a simple motto

Three simple words - Love-Think-Speak - strike a strong connection within me. I have wondered to myself several times - "Why do I like that phrase so much? What draws me to it? Why does it ring so true?"

I read the Narnia series, like many others, as a child. I liked them, and of course these kinds of fantasy stories have a lot of appeal to children. When "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" appeared as a full film in 2005, I was interested in seeing it, and reliving those childhood memories of the books. It was sometime then that I decided to re-read the whole series, this time ~20 years later as an adult. Reading children's books as a adult is interesting - for one, it doesn't take very long. Secondly, you see more of the real guts of what the author was trying to say - the themes, imagery, and relation to real life come out on a completely different level, a level with much more meaning than you realize as a kid. It was in reading "The Magician's Nephew" as an adult that those three words hit me. I was sitting on my couch, late in the evening after the family had gone to bed - I read those words, and the power of their weight hit like the proverbial ton of bricks. I literally dropped the book on the floor, jaw agape, and thought to myself "that's exactly everything I've ever believed about life, summed up in three little words!!" Those words come right after Aslan has selected a few of the animals to become more than what they were. It was as if Lewis was saying to me directly, reading his book some 50 years after he wrote it, that these are the things I need to do to be all that I should be.

I like it because it's simple. Three words, done. Easy to remember, not complicated.

I like it because it gives a goal. Something I can strive for, something to aspire to.

I like it because it rings true and complete. Each word is different, and plays it's own important role in life. All three words are needed.

It isn't because I get it right. I can imagine someone reading this, and thinking "he wrote that? that guy has some nerve". My life has not always been what I'd like it to be. At times I've said things I shouldn't have - would have been a whole lot better off if I would have just kept my mouth shut. Hopefully those individuals will eventually be able to look past my past mistakes.

In fact, it is partly because I don't get it right that it resonnates so well inside - as if everything I know is wrong in myself can maybe, just maybe, be made a little bit better if I keep those words in mind during the day. Not because it is what I am, but because it is what I want to be.