Tag: Light from Many Lamps

1. This is a response to Kunal Singla’s blog referring to Light from many lamps https://create.twu.ca/b4ntu/2018/06/22/light-from-many-lamps/

I was really moved by the sentences that Kunal wrote in her blog about the little gesture and the small chat at the end of every conversation she had with her parents about when she would go back home. These words remind me of those lonely days in Vancouver last year. Every day I had the video chat with my son who was far away from me in my hometown, and he asked me in his innocent voice:”Mummy, when will you come back home? I wanna hug you.” I had to make a great effort to control the tears and showed him the smiling face every time, but it was really hard and cruel for both of us. Therefore I could deep understand the feeling Kunal shared in her blog that she wanted to ditch everything, go back home and start over. That was exactly how I felt and told myself thousands of time in my head last year. I totally agree with her idea that the life is about to maintain the proper balance between every chapter. And I believe that home is the source of the strength and courage that we need to overcome life issues and obstacles. Additionally, home is the place where we could rest our spirit in peace, just like Pliny’s philosophy that “Home is where the heart is”(Watson, 1951, p. 256).

We all need to leave home for a while, learning, working, or pursuing self-actualization, and so on. It is the home that gives us the strength to explore the world and finding the true selves away from it. When we are out there and fighting alone, we should be grateful and firmly believe in ourselves and our home. No matter how far we have gone, our hearts are always connected with home. Besides, we can always comfort ourselves by saying that we can always go back home no matter win or lose. The home never judges, just embraces. Even the ship which has travelled around the world, it still needs to anchor in a warm bay to get repaired and maintained occasionally. And the home is that bay.

2. This is a response to Charlie Mable’s blog referring to Light from many lamps https://create.twu.ca/charliemable/2018/06/22/love-and-family-life/

This blog post by Charlie is my favourite blog regarding the reflection of reading stories of Light from many lamps. Maybe it is due to the same experience of undergoing the divorce of the parents helplessly. My parents got divorced last year after spending 35 years together in their marriage. I thought I would not be so heartbreaking because they had not lived in the same house for several years. When the day of divorce registration came, I burst into tears and the unbearable feeling is still fresh today. It turned out that I was much more dependent on my original family than I thought. After realizing that, I invested a lot of time to care about my mom and dad separately, and tried my best to transfer the attached feeling of family to my own family: my husband and my son. Although the painful feeling is still there, I could at least face it, minimize the adverse impact the divorce had on me, and keep the optimistic faith about my own marriage and the future of my family.

I love the idea of “Art box” created by Charlie. It is more like the container of the memories, and I believe the most meaningful meaning of it is what Charlie mentioned in the blog: we capture the good and keep moving forward. The future is unpredictable, and we cannot control family members’ decision. But the memories, the time we spent together can always be the cherished moments from which we can obtain love, care, strength, and courage, and those moments never fade away. I would like to follow Charlie’s idea and make a memorable corner for my family as well, to create a shared memory reservoir.

Speaking of leadership, Charlie asked a question finally: As a leader, what do you do to show your people they matter? I believe the best way to let other people feel they matter is to value what they value and respect their interests regardless of your preference. Also, I would like to address some effective ways I learned last semester about how to strengthen the intra-group connection. I examined some of the methods in my team and found that not only the intra-group connection but also the identification of each team member has greatly increased. And the methods are weekly meeting, holding the family day, and increasing the chances of communication which can show concern towards each other and eliminate worries within the team (Bridges, 2009). I perceived from the performance of the team members that when they formed a sense of belonging to the team, they would feel valuable and being valued.

References

Bridges, W. (2009). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. Philadelphia, PA: De Capo Press.

Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York: Simon and Schuster.

I was completely moved by Wendell Willkie after reading just three paragraphs that “he was to have the opportunity of seeing the world at war…and of visualizing the world at peace. He was to have the opportunity of contemplating the best moves in the direction of international understanding and co-operation” (Watson, 1951, p. 298). I honour his tremendous courage and deeply sense the extraordinary empathy he had for the whole world. Wendell Willkie did not discard the faith, conscience, and the tolerant heart for the world during the time of war when most of the people felt too desperate to keep the virtue and righteousness. Then it is mentioned that “the impression he got was not of distance from these people, but of nearness to them” (Watson, 1951, p. 298). This depiction has assured me that Wendell Willkie genuinely gained the empathetic feeling of the people who were suffering the war or fighting for the future of the world. And his message One World further demonstrates his generous attitude and complete understanding of the entire human beings and the future of the world. Wendell Willkie said:” There can be no peace for any part of the world unless the foundations of peace are made secure throughout all parts of the world” (Watson, 1951, p. 298). I do believe the whole world, either in the war or out the war, different races or not, understands this philosophy as the world has united many times in the history to end the wars. And now it is the whole world’s will and obligation to maintain the era of peace.

