Fall in love with life

After reading "The Law of Success" by Napoleon Hill in my teens I quickly developed an insatiable desire to read self-improvement books. Very soon I found myself reading many other books written by the same author and several others such as Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Dr Mabel Fonseca, Andre Maurois, Eustace Chesser, A.E. Mander and J.H. Brennan. However, I never had the fortune of meeting any of these authors.

A few days ago I was surprised to receive a call from Prof. James Nicholas who was staying at the Hilton. He wanted to talk to a journalist as he had published a new book titled: "A Book of Wisdom and Delight." I immediately sensed that it was a golden opportunity to meet an important author.

To my surprise, Prof James Nicholas was not a foreigner. He started waxing eloquently: "I was born in Ratnapura, the land of gems. After my education at St. Joseph's College, Colombo I won a Fulbright Scholarship to the United States in 1992. In the same year and in the following year I was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for my founding and the leadership of the World Council for Global Cooperation. It was a peace organisation headed by 12 Nobel Laureates.

Prof. Nicholas resides in Ottawa in the United States. He holds an MA in Political Science and a BSc in Economics. He is Professor Emeritus of Social Sciences at Niagara College, in Welland, Ontario. His website is www.wisdomanddelight.com

After handing over a copy of the book which is available for sale online, he asked me to read a certain paragraph from the book. It read: "Life is wonderful, though at times it can be hard. In the heart of existence, there is much sweetness to be enjoyed, even in the midst of suffering. Life is also a gift, and how fortunate we are to be living on this incredibly beautiful planet, to behold the infinite diversity of nature. True, we must cope with humid days and freezing nights, but how marvellous it is to observe flowers blooming, fruits ripening, birds singing, and stars twinkling."

Despite his failing sight, Prof Nicholas has opened our eyes to the multi-dimensional beauty of the world. After gazing at me for a while, he says, "Give yourself a dazzling mind." I did not know what was in store for me.

"The mind displays a fine sense of balance and proportion. Nimbleness is an extraordinary feature of our mind. Within seconds, it can shift its focus from one phenomenon to another: from answering a simple question to the working of a complex crossword puzzle, playing an easy game of cards to a challenging game of chess. The mind is indeed very nimble."

He digresses a little but finds himself back on track. He says that the mind can shift its focus from one idea to another quickly. This can be done by cultivating a fine sense of proportion in our thoughts and deeds. It is the key to attaining a dazzling mind. Balance and proportion can be found in nature in abundance.

"Look at the rainbow and its well balanced colours. Look at a maple leaf and study its intricate design. Human beings are trying to copy the colours and designs created by nature."

From the mind he shifts his attention to wisdom interpreted differently by many writers and philosophers. Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, "Wisdom lies in possessing common sense to an uncommon degree." When endowed with wisdom, the mind becomes luminous like radium. What is more, wisdom sharpens our understanding of life.

"Wisdom also makes us more perceptive, providing us with a 'sixth sense". He quotes the blind poet John Milton: "It is the unseen wind and not the lofty sails that move the ship." Then he reminds me what Thomas Carlyle had said on the same subject: "Wisdom is the highest achievement of man."

How can anyone train the mind to be vibrant?

"Ideas rule the world. Like the body, the mind must be exercised and trained to become vibrant. When inactive, the body turns sluggish and lacks energy." Then he directs me to various techniques he has adopted to sharpen the memory. He gives his technique in pill form: Be selective about the thoughts you hold important. Store vital information in your long-term memory. Change your routine. Expand the mind through cultural activities. Form a hybrid of ideas for the mind to dazzle. It needs to be well nourished by a broad range of interests. It is the cross-fertilisation of ideas that creates a new hybrid of ideas that are rich and refreshing.

Does he read newspapers, magazines, and books? Does he watch television? "Reading newspapers and watching television interests me to some degree, but they do not stir my soul. To obtain substance, I read the classics. The tragedies of Shakespeare have shaped my mind... The New Testament in the Bible, The Dialogues of Plato, History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, and The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, are four of the many works I have read with absorbing interest."

I think of our own society. How many people read newspapers, magazines and books? Even graduates give up reading and updating their knowledge once they get some form of employment. With the advent of television and the internet, the new generation has embraced new technology giving up the invaluable reading habit.

Prof. James Nicholas and several others are fighting a battle to educate the people on the value of improving themselves in more than one way. Unfortunately, the audience for such worthy attempts is very small in Sri Lanka. If we can make use of the distilled knowledge found in the book, it will not be a difficult task to fall in love with life.