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THE
HIGH-5 MULTIPLE DISTRICT 410
LIONS
AWARENESS DRIVE
Dear Fellow Lions,
The day that I met Noil, my
life changed. I had not been looking for Noil; Noil just happened. In
hindsight this encounter reminds me of a story I once read, and it went
something like this -
Once upon a time, young King
Arthur was out hunting with his falcon. It was a new falcon and still needed
to be tested. The moment the falcon was released to hunt down its prey, it
flew off toward the distant forest. King Arthur had spent hours and days in
raising the falcon and was not about to lose it, so he followed it in an
attempt to lure it down onto his hand again. But as the king came closer,
the falcon took off and flew deeper into the forest and thus the king
followed its flight path deeper and deeper into the forest. After many
frustrating, failed attempts to call the falcon down, the king ended up in
an open glade with the falcon sitting in the top branches of a tree on the
opposite side of the glade. This, the king promised himself, would be his
last attempt to call the falcon down before he would give it up for lost.
Then all of a sudden, a long-bearded, silver-headed man in a cape appeared
beside him (apparently he did this often) and without much effort, called
the falcon down. Merlin and Arthur became life-long friends and Arthur often
wondered what life would have had in store for him had he not followed the
falcon - and Merlin often reminded Arthur that it would be presumptuous of
him to think that their meeting was by chance?
And so it was with Noil and I;
did I bump into Noil or had Noil been waiting for me all along? It really
does not matter because either way, it changed my life and it is what I take
away from the encounter that is important, rather than the encounter itself.
Noil's appearance was
indiscriptive - I can't say whether Noil was a man or a woman, nor could I
guess how old Noil was; I would lose all bets if I had to place a wager on
the origin of Noil, but Noil's presence was overpowering, it consumed me and
even though this encounter happened nearly a year ago, I remember it as if
it only happened yesterday. So let's start from the beginning.
Nalyd and I had agreed to go to
the lookout fairly early so that we might catch the early morning traffic
between the watering hole and the salt lick. We were on our annual hunting
trip in our ever-pursuing attempt to harvest some biltong for family and
friends, in which we rarely ever succeeded. Nevertheless, our intentions
were sincere but the fact that our reminiscing of old days gone by, reliving
events and repeating old jokes with the obligatory chuckle probably scared
away shootable buck for miles around, was neither here nor there.
The guinea fowl were still in
the tree tops when we approached the water hole and the plan was that Nalyd
would shift into his clandestine super stealth mode to approach the water at
a chance of seeing some kudu there - an early shot would take the pressure
off of us for the rest of the day. Just as Nalyd gestured for me to stay
back, I saw in the corner of my eye an old leather satchel half-hidden under
the down-hanging branches of a wag-'n-bietjie. Nylad forgotten, I extended
my shooting stick, went down on my haunches and attempted to drag the
satchel into arm's length so that I could retrieve it. My focus was totally
on the satchel and it was only once I could grab hold of it that I noticed a
person sitting on the opposite side of the tree and I immediately assumed
that the satchel must belong to him. Moving around the tree I came
face-to-face with Noil.
At first I was annoyed because
there weren't supposed to be other people here and for all I knew I was
dealing with a poacher but as I was about to ask a question, Noil said
"So you found the satchel,
which means my time has ended."
The statement was nonsensical
and my facial expression must have yelled it across the valley because Noil
gestured me to sit down, saying "Let me explain".
My having found the satchel was
an indication to Noil that I was to be the next custodian of the content
thereof. Noil had been around for some time already but the prophecy had
stated "only he who sees it, will benefit by it". Thus my having seen it and
having picked it up was, according to Noil, a sign that I was to be the next
custodian.
As you can imagine, I had
dozens of questions - who was Noil?, was I dreaming?, what is this
mumbo-jumbo of a prophecy?, custodian of what?, where was the candid camera
hidden?, and so forth but Noil cut in and said "You must have many questions
(do I ever?) but time is running out". Noil handed me the satchel and
instructed the following in a clear, yet commanding voice :
"Listen closely as I will not
have the strength to repeat my words. As soon as you had presented yourself
before me with the satchel in your hand, I knew I had found the next
custodian and I now realize my time has come. I now pass this satchel and
its valuable contents to you, but first there are certain conditions to
which you must agree."
In the far distance I could
hear cattle bellowing and goats bleating as they were let out into the veld
to graze and here I found myself sitting in front of Noil and had to agree
to something I was not even sure I wanted to agree to. Noil saw my
hesitation, grabbed my hand with urgency and asked "Do you accept?"
"Ja okay" I replied and Noil
continued. "When you get back home, open the satchel and take out the scroll
marked One. Read it over and over until you fully understand the principle
it contains and then, only then, proceed to the next scroll. As you learn
from each scroll your wealth will increase; and if you combine what you
learn with the experience you acquire and continue to study each scroll as
instructed, your wealth will grow each day. My first condition then is that
you must swear under oath that you will follow the instructions contained in
the scroll marked One. Do you agree!?"
Wealth? Did Noil say wealth?
Katjinnnggggg, I struck jackpot, and I meant it when I replied "Yes, I
swear."
"And now for the most important
condition of all. As you master the scrolls, you have to share the scrolls
or the wisdom they contain with as many people as you possibly can. Will you
promise to carry out this condition?"
"I will" I replied sincerely.
Noil sighed in relief as if a
heavy weight had been lifted off the frail shoulders. With a weak smile Noil
cupped my face and said "Take the satchel and depart. I will see thee no
more. Go with my love and with my wishes for success and my you and your
loved ones share all the happiness and wealth your future will bring you."