Wendell Willkie has shown many traits and behaviours of servant leadership with high ethical level. First, he was a good listener as he went close to the people of other countries to listen to them and talk to them. The fact that he understood them very deep proves that Wendell listened  “receptively to what is being said and unsaid” (Spears, 2010, p. 27) and gained the real feeling of the people from their deep heart. Second, Wendell Willkie had shown the extraordinary power of empathy. Empathy is defined as “standing in the shoes of other people and tempting to see the world from those people’s point of view” (Northouse, 2016, p. 227). Wendell Willkie listened and talked to the people around the world, and he found out that the pain and hardship people suffered from the war were generally close and common. He connected the feelings around the world which led to his profound message. Besides, empathy is always coupled with listening. Spears (2010) states that the servant leaders are “those who have become skilled empathetic listeners”(p. 27). Third, Wendell Willkie’s action of visiting different groups of people around the world during war manifests that he held strong and high ethical standards. Instead of running away from the war, he devoted himself to the fighting front, discussed with leaders of different nations, talked to the teachers, farmers, and workers, and so on. He was not living for his own good, he was striving for the welfare of the whole world while ignoring his own safety. And fourth, the value created by him has significantly influenced the world from generation to generation. The notion of “one world team” (p. 299) brought up by him, the sense of being a citizen of the world (p. 300), and the faith of building a house in justice and freedom with room for all (p. 301) all illustrate the passion triggered by his message to build the peaceful consensus among the world which would be benefited eventually.

At last, the most important message for me reflected on this story is to further believe that it is the servant leadership that can change the life and world significantly. And I will keep the practice on the way toward mastering servant leadership eventually.

References

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Spears, L. C. (2010). Character and servant leadership: Ten characteristics of effective, caring leaders. The Journal of Virtues & Leadership, 1(1), 25-30.

Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The story of Sir William Osler and “A Way of Life” wrote by him is one of the most striking ones I found till now. Sir William Osler (1849-1919), who is called Father of Modern Medicine, was a profound physician and professor of medical education (Tuteur, 2008). It was mentioned in the story that remembering the days with his students, perceiving the anxiety and fear of the students towards examinations and future, he wanted to find a simple philosophy to ease this kind of situation and guide everyone to be peaceful and practical. When he found the significantly meaningful words in the book by Thomas Carlyle “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand” (Watson, 1951, p. 214-215), the first thing he thought about was to share it with his students. In order to help the student better understand the genuine meaning implied in the philosophy, he dramatized it as day-tight compartments and “A Way of Life” came out. Countless people are influenced by “A Way of Life”, and it was “one of the most inspiring addresses ever heard at Yale” (Watson, 1951, p. 216).

I am impressed by his deep concern for his students. Sir William Osler definitely possessed the power of sympathy. He recalled the days of himself at the twenties and remembered he was once worried about the final exams and fearful of the future, and he connected his feelings to his students’ feelings. Truly feeling what his students felt and understanding their thoughts and feelings exactly proved his empathetic ability (Northouse, 2016). Furthermore, I was shocked the first when reading the words by him: “Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb all your interest, energy, and enthusiasm. The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work superbly well” (Watson, 1951, p. 216). This advice is not only helpful for students during learning process but also is useful to be applied to the daily life. Actually, I think “The Way of Life” is exactly what Chinese people need right now. I used to think that the anxious feeling pervading in my life was due to my mother who is suffering from anxiety disorders all the time. After working for several years and communicating with other colleagues, I found that thinking or considering the future beforehand has become the living philosophy in China and is admired by generations. Especially, in terms of education, this philosophy is manifested the most by the unnecessary worries. It is common that the children around 6 to 7 years old are taking more than six kinds of classes per week. For example, my friend’s daughter, 6 years old, has GuZheng class on Monday night, Calculation class on Tuesday night, English class on Wednesday night, Swimming class on Thursday night, Drum class on Friday night, as for the weekend, she needs to take the class held by the primary school to learn Mathematics and Chinese. The parents in China prefer to put too much burden on the children for worrying that they might not be seen as not superior enough in the future. I was raised in this culture and have already found it annoying. The anxious parents could only raise up anxious children, and this vicious parenting circle never ends. I will unconsciously worry about what might happen tomorrow and the spinning wheels cannot be stopped. After knowing the “day-tight compartments” illustrated by Sir William Osler, I practised several times and found it extremely useful to shut the useless worries out the door of my mind. I can focus more on what is on my hand right now and finish them effectively. The practice is still needed until it has become a habit. But the changes are happening, and I am trying to raise my son in a peaceful way and prevent him from suffering the anxious feelings in his life. When he reaches an older age, I will tell him this story of Sir William Osler to spread the philosophy to the next generations.

