IDEAL
ORIENTATION
At this time the participants are encountering themselves—their
anguish, their hopes and their failures. They desire to be something more. It is the
beginning of an eager search for happiness.
The proclamation of the message begins with this talk; it is a call to be human. It does
not have a specifically religious tone; though it does leave the participant open to God's
saving plan.
We are trying to explain the fundamentals of being human—in the light of the ideal. The talk is intended to cause the participants to feel the need of realizing their own ideal and to come to the conclusion that they need one to be fully human.
Although we are the center of all creation, we feel dissatisfied, anguished, empty. We seek happiness in false values that, far from satisfying our anxieties, activate new insatiable desires. In theėr wake were left with a sense of failure and even of slavery to unworthy goals. We need to have a worthwhile ideal in order to have individuality and personality so we can be truly ourselves.
Thus, the participants are better prepared to assimilate in the next talk what is fundamental to being a Christian: our dignity as children of God. (The Fundamental Ideas of the Cursillo Movement, No. 370, p. 144).
GENERAL COMMENTS
The five talks of the first day are intended to present the ideal of the Christian lėving out the life of grace. The presentation begins with Ideal, which asks the question, What is it to be a person?
The answer is that persons who are fully human are those who have come to grėps with themselves and have leamed to continually reach out to leam, to give of themselves, to love. The only way to reach this is through an ideal. The talk goes on to consider what an ideal is and how it functions in a human life. At the end of the talk, the participants are asked to confront their lives and really discover what their ideal is (during the talk most of them wėll be telling themselves that their ideal is to be a Christian) by asking themselves where their free time, their money and their thoughts are presently. That will show them what they are really directing their lives toward. The answer will show them where theėr ideal truly is.
Ideal is the opening talk of the Cursillo, and it lays the foundation for the rest of the weekend. The Cursillo is meant to give men and women a new ideal, the Christian ideal. The Cursillo is designed to call men and women to become saints and apostles, leaders in the work of the Christian renewal of the world. Ideal is the first step in explaining to the participants what they can and should become.
The background for Ideal is the spiritual retreat. During the first evening and the first morning, the participants have been asked to consider their own lives. They have been told that they should know themselves, and they have been given a picture of the personality of Christ, especially of His love. In the meditation of the morning, they have been placed face to face with Christ. Christ is looking at them, inviting them. The whole first day unfolds in the context of the meditation. The participant is before Christ, and each must consider his or her own life.
Ideal presents the participants with a way of thinking about their lives. It gives them a framework for thinking about themselves and for examining themselves in relation to Christianity. They are invited to consider what a person is and what it is to become a person. The speaker presents the concept that a human being is a creature who has an ideal. The concept of the ideal is then used as a means for the participants to think about their own lives.
The talk is divided into three major parts. The first six sections provide the listener with a concept of what the capacities of a person are. It develops quickly by describing humans as rational beings separated from the lower animals by intelligence, will and freedom. Sections three through six explore the psychology of the human being, pointing out our great potential. Section five proceeds to discuss the primary motivating force in life: love. Here the ultimate act of humanity is revealed as the ability to give of oneself totally.
In the second major part, the talk moves back to describing an ideal. Sections seven through nine discuss the ideal and its effect on life, showing how having an ideal is the only way to achieve the goal of being the fully alive human being described earlier.
The third major part, sections ten and eleven, describes the kinds of
ideals and then presents the real purpose of the talk by giving a simple formula for
helping the participants discover their own ideals. At the end of Ideal, the participant
should be ready to proceed with the rest of the Cursillo. The whole of the first day is a
presentation of the life of grace as the Christian ideal. It ends with the Holiness talk
which is a call to the participants to make the life of grace their real ideal. The first
day, in other words, is built upon the structure presented in Ideal. Moreover, the rest of
the Cursillo is built upon the basis of the first day. The second day explains to the
participants how to make their ideal a part of their lives, and the third day explains to
them how to bring their ideal to other people and situations: How to spread the Christian
ideal effectively, and how to sustain themselves in union with others who believe as they
do.
ATMOSPHERE
The participants are in a somewhat tense mood as Ideal begins. The retreat lies behind them, a period of meditation and listening to the call of Christ. Some will have felt nothing, some will be unmoved, but most will be more or less nervous, depending on their personalities. They are in a group with people they don’t know; they are worrying about what others will think of them. Many will have heard tales of what they wiIl do on the weekend and now it is starting. This mood will continue until the discussion time, during which the members of the group will get to know one another and relax a little.
