‘You said a few moments ago that the word spirit is used when movement or activity is implied. Could it be that the spirit in us is naturally drawn to journeys – journeys of significance?’
‘What an interesting thought!’ I replied. ‘I wonder if you might be right. Maybe even challenging physical journeys have some deeper resonance in our essential being. Have you noticed that all the world’s fairy stories involve journeys set within the context of the eternal struggle between good and evil?
‘Maybe it depends upon the journey, but some can become epics of the human spirit. Captain Scott’s journey to the South Pole ended in failure and disaster, yet when we read his last letters we sense that other inner journey of the indomitable human spirit.
‘One of the most experienced and best qualified of all the American astronauts, Storey Musgrave, was asked what motivated them to make the great journey into space not once but many times, in spite of the attendant dangers. “Depends on who you are,” he replied, “but for me its 99.9% spiritually driven – a direct revelation of the cosmos, God if you will.” Not since the 1960s, he added, have we had a vision that space travel is about people, what it means to be a human being.’
‘That begins to suggest to me,’ said the young chief executive, ‘that there is indeed a spiritual energy implicit in us, a potential source of high-octane fuel. Given the oxygen of inspiration and a lighted match it can burst into life and generate new energy. Let me pause and write down a few keypoints.’
Keypoints
- Sometimes work is done in such a way that amazes observers in terms of its quality – it far exceeds what people thought they could do. Forces present in the task, in the people themselves, and the leader, interact to produce this result.
- Human beings are like four-engined aircraft. The engines are body, mind, heart and spirit.
- Spirit is difficult to define, but it relates to the essence of an individual person – what traditionally is called the soul. Spirit is dynamic rather than static. It suggests movement, energy and resilience.
- In some way we don’t understand spirit is also a common property.
We have it but we also share it. It is that which makes possible the phenomenon of inspiration.
It leaves us open, too, to the idea that there is a higher power or spirit that may also inspire us in creative ways, guide us and strengthen us. Our sense of being on an inner journey is a fruit of our spiritual nature.
A Vision Without A Task Is A Dream A Task Without A Vision Is Mere Drudgery
Anonymous