References

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Tuteur, A. (2008, November 19). Listen to your patient. [web log comment]. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20120319170242/http://open.salon.com/blog/amytuteurmd/2008/11/19/listen_to_your_patient

Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

This story is about Abraham Lincoln who is deemed as the most brilliant and greatest president in American history. As a person from the Eastern World, actually I do not know a lot about him. Before reading this story, I did not even know that he had been re-elected. I was shocked by his experience that “he had been misunderstood, condemned, humiliated in public and in private, assailed alike by friend and foe”(Watson, 1951, p. 204). I could not imagine that someone could still be so faithful and positive after went through the destructive experience. Then I read about his childhood that his family had been forced to move many times due to a land title dispute, and he had experienced family breakdown and his mother’s death (Schwartz, 2000). It also said that Abraham had enthusiasm in reading and being a self-motivated learner through his whole life (Madison, 2014). Now I can understand the reason he was so empathic and possessed the power of healing as a servant leader (Northouse, 2016) was that he had definitely construed his experience in a positive way and transformed his emotion to the bright side of the human nature with the help of deep reflection he got from reading and learning. Also, being a life-long learner requires the ability of self-awareness, results in multi-perspective thinking and considering long-term benefit (Evers, Rush, & Berdrow, 1998). These all contributed to his personalities such as firmly holding his own belief and being able to stand alone. And time had proved his rightness and greatness.

I am most impressed by his eloquent speech which has made the world moved till now “With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right” (Watson, 1951, p. 205). I was also inspired by the way he construed his relationship with God that “It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged, the Almighty has his own purpose” (Watson, 1951, p. 205). I think he believed in that the heavenly Father does believe and support him all the time rather than simply relying on God. Further, he knew that God will not judge and he did not judge other people no matter his friends or foes. That was why he possessed the power of forgiveness with which he could end all feelings of hatred and resentment to bind up the nation’s wounds (Watson, 1951). This is exactly what I am striving for: non-judging environment. I am trying to make the people around me understand that discarding judgement we could create a harmonious community. I cannot predict how many people could be affected by me but I will not give up on this belief. 

References

Evers, F. T., Rush, J. C., & Berdrow, I. (1998). The Bases of Competence. Skills for Lifelong Learning and Employability. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Madison, J. H. (2014). Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.

Schwartz, B. (2000). Abraham Lincoln and the forge of national memory. University of Chicago Press.

Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

 

The main philosophy told by this story is that whenever you fail you can have a fresh start because “failure” is not the falling down but the staying down. It is also the most striking sentence of Mary Pickford’s famous article. Her article has significantly encouraged countless people to go through the hard days. While, I am going to quote another sentence that hit my heart from the very deep: “what looks like the end of the road in our personal experience is only the turn in the road, the beginning of a new and more beautiful journey” (Watson, 1951, p. 157).

I always like to interpret the life as an entire set of all types of personal experience.  For example, we have individual learning experience with different teachers and disciplines; we have particular traveling experience; we  have diverse interpersonal relationship experience; we even have typical cooking experience. Some kinds of experience might be long journeys, some of them might be a really short one. However, it is the experience that makes up of our life. Hence, it is of importance to take care of each kind of experience to live a better life. I used to be bothered by a bad end of an experience. For example, yesterday our family decided to go to our favourite restaurant to have our favourite mushroom risotto. My husband and I were both very looking forward to it since we woke up for the restaurant had been closed for a month to redecorate. We barely ate in the morning for eating more at noon, we called the restaurant to make sure it would open on yesterday. I prepared a Lego toy for my 4-year-old son to play when waiting for the food. Unfortunately, the little boy woke up too early in the morning and fell asleep at 11 am. And when we finally reached the restaurant at 2:30 pm, we were informed that we just missed the chef so we would have to come here next time. This was an extremely frustrating dining experience and the silent atmosphere in the car was not making the situation better. Although I knew the anger ought not to be assigned to anyone, I was still in the very bad mood. I could not stop thinking and asking myself if there was no one to blame, how could I restart this bad dining experience and get rid of it. When I was stuck in my terrible thinking experience, my son suddenly shouted out “wow, MacDonald! Mommy, I want a hamburger!” Then I realized that I had not been there for a long time and really missed the taste of the hamburger we used to have. We had a memorable time at MacDonald, and we knew that MacDonald saved that day. My husband and I shared our feelings that the bad experience and mood might ruin the whole day if the little one did not accidentally see MacDonald. Especially after reading the story of Mary Pickford, I can greatly connect my thoughts and feelings with her words. We cannot change or restart our experience, but we can make a turn when we reach the dead end. And, I am not referring to some kind of ambitious life experience or shining pursuing dream experience. Like what I mentioned in the first of this paragraph, any tiny or trivial experience in our daily life counts. It is our decision to make a turn at the end of the experience to live a better and happier life, or just stay and let ourselves get stuck in there.

In addition, I believe the reason why Mary Pickford’s views and beliefs have affected countless people is that she had lived in those philosophies. Being the model of your words is the most convincible way to make other people trust you. John Maxwell (2013) greatly addresses the power of exemplary model by saying “the greatest motivational principle in the world is people do what people speak”. Mary Pickford, a woman of great beauty and talent, had known wealth, fame, honour, also known disappointment and bitter disillusion (Watson, 1951, p. 157). She was a real example of her words reflected from her experience. She could make people imagine that they could be just like her one day, which decisively motivated people to conquer the failure.

References

Maxwell, J. (2013, September 10). John Maxwell The 5 Levels of Leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPwXeg8ThWI

Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

There are five stories impressed me of the previous two parts. Finally, I chose the story of William Lyon Phelps due to the personal respect to this great man, who has been the role model of my life for more than 10 years. I want to be a teacher as inspiring as he was, and a person as wise as he was.

Being the most popular professor at Yale, Mr Phelps taught English Literature and his course was well attended on campus. The students were attracted by his engaging speaking style and his passion involved with what he taught. I knew him for reading his teaching stories many years ago. I could vaguely remember his words that a real gentle would respect the people who can be of no possible value to him. At that time, I was surprised that there was someone who could depict the way of being modest and having courtesy so concisely and clearly. I sensed that he must be a particularly attractive and wise man for those novel ideas and unique thoughts. He taught me many things which had influenced me far more than I knew in my life. For example, the words of him,  when you do not succeed at first, go to find out if the losers get anything, inspired me to take account of different perspectives or facets for one thing when dealing with difficulties or making decisions. Also, I learnt how to speak and act with deep humility from him and have gained well interpersonal relationship. Basically, I have been trying to master and intentionally cultivate all the skills and traits of leadership presented by him.

Before I read the book, I had no idea about his story with President Timothy Dwight. I was delighted to find out that Mr Phelps was attracted and influenced by another great man. I read the role of influence involved in leadership last week and considered that a good leadership style could make leaders through unconscious influence. This should be the most significant power of influence in the process of leadership. Those eloquent words said by the great man he admired stayed with him and shaped his life and ambitions (Watson, 1951). And I was influenced by him the same way. Realizing this power of influence makes me more confident to believe in leadership.

The story of Mr Phelps also enhanced my faith in my profession of teaching. He made it clear that education could bring not only knowledge but also happiness. He wrote:

“Advanced education may or may not make men and women more

efficient; but it enriches personality, increases the wealth of the mind, and

hence brings happiness. It is the finest insurance against old age, against

the growth of physical disability, against the lack and loss of animal

delights. (Watson, 1951, p. 21)”

I was deeply impressed by these words. I printed them immediately and hung the paper on the wall. They were like the shining beacon I had been waiting for the whole time. Mr Phelps had given education a deeper meaning and a meaningful task to the educators at the same time. And I am honour to execute the task, to help more people acquire intellectual or artistic tastes, to help them furnish the minds and hang more attractive and interesting pictures in their minds, like the pictures hung in my mind by Mr Phelps.

Reference

Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.