The atmosphere of nervousness is most powerful at this time. The group order has not yet been established (Who will talk on what? Who will be quiet? Will they like me? I dont know how to take notes. I cant talk religion. I’ll show them what theology is, etc.). It will be the end of the day before they will feel at home, so the talk on the ideal should not dazzle, but should steadily point the way.
For most people, their nervousness will be shaped by the spirit of retreat the evening before. Most will be desiring some sort of change in their lives; they will have been stirred by the challenges of Christ. If the talk is presented clearly and carefully with examples and illustrations, the groundwork will be established for the remainder of the weekend.
On the other hand,
if the talk is garbled, theatrical or theoretically inclined, then the participants will turn off the speaker, and it will be difficult to awaken their interest later on. Their nervousness must be relaxed. The presentation should be warm and carry with it an invitation to listen.The participants, though nervous, are eager to begin. The atmosphere is
charged with anticipation. The Ideal talk should slide in, reach into their hidden sense
of what is right, and then get them thinking of where they truly are in their lives and in
their relationship with God.
METHOD OF PREPARING THE TALK
The talk appeals primarėly to the mind, like the other opening talks of each day. It is intended to capture the interest of the particėpants, provoking them to think about what it is to be a person and about what kind of an ideal they have. The only urging the talk does toward living the Christėan life is by arousing an interest in what might be a better ideal, the possibility of becoming fully human. The talk should, in other words, not be a soul-stirring call to have an ideal, but an interesting talk that raises some important points. The participants should feel afterwards that they have understood something vital to them in a better way.
Ideal could be described as the pre-evangelization talk of the Cursillo. This talk prepares the way for presenting the Christian message by considering needs in human life which the Christian ideal fulfills. Because of its preparatory nature, the talk is secular, that is, it does not mention God, Christ, the Church, sin, grace, salvation, redemption or any of the things which relate directly to religion. lt should not even begin with prayer. There will be temptation to talk about religious ideas, and there will be a temptation to bring ideas from the rest of the Cursillo into this talk. Ideal is the basis for the rest of the Cursillo, but it does not mention the later themes. Writing the talk involves a great deal of restraint. It is essential that this talk remain secular in nature and not deviate from its purpose.
The development of the talk should aim for simplicity and clearness. It must present in a clear manner ideas which will be the basis of the rest of the Cursillo. But it should do so in a way that gradually brings the participants to confront their own ideal.
The talk should be, in general, cautious, clear, and full of simple examples the listener can relate to. The talk should be developed in a detached manner.
It is not until the very end that the speaker should turn to the participants and say that he or she wants them to consider their ideals. This is the first time in the talk that the speaker says you. He or she ends by asking them to look for what their ideal really is.
At the end of Section 11, it is best if the speaker finishes with this question, and then turns and leaves the participants to provide their thoughts on their own answers. Nothing more need be said.
There will be two dangers that the speaker will have to avoid in the beginning parts of the talk. The first is the danger of making the talk too theoretical. The introduction is not meant to be a detailed philosophical treatise on the nature of people. It is just meant to raise certain points which will help the participant to see the importance of the ideal. The speaker should not get bogged down in the first six sections or overload the participant with too much theory.
The second danger is the danger of being defensive. The speaker should not feel that he/she has to defend the fact that a person has a free will, or defend the fact that a person has ideals. The speaker should just state these things in a clear way without any defensiveness. The talk is written to avoid philosophical controversies and just describes common sense facts—that people are different from animals and that there are important differences.
The manner of speaking should be natural and assured and should have conviction. There should be no enthusiasm (but the talk must be interesting, not boring). It is a low-key talk. The examples used should be illustrative stories. They should not be stirring examples of great things that have been done. They should not even be exciting, and NO witnessing or personal examples should be used.
Immediately following the end of the talk, the rector should allow a short time to elapse before introducing the discussion time. The short time is to allow the participants a period of reflection before engaging in the opening bit of conversation to assist in this period of reflection.
Length: Not more than 25 minutes.
IDEAL
OUTLINE
1.
INTRODUCTION
Now is the moment to stop and think! What is the meaning and direction
of my life?
2.
