LEANING FORWARD 1

Strengthened by Inner Harmony

                                                                                                            By Valentine IDOKO

            PREAMBLE

“Leaning Forward” is a concept which implies “bending or moving the body toward a position that is in front.” The practice of “leaning forward is more common among athletes. The command: On your marks, set… entails a gradual forward movement of the body until the race eventually takes off on the hearing of the whistle or gunshot. It is worth noting that even in the course of the race the athletes keep pushing their bodies forward pressing hard to reach the finishing line. Similarly, when soldiers and other para-military personnel are at ATTENTION, they “CHEST OUT” as a sign of alertness and readiness for action.

            The illustrations above clearly reveal that “leaning forward” is an invitation to action – action coloured by persistence. This analogy of the “forward movement” can as well be understood as one’s striving to achieve one’s set goals. The runners in a race give a perfect example of this – each struggling to win the trophy. In this context, the “forward movement” involves not only the movement of the body but also of the mind as one seeks ways of realizing one’s noble dreams and aspirations. The body movement in our life’s journey generally comes in the form of waking up from sleep, moving from one location to another in search of better opportunities and other ways of breaking away from laziness. This is to be complemented by the mind movement ensuring that reason governs such actions by working out the best ways to actualize the set goals.

            “Leaning forward” therefore implies moving the body and the mind toward one’s set goals. Simply put, it entails aiming higher, pressing hard toward one’s life targets never accepting defeat while seeing every obstacle as a stepping stone. Since we are never devoid of ambitions it follows that “leaning forward” should invariably be a part of our everyday experience. It is thus important that we examine how to get the energy to keep “leaning forward” in order to avoid being overtaken by the events of our daily life.

 

            INNER HARMONY

The concept of “Inner harmony” can be understood as “stability and serenity within oneself.” Since “harmony” implies “agreement” then “inner harmony” manifests in the agreement between one’s personality and one’s actions. This agreement seems to be the basic driving force that empowers one to be one’s true self. Here the individual identifies with him/herself and is driven by the innate desire to achieve greatness. Simply put, this natural impulse to soar to the height of achievements is the inner principle that moves one to always strive to assert one’s worth in one’s immediate environment.

            “Leaning forward” has been shown to be an invitation not to give up, not to stop setting goals and striving to actualize them so as not to relapse into complacency or even despair. It is generally believed that the power to accomplish one’s set goals is the by-product of one’s “can-do spirit” – that is, one’s positive mental attitude and disposition based on the conviction that the said goals are not beyond one’s capacity. Thus the enduring strength to “lean forward” flows from within. It follows therefore that the energy to “lean forward” – to soar higher amidst inherent challenges and to grow in experience derives almost immediately from this “inner harmony.”

SILENCE AS THE ROAD TO INNER HARMONY

            Silence is golden says the ancient proverb. This statement seems not to have been disputed by anyone but funnily enough many cannot fully explain its true meaning. Since we are considering “silence” vis-à-vis “inner harmony” we cannot but focus on the individual. Silence here implies quietness within oneself – the ability to maintain serenity in one’s mind at least for a while. The statement “silence is golden” simply implies that it is at the point of serenity in one’s mind that great ideas evolve.

            Psychologists are of the opinion that “the mind is the battle of life.” It follows therefore that our life’s battles are fought and won or even lost in the mind. The statement “I can if I think I can” is ad rem  to our ongoing discussion. Thinking that “I can” implies being convinced that “I can” and being empowered by the conviction that “I can” which flows from within. The proposition by medical doctors that “the body obeys the mind” testifies to this assertion.

Now, how can we train our minds to win the battles of life? By training it in the practice of silence seems to be the most proximate solution. This practice of silence implies freeing oneself from interior and exterior noise in order to dispose the mind to receive fresh ideas. The importance of fresh ideas in one’s life can never be over emphasized. For instance, if you train yourself in this practice of silence you will gradually come to realize that your happiest moment is whenever you learn something new and you will be happy always. This brings the stability and serenity of mind which is a sign of inner harmony.

            One can as well ask: How relevant is the practice of silence to “leaning forward”? Albert Einstein, the great scientist who propounded the theory of relativity, noted that “the intellect has little or nothing to do on the road to discovery.” For him, what leads to great inventions is “a leap in consciousness” – a sudden upsurge of a fresh idea in one’s mind. Such an idea pushes the one to action and in every action there is a “leaning forward.” Thus, in silence one disposes oneself to receive a fresh idea which acts as an impulse to lean forward - striving to make the idea a reality.

There is this saying that God created man with two ears and one mouth so that he may hear more than he speaks. This seems plausible enough since we first learn by listening to others before we can have something substantial to talk about. Thus the practice of the virtue of silence demands that even in our conversation with others we listen more than speak. We should equally listen to ourselves when we are alone in order to know ourselves better and then make better decisions regarding our attitude to life. It is worth noting that the more one struggles to outdo this order set by nature (by speaking more than listening) the more one plunges oneself into mental dissipation thereby running short of ideas.

Silence can also imply rest. Rest in this context entails relaxing the body (whenever the need arises) and keeping the mind open (that is, not engaging in any serious thinking) in order to receive fresh ideas or modified versions of old ones. Such rests lead to rejuvenation which provides the energy to “lean forward” – to embark on concretizing the ideas received.

CONCLUSION

The Holy Bible pointed out clearly that ”anyone who puts his hands on a plough and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9:62) and I add that such a person is not fit for anything worthy of the name “good.” We must “lean forward” if we must succeed here or hereafter. We must never lack the “can-do spirit.” We must never give up even when things are not turning out as expected. We must believe in the words of William D. Brown that “failure is an event and never a person.”

Thomas Edision after trying 99 times to produce the light bulb and not succeeding refused to say that he had failed 99 times. Rather, he said that he had only discovered 99 ways that the bulb does not work. Luckily enough, he succeeded in the 100^th time. This shows that even what you consider as failure may be success in disguise since you can learn from such an event what you may never learn elsewhere. What are you waiting for? On your marks, set… Keep “leaning forward” until we meet at the top. See you soon!