Nalyd's dumb-struck expression
when he found me under the tree, the kudu, the biltong all seemed to blur by
and my first clear recollection was when I eagerly opened the satchel as
soon as I got home again.
I had stated earlier that the
day I met Noil my life changed. I am happy and wealthier - not necessarily
in terms of money - and I am ready to share with you what I had learnt.
The prophecy is true; "only he
who sees it will benefit by it" and whilst I can share and show you the
content of the scrolls, as per my last promise to Noil, only you can
actually see it, if you want to, and act on it.
I too wish you success and hope
that you and your loved ones will share in the happiness and wealth your
future will bring you.
(As
mention in the introductory document, this is not my story; but I learnt the
principles, I have lived them and now I have adapted them and want and want
to share these with you in my Pursuit of Shining Eyes. Credit is given to OG
Mandino)
Scroll
i
Today
I begin a new life
If you want to do something,
there is no point in doing it, unless you do it well. Sure, we can take
chances and cram for exams; we may even pass, but we would not have gained
the necessary insight and knowledge to practice was has been learnt. We can
also procrastinate and postpone things until urgency forces us to do a half
job or, never getting to what needs doing.
Thus, if we want to do
something and we want to do it well, the "law of the farm" has to apply. The
only thing that endures over time is the law of the farm. According to
natural laws and principles, the ground must be prepared in time, the seeds
must be planted on time, these need to be cultivated, weeded and watered and
if one wants to reap a good harvest these things need to be done well -
there are no quick fixes, no instantaneous success formulae.
Time teaches all things to he
who lives forever but unfortunately, we are all mortals. However, within our
allotted time we must practice the art of patience, for nature never acts in
haste. To create an olive, a hundred years is required. An onion plant is
old in nine weeks. We choose what we want to be and if we choose to be
happy, if we choose to have wealth, we need the patience to reach this
destination. There are no short cuts.
Only principles endure and with
the understanding of the scrolls, you will understand the laws that will
lead you to greatness. What the scroll will teach you is more a matter of
preventing failure than to gain success, for what is success other than a
state of mind. Success is relative, for which two among thousand wise men,
will define success in the same words; yet failure is described in but one
way.
Failure is man's inability to reach his goals in life, whatever they
may be.
In truth, the only difference
between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the
difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success. Bad
habits are the unlocked door to failure.
Success requires a solid
foundation. Cornerstones need to be laid down upon which
new life can be built. The first
cornerstone of
new
life
reads as follows :
I will form good habits and become their slave
Fortunately, I had asked you in
the very first newsletter to list the habits you wish to live by and I trust
you have done so by now. If not, then this is an ideal opportunity to make
your list, the list of habits you want to form and whose slave you intend to
become.
We are all creatures of habit.
Our free will has been surrendered to the years of accumulated habits and
our past actions have already marked out a path which has already or will
threaten to imprison our future. If you believe that "you are what you
repeatedly do, then excellence is not an act, but a habit", then it is your
choice now, to choose good and sound habits.
You will form good habits and
become their slave.
The second cornerstone is based
on an absolute conviction that you are the master of your own destiny; you
control how you act or react in a situation - it is your choice. To this end
memorise the following :
Failure shall not overcome me if my desire to succeed is stronger
How will you form good habits
and become their slave and how will you convince yourself you are master of
your own destiny? By following the principle of this, the first scroll :
Today I begin a
new life
Step 1 : on two separate pieces
of paper write out the words of the two cornerstones mentioned above
Step 2 : stick these papers
onto your mirror, keep them in your wallet, keep them in your diary,
wherever, but make sure you physically have sight of them, every day.
Step 3 : you will read these
two sentences for 21 days in the prescribed manner, before proceeding to the
next scroll
"First, you will read the words
in silence when you arise in the morning. Then, you will read the words in
silence after you have partaken of your midday meal. Last, you will read the
words again just before you retire at day’s end, and most important, on this
occasion you will read the words out loud."
Step 4 : read your list of good
habits, whose slave you intend to become and ensure you are still committed
to these.
And what will you accomplish
with these 4 steps? Herein lies the secret of all man's accomplishments. As
you repeat the words daily they will soon become part of your active mind,
but more important, they will also seep into your other mind, that
mysterious source that never sleeps, which creates your dreams, and often
makes you act in ways you do not always comprehend.
Once you have mastered the
principle of scroll 1, you will proceed to scroll 2 and repeat steps 1 - 4,
as related to scroll 2, for a further 21 days. And so forth until all
scrolls have been read. Eventually you will find yourself reacting to all
situations which confront you by falling back on the good habits you have
chosen to guide you through life. Good habits are born for when an act
becomes easy through constant repetition it becomes a pleasure to perform
and when it is a pleasure to perform it is man's nature to perform it often.
When you perform it often, it becomes a habit and you become its slave, and
since it is a good habit, excellence, happiness, wealth, etc. will prosper.
Today
I begin a new life
I have taken the liberty to add
to your list of good habits :
|
Habit |
Reason |
Outcome |
|
Get up the moment the alarm rings |
Less stressed when running out of time |
Small beginning, great victory |
|
Schedule Lions meeting and attend |
Meet my obligation |
Get involved again |
|
Put on my Lions pin every day |
To honour my undertaking when I promised to do so at my
induction |
Show my friends, colleagues and all whom I meet that I am proud
to be a Lion |
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2004 - All Rights Reserved (LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL)
Last updated on
January 25, 2013 |