THE SUPERIOR HUMAN BEING
A. Three kingdoms
(1)Mineral—existence
(2) Plant—life
(3) Animal
a. Animal-instinct
b. Man-rational life
B. The person is superior to plants and animals since humans move
in a world of ideas. They have intellect, will and freedom.(1) Intellect—to think about, to seek the truth
(2) Freedom—to choose, to determine preferences,
to make decisions
(3) Will—to act, to pursue that which is desired3. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS SUPERIORITY
A. Human beings expand and go beyond their own lives, whereas
animals are limited to their lives and the circumstances that
condition it, such as instincts and habits.B. Life cannot be a goal in itself for the human being. He/She must transform it into a vessel through which he/she shapes their own destiny, and comes to be through his/ her own decisions. A human being is always developing, always becoming.
C. The human being, in complete use of all of his/her faculties, is responsible for the consequences, foreseen and accepted, of his/her
free actions.D. Nevertheless, the human being is the only creature in danger of losing his/her own essence and identity to be less than human, to be dehumanized—when he/she waives the use of those faculties that are his/her and give him/her character. This. dehumanization may lead him/her, by excess or default to,
(1) Angelism—toward the purely spiritual
(2) Materialism—toward the purely material
(These ideas should be reinforced with examples.)4. THE LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES OF BEING HUMAN
A. Despite human progress, evil, injustice and unhappiness still exist.
B. Each person has an overpowering drive for happiness (self-fulfillment).
C. The human beings greatest limitation is self-centeredness.
D. Persons have enormous potential due to their innate talents.
E. This potential is best realized by setting goals.
F. Limitations of this potential create frustrations and restlessness.
5. THE MEASURE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
A. Giving oneself totally is the highest personal and creative act a person can accoinplish.
B. Each person must challenge all of his/her talents by giving of themselves totally.
C. Giving of oneself can be directed to—
1) Self; 2) Objects; 3) Ideas; 4) Persons.
D. The focus of a person's life limits or extends the meaning of that life.
6. THE PROCESS OF BECOMING FULLY HUMAN
A. The mature person is master of his or her own life.
B. Becoming fully human is a process. This process requires the
individual
to:
(1) Choose a goal
(2) Gain conviction for that goal
(3) Let the goal fill his/her aspirations
(4) The goal sets the criteria for his/her actions
(5) Achieving the goal becomes a way of life.
7. WHAT IS AN IDEAL?
A. Definition: An ideal is the center of our goals. It is the combination of ideas, aspirations and preferences which attracts a person and moves him/her toward its attainment. It sums up happiness for the person. It is the axis of that person's life.
B. Definition has two elements:
(1) Vision—the combination of ideas, aspirations and
preferences of life.
(2) Motivation—the force that moves a person to achieve
the vision.
(2) Motivation—dynamic—like the engine of a car,C. Both elements must be present:
(1) Vision—static—like the chassis of a car, gives
framework to the whole (or other appropriate
example).
Therefore, both the object and extent of self-giving define a persons ideal.
D. A person's life ebbs and flows according to his/her ideal.
E. Ideals in life change: They’re different in childhood,
youth, maturity, etc.
F. Since all persons have goals, there is no human life without
an Ideal.
8. QUALITIES OF AN AUTHENTIC IDEAL CAPABLE
OF
SATISFYING
A PERSON'S EVERY NEED
B. Its complete—were able to live our whole life for this ideal
because it will lead us to maturity.
(1) Definable goals
(2) Goals which fulfill our present and future needs
(3) Goals which always inspire us to reach out
and give of self
(4) Goals which challenge us to strive to fulfill our
potential
C. It’s attainable.
D. It motivates us to overcome obstacles to meet its criteria.
9. INFLUËNCE OF THE IDEAL ON LIFE
A. Authentic ideal.
(1) Gives purpose and meaning to life.
(2) Causes a person to rise above self.
(3) Forms persons who are vital, hopeful, realistic,
unselfish, masters of their lives and in love with life.
(4) Gives direction to life, causing us to act not by
instinct but through conviction.B. False Ideal
(1) Discourages and disheartens
(2) Prevents a person from trying for a new
and perhaps authentic ideal
10. KINDS OF IDEALS.
A. By subject: Personal, family, collective, national, universal.
B. By goals: Wealth, scientific knowledge, glory, fame,
honor, prestige, peace, beauty, justice, happiness,
perfection, artistic achievement, family, sports, fun.C. Apparent ideal: That which we like to believe motivates us.
D. Real ideal: That which in fact motivates us. (Appropriate
example to reinforce the distinction between real and
apparent ėdeal.)
11. NECESSITY OF KNOWING OUR IDEAL
What is my ideal? What ís your ideal?
A.It is important to know your ideal because it is like the main mast which holds up your life as a sail before the wind, supported
by the keel of your personality.B. To discover your ideal, just observe where your thoughts,
your free time, your money and your energy go. There is
your ideal.
IDEAL
1. INTRODUCTION
We
are being given the opportunity, right now, to stop and look beyond
the routine of our daily
lives and to think about our very existence; its meaning
and purpose.
Focusing on this subject is not easy. We can be overwhelmed by our daily
responsibilities
to our families, jobs, and other demands of life. We rarely find or
take the time to think
about this question that is so fundamental to our lives.
This weekend will provide us with the time to break from our ordinary
routines and pattems of
life and allow us to focus on this subject—Who are we?
What are we doing?
Where are we going? NOW is the perfect time to stop and
consider WHAT IS THE
MEANING AND DIRECTION OF MY LIFE?
2. THE SUPERIOR HUMAN BEING
Three Kingdoms
As human beings, we begin by looking at our place in the natural order and
at those
characteristics that make us superior to creatures and other things with
which we co-exist. We
recall, from our science classes, that there are three
natural kingdoms:
(1) Minerals - Minerals are essential to our life, but do not possess life themselves.
They are not born... do not die.. they exist..(examples: rock, sand, water
and others).
(2) Plants - Plants are made up of living cells. They are born out of a reproductive process, develop, reproduce, and die. They have no relationship, and usually no movement beyond their present locale. (Examples: trees, plants, flowers, etc.)
(3) Animal Kingdom - The Animal Kingdom is made up of two distinct categories:
a. Irrational Animals - These creatures, like plants, possess life but, in addition, they have mobility, senses, and instinct. What they do lack, however, is their ability to reason. (Example: other mammals, birds, and fish.)
b. Rational Animals - The human being, the person, is superior to plants and animals due to the ability to move about in a world of ideas. The human being possesses an intellect, will, and the ability to choose its course of action.
The attributes of intellect, will and freedom, are more clearly defined as:
• Will - The ability to act or not act; it is the ability to pursue that which•
Intellect - The ability to think about, to understand concepts, to seek the truth;•
Freedom - The ability to choose between one thing or course of action; the ability to determine preferences (likes or dislikes), and it is the ability to make decisions based on the information supplied;
3. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS SUPERIORITY
Our superiority as rational beings does have its consequences.
Unlike animals, human beings expand and go beyond their own lives. The animals
are limited to their lives and the
circumstances that condition them, such as instincts and
habits.
Life cannot be a goal in itself for the human being; he/she must transform it into a
vessel upon which he/she shapes and
comes to be, through his/her own decisions; a
human being is always developing,
always becoming.
The human being, in complete use of all his/her faculties, is responsible for the
con-sequences, foreseen and
accepted, of his/her free actions.
There is a danger that the same capabilities, which make us superior to all other
creatures and give us our
individual character, may serve to jeopardize our humanity.
They may put us at risk of losing
our own essence and identity if our abilities are
under-utilized or misdirected. Only
a human being can do this. Because of our ability
to choose and direct our own lives,
we are not forced to grow. We may choose to
halt our progress in one area and
to move (grow) into an area that may be less than
human. This dehumanization may lead
us, by excess or default, to:
Angelism
Angelism is a state in which the person becomes totally absorbed ėn purely spiritual
matters. The person disengages
himself/herself from the needs and cares of the world
and those around him/her. In many
cases, the person is directed towards things that
are detached from reality.
Many times the person in this state tends to immerse
himself/herself in
intellectual concepts that relate to life only in theory but have no
practical application to
life. (Provide appropriate examples.)
Materialism
There is also a danger that one can become absorbed solely in the purely material.
This is the desire to acquire or
possess the newest, biggest, best, and most of whatever
here is to be acquired or
possessed. (Provide appropriate examples.)
Each indivėdual must balance his/her life. It must be a balance that permits us to
grow and develop within ourselves
and in our relationship with others—this balance
will allow us tobecome more fully
human.
4. THE LIMITATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES OF BEING HUMAN
Throughout the history of the world, man has made great progress. Progress
in science, medicine, industrial
production, food production, etc. But, despite this
progress, we remain basically
dissatisfied beings. Evil, injustice, and unhappiness still
plague our world.
We need only to listen to the evening news or read the daily newspaper or lėsten
to our fellow human beėngs to
confirm the state of the human condition.
Each one of us has an overpowering drive for happiness and self-fulfillment.
