8/25/2009
Dear Shari and Toby,
WHAT
DO WE DO TO STAY WHOLE?
The path to wholeness is a plan developed to meet personal needs. Since this is a life-long plan and will encompass all personal needs. How do I get started on such a large task? I don’t have time to plan, research and track what I do. I prefer to take life as it comes and live naturally.
I do not enjoy working on cars. I have done it all my life and it gets more sophisticated and difficult each year. I have done it out of necessity and it has paid off in the long run. When working on a system (steering, power train, suspension, body…) I start by gathering the needed new parts and tools. Many times, the new parts provide the needed information necessary to easily remove the old ones. If available, I will consult the service manuals for that car. Then I begin removing groups of bolts and fasteners and storing them in groups. If possible, I reinsert bolts without the item it holds in place to let me know which bolt goes where. If that option is not available, I try to store the groups in a physical order representing the order I removed them from the car. One thing I have noticed when I work on a new system is that when I am nearly finished reassembling and trying to place the last piece on, there is always something that prevents me from completing the assembly until I disassemble two thirds of what I have done in order to complete a step that is no longer accessible. The newer, smaller and more compact cars have required repetition of this step as many as three times before completion. As a result of out-of-sequence assembly it has taken an average of three times as long to finish as compared to the next time I had to perform the service. This is one of the reasons I keep most cars seven to ten years. This is not the method I have always used to service automobiles. I have been forced into it as the systems became more complex and sophisticated.
The human body, mind, and spirit are made up of many systems working together to produce a human being’s life. From time to time, some of these systems will need tuning or repair. Just as a car needs all of its systems we need ours. A human has many more systems, each being much more complex than a car. It will not take many attempts, working toward improving or maintaining a system, to realize a plan and additional reference materials are necessary to achieve the desired results in a reasonable length of time. If more than one system is to be worked on, it may be necessary to schedule the overhaul for one system at a time. To try and tackle all the needed repairs at once may leave you without a ride. How do you get started on such a large task: One system at a time. Determine the systems repair/replacement needs and line up the tools/parts needed. Perform a diligent search for applicable techniques and methods to be applied. Develop a written plan with tracking provisions for progress definitions and measurements. Take into account that the performance of one system may be affected by the repair of another. Keeping in mind that some systems are dependent on others, schedule all tasks; then begin. As one system’s processes are modified and nearing completion or the maintenance becomes automatic, another system’s repair may begin. This continues until all systems are performing at an acceptable level.
Life is very short and we do not have time to repeat our efforts (which may take years for a single step) at developing the needed traits. This would be equivalent to spending three hard-working years at a school to obtain a degree only to find out when you went to apply that degree the school was not recognized or accredited. To attempt any long term complicated task without a plan is a plan for failure. To act without a plan is to say what you do does not matter and has no effect on the end result. In short, you don’t matter! The realignment of systems concerning everything you eat, drink, think, do and feel while you are awake or asleep will require a written plan to be successful. Plans often need modification. The data gathered by recording progress will help guide in modification.
Humans have adapted to the “natural” environment over many generations and have many safeguards, checks and balances in their evolved systems. Over the last one hundred years, this “natural” environment has been replaced with many sophisticated supply chains, industrial facilities, polluted air, polluted food, polluted water, overcrowded living conditions and many changes in attitudes. To react and survive in this world of change requires actions and thought on the same level as the tasks at hand. To react only passively, following the instructions given by everyone around you, is to make uninformed decisions and be led as a sheep to the shearer or slaughter. If you do not care enough about you and your family’s health and well being to be informed, make a well conceived plan and execute it, who will?
To become or stay whole requires several steps to be taken in the appropriate order. Each step leads to the next while producing and executing your plan. I have gathered many guides (landmarks) for developing the plan. As with the analogy of finding your way to the wholeness party, these guides should bring the particular trait close to the destination. But, only you can assemble and tailor them into the plan that meets your needs. Remember, the path to wholeness is on a three dimensional map. You can be right on top of the wholeness party in two dimensions and still not join in until steps have been completed in all three. Each of these steps involves significant effort and thought on the user’s part to decide its implementation. If you get stuck on one step, try going to the next and returning later when you have more information and understanding of what is needed. You may not have all the information needed at first. With practice, this will become easier and more accurate. If what you need is not here and you gather more information, please provide me an electronic copy to be incorporated for the next family member.
1. Determine your own definition of wholeness by deciding what you are going to be whole for.
2. List each of the necessary resources/traits to reach your goal of wholeness and quantify the goal.
3. Establish your present status for each resource/trait relative to the goal.
4. Establish priorities for traits while being aware that one trait may be dependent on another. This will establish the order for improvement in wholeness.
5. Research deficiencies in traits to determine the appropriate method to reach your goal.
6. Determine the metrics to be used for tracking progress.
7. Schedule the required methods and prepare tracking sheets.
8. Starting with the resource/trait having top priority, follow through by executing the plan.
9. When the progress in resource/trait development is sure and the new methods have become part of your life style or the goal is reached, proceed to the next prioritized trait.
10. When a goal is reached, a plan may be necessary for maintenance of that goal. You should not start the next prioritized trait if this occurs until the maintenance routine has become part of your life style. Too many changes at once may become frustrating and discouraging.
WHAT DO WE DO TO STAY WHOLE.HTM