Theft: How I Steal Inner Peace

“Oh lord, give me health and strength. We’ll steal the rest.” - John “Fishhooks” McCarthy

?

This quote burns in my mind. It creeps into my subconscious even when I think I have lost the words. I agonize over its meaning and the philosophy behind those words regularly. My hope is that it pushes me to improve every moment I am given the opportunity to draw a new breath.

?

These words uttered a century ago by a corrupt politician give me the chance to fight on for improvement. I don’t ask for much from any higher power. I seldom find myself in prayer or attending any temple gatherings.

Before you go on, I offer some background on me as a child of two very different groups of immigrants.

I’m an Ashkenazic Jew and Mexican by blood and the grace of my ancestors. I attended a private Christian school until I was 12 years old. I have read and was required by my educators to memorize large portions of the Bible. I was praised as a child for being a “completed” Jew. I received this praise by parroting my teachers’ beliefs back to them while I was a young boy. While Christianity didn’t stick, the morals I learned have. To the credit of other incredible people, I have also been able to adopt incredible life philosophies rooted in Judaism and Buddhism.

How did this impact me and how does our surreptitious 20th-century New York politician fit into this glorious if not incongruous mixture?

?

I don’t steal another's money or goods to enhance my life. Instead, I strive to steal away with happiness, inner peace, love, compassion, and the ability to offer these things to others.

?

What I have found is we often steal these qualities from ourselves. We rob ourselves of the ability to hold onto these values. When we do this, we rob our family, friends, and colleagues. When hold fast to these feelings for ourselves, we can't help but to share them with the people we care for.

?

I endeavor on the difficult journey daily. I am, in fact, committed to doing it. I don’t always succeed, and you probably won’t either. That’s okay! Give yourself some grace in the commitment to keep aspiring for improvement.

?

I regularly encounter other humans, who through no fault of their own commit actions that in the past would have led me to steal my own happiness, joy, and serenity. Formerly, I let their actions create a mentality of victimization that gripped me. I would retaliate with my education, quick wit, and honed sarcasm. As I attempted to make others feel smaller by attacking their intelligence and credibility. In these selfish actions, I hurt myself. Only delivering pain to myself via guilt, all the time pushing away others who deserved respect and acceptance.

?

I now understand that people’s actions don’t have to impact my own sanity and comfort. The space between another’s actions and my response is the moment I control my own destiny.

?

When I learned that my own behavior had the greatest impact on my well-being, I was able to become a better father, human, and leader for my teams. I have the confidence and strength now to steal away with my own peace of mind.

?

This has led me on to my next journey. I now work to be not only a leader in my life. I now work to be a mentor who fosters an environment that grows other leaders and mentors.

I am now steely in my determination to hold grace, gratitude, and the humility of accepting I will never know another person’s struggles completely. What I can and will do is offer to and follow through on being there to support them and meet them as the worthy people that they are in this world. This is not comfortable or easy, however when I aim to make a positive impact on others I succeed even when I fall short.

?

If you manage a team, have a family, or just want to be a better person, I hope you grow as I have. People don’t live better lives because we use our authority to tell them how to do it. They learn to be inspired by positive energy, influence, and love.

My post script is this... If you know me you know, I am not an expert or master of these traits. I aspire to be better with each moment I am gifted to receive. I fail regularly and with ferocity. Yet I push myself to muster the courage to try again. Let's all support each other in these brave attempts.