favorable short-term and, possibly, long-term outcomes. I see it as courageous because there seems to be at least some element of fear or hesitation accompanying the ambiguity of taking action in ways that are not habitual or are not familiar to me. I see it as spontaneous because there is a limited amount of time to act on the opportunity before it is no longer available to me. I see it as voluntary because it is not mandatory, and I do not anticipate any sort of reprimand or punishment if I don’t take action. In a literal sense, I have jumped into the lake on several sunny days over the years and, more often than not, have experienced joyous invigoration as a result. I have also realized positive outcomes through spontaneous voluntary courage in a variety of other contexts, such as sledding when there has been snow, taking surf lessons when we were at the ocean and the tide was high enough, and engaging in unfamiliar activities when we were on a cruise, which included taking disco dance lessons, swimming with dolphins, and snorkeling. The following examples also seem to represent elements of spontaneous voluntary courage and are a bit more detailed.

• First, in line with the lake theme, but on a dark and bitterly cold night instead of a sunny and warm day, I went to the lake with a few friends to feel the effects of rapidly switching between extremely hot and extremely cold temperatures by taking a sauna and jumping into ice cold water. The air temperature was below freezing, and the lake was frozen over. We turned on the sauna so it could heat up while we chopped a hole in the ice near the shore. After there was a large enough hole and the sauna was adequately warm, we sat and sweated in the sauna, periodically increasing the heat by pouring water on the scalding rocks. After sitting in progressively intensifying heat for several minutes, we opened the door of the sauna, ran about 20 yards to the hole we had chopped in the ice, and briefly submerged ourselves in the freezing water. When I exited the water and paused for a few moments to simply stand and breathe in the fresh air after experiencing the rapid transition from extremely hot to extremely cold temperatures, I felt centered, present with heightened senses of emotional and physical bliss. This experience was entirely voluntary and had an element of spontaneity because, in order to feel the effects of a rapid transition between extreme temperatures, a quick decision about whether to jump into the water needed to be made as soon as we opened the door and began allowing cooler air into the sauna. There seemed to be an element of courage as I was able to overcome hesitations stemming from subtle fears about how my body and mind would respond to the rapid change between the extreme temperatures.

• As another example in a different type of context, when I was employed as a Data Management Specialist at a Regional Education Association, I overheard a couple of colleagues planning a professional development class for local educators. The class would include guest speakers from area businesses to discuss types of workforce readiness skills that would be helpful for students to possess upon high school graduation. Their discussion instantly ignited a mini inspiration within me and, although it was beyond the scope of my role, I spontaneously jumped into their conversation to say something like, “Hey, over the years, I’ve periodically thought that I’d like to give a presentation called Trunkful of Failures. The title is based on a time when the phrase popped into my mind as I opened the trunk of my 1999 Toyota Camry and noticed a few artifacts of a lost job and a couple of failed projects. I feel like I’ve had a number of failures over the years and could talk about some of the lessons I learned through those experiences. What do you think?” Their response was something along the lines of, “Sounds great, you’re on the agenda.” Immediately, I was pumped about the opportunity but soon began thinking, “Uh oh, what did I get myself into?” because I did not have a vision for how I would frame and present my failures and lessons learned in a coherent way that mattered to the participants. Ultimately, my decision to spontaneously, voluntarily, and courageously jump into their conversation led to the development of the CPR Success and Failure Analysis framework. During the presentation, I used this framework as a tool to guide interpretation and explanation of factors that contributed to a few of my failures and successes through lenses of capacity, passion, relevance, and presence. Since that Trunkful of Failures presentation, I have used the CPR framework to inform reflections, decisions, and actions for a variety of purposes. I have also been collaborating with friends and colleagues to advance theoretical understanding of the framework as well as to identify opportunities for developing and implementing strategies and resources relevant to the framework in practical and scalable ways.

• As another example in yet a different type of context, I accepted an invitation from a friend to join him in forming a small group to have periodic discussions about a common theme through personal interpretations and various spiritual traditions, including Christian, Bahai, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, Hindu, and others. Each discussion lasted around one or two hours and focused on a different theme. According to my records, we had separate conversations centered on more than 40 unique themes; a few included unity, compassion, suffering, prayer, peace, and love. An average group size included roughly six to eight participants, but there were up to 15 people at times. Participants would often bring a contribution relevant to the theme to share during the discussion. Some brought scriptural readings from one or more religions or spiritual traditions; some brought excerpts of other books or publications; some brought or played music; some brought art; some brought poetry; some brought personal written reflections; some provided impromptu oral reflections. If I allocated adequate time before a meeting, I attempted to write a personal interpretation of the theme and read it at the meeting. The synthesis of formally prepared and impromptu contributions made throughout a meeting tended to cultivate a collective understanding among participants that the underlying meaning of a theme seemed similar across multiple religions and personal interpretations. Its general essence often appeared to span a wide array of spiritual traditions, transcending an attachment to the surface of semantics, rituals, customs, or different religious structures that have potential to inhibit our loving connections with others if we lean too heavily on the structures and assume a position that the way we learn about and demonstrate the themes is the only or best way. Although this type of format extended beyond the norm of my typical spiritual practices and interactions with peers, I spontaneously, voluntarily, and courageously jumped into the invitation to join the initial meeting and was a consistent participant in subsequent discussions. As a result, I have realized a multitude of positive outcomes, such as an increased understanding of others’ perspectives and traditions, an expanded view of the way in which I interpret beauty in the world, the establishment of new and strengthened relationships, improved written and oral reflection skills, and a heightened sense of inner peace.

Gratitude Statement

I am immeasurably grateful for:

• having encountered favorable outcomes through spontaneous and voluntary courage and will attempt to remain aware of opportunities to take timely and optional actions in non-routine or unfamiliar contexts that are likely to yield positive results.

Guiding Questions

Here are a few guiding questions to consider that might facilitate your own personal reflection upon the verse:

• It’s at the lake on a Sunny day when you jump into the water.

Take a moment to reflect on:

• times when you have jumped into opportunities that required spontaneous and voluntary courage

For example:

• What are examples of times when you acted quickly on optional opportunities in non-routine or unfamiliar settings?

• What types of positive short-term or long-term outcomes resulted from your actions?

• How do you feel when you act on these types of opportunities and experience favorable results?

• In what ways do you express gratitude for your ability to spontaneously, voluntarily, and courageously jump into opportunities that are likely to yield positive outcomes?

• What strategies could you implement to maintain awareness of intriguing opportunities to demonstrate spontaneous voluntary courage in non-routine or unfamiliar settings?

Closing Statement

In closing:

• when you jump into the water on a sunny day, or quickly jump into another opportunity as it surfaces in your life, you receive a Dose of God.

Next Episode

The next episode in this series will focus on the verse representing the letter:

• T

• It’s the refreshing Taste of lemonade to cool you off when you get hotter

Positive Vibes

Thank you so much for listening. May you consistently position yourself to accept and resonate with the Doses of God that are ever-presently here for you.