THEOLOGY
 
You don’t have to
go anywhere,
to  be with   God.
He is with you now.
 
You don’t have to
say anything,
to   communicate with God.
For he knows you well.
 
You don’t have to
give any time  to God,
for he is time,
and he gives  this  to you.
 
You don’t have
to believe in God,
for he gives you life
and believes in you.
 
You don’t have to
apologise to God
for he is love,
and has forgiven everything.
 
You don’t have to
ask God for anything,
for it has already
been given to you.
 
You don’t have to
think of God as ‘out there’
for he is already in you,
as you are in him.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  Write  down  your theology - your understanding of what God is.
2. What is  your relationship with God? How would you describe this? ​

​Day 340 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

WRITER'S BLOCK 

I have never suffered from
writer's block.
I have never worried about
the words not coming,
or writing a daily quota.
 
You see, for me
the words are a by-product,
and not the main objective.
My aim is to sit quietly and
this is the process that may,
or may not, produce words.
 
The real joy, wonder
and contentment comes
in the process of sitting quietly.
For this is the  block we can 
all build  upon each day.

DECISION MAKING

No matter how old you are,
you can still change the world.
No matter what you’ve been through,
you can still change the world.
No matter what your current situation is,
you can still change the world.

It only takes a moment,
one new idea,
a different thought,
an unusual event,
a chance encounter,
an unexpected conversation,
a surprise meeting, or
some words of encouragement
for you to begin.

This is why you’re here,
and it will happen.
You are about to start afresh.
So, get ready to change the world.

And if you don’t believe this,
then how can it happen?
If you don’t think this is possible
then how can it begin?
And, if you don’t see that I am waiting
to help you, then how can you answer?

Your age is important,
for we all need your experience.
What you’ve been through really counts,
for we all need  your wisdom.
The fact that you are still here, tells us,
that you can change the world.

Everything that has happened
has led you here.
 Your plan is unfolding as it should.
And you are reading this now,
precisely because, this is the moment
you decide to change the world.

​INVERSE PROPORTION

By stepping back
from the world.
By spending time
on our own.
By moving further
into our being.

And by going deeper
into ourselves,
we in fact move away
from all notions of self,
to be closer to where
we truly belong.

By going inwards
we really go outwards,
and we see more and more,
that we are connected
to all that ever was,
and ever will be.

​PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  How are you learning to go deeper into yourself? 
2.  What is your  'self'?  

KEYWORD
 
Imagine if we could find a way to work together
that was for the benefit of those most in need,
as well as our own personal interests.
 
Imagine if governments across the world were to
work collaboratively, not on the basis of trade,
but in looking after everyone on our planet.
 
Imagine if all religions and beliefs were to act
together, to help all of those in need.
 
Imagine if all situations of conflict  could
be transformed, now,   to communities of peace.
 
Imagine if we could  understands our true purpose,
and  could live this in every moment.
 
Imagine if we could find something so precious
that we give our whole life to it.
 
Imagine that one word
holds the key to all of this.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  What is this keyword for you? 
2.   Now that you know this keyword, what are you going to do? ​

KINDLING
 
We all depend on positive feedback,
confirmation that we are doing well,
being told that we are making
great progress,   and  that we are loved.
  
We all thrive when others show
interest, say 'thank you', tell us
(and others),  that we are amazing,  and,
when they  encourage us onwards.
 
These inputs from others create
new energy  within us, for each comment
and smile   is like kindling for the fire,
burning within each of us.
 
Kindling comes from the word kind, 
and means to initiate and build kindness,
in every thought,   in every word,   ​
 in every moment   and with every person.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  What kindling  have you created and shared today?
​2.   Who is giving you kindling that  is sustaining you​?
3. What piece of kindling could you initiate and share right now? 

​Day 335 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

WORK

Work is simply a method
of engaging in prayer.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  What is your work all about?
​2.   What would you really like to work on? 

​Day 334 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

BECOMING
 
Be with me
at the start of the day.
Be with me
throughout the day.
Be with me
at the end of the day.
 
Be with me
in all our thoughts.
Be with me
in all our actions.
Be with me
in all our relationships.
 
Be with me
in all we were.
Be with me
in all we are.
Be with me
in all we will become.

RSVP
 
Inclusion is the ongoing
invitation for collaboration,
participation, sharing and caring,
that we send out to others.
 
Inclusion is our offer
that requires acceptance.
And not everyone will say yes.
You cannot take them all with you.
 
And so, inclusion is a continuous
and everlasting invitation.
It is our individual, organisational
and global, lifelong purpose.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.   Who will you send an invitation of inclusion to today? 
2. How is you organisation being inclusive  to all its staff, those it serves and the wider international community?
3. How are you reaching out globally  to include others ?​

MEANING
 
I seem to spend so much time searching
for meaning and looking for happiness.
Perhaps I need to start in a different place.
For when I see myself
at the centre of everything,
it’s easy to lose my way.
 
The first step I think, is to go deeper within myself
to that place of nothingness.
It is here that I find all that I need.
For  here is the reservoir of love,
where I can become, at the same time,
both all powerful and yet powerless.
 
When I then act, or talk, or interact from this place
I do so from a position of all-ness rather than self.
By trusting in love, I become one with love.
For all becomes possible,
when it is no longer about
my narrow definition of self, or purpose.
 
I find the meaning of all in this place within me,
in power and powerlessness,
in all-ness and nothingness.
For I am no longer separate from everything,
adrift on the sea.
I am the sea.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.   Can you shut out the world and go deeper within yourself? 
2. Can you sit for a few minutes in the place of nothingness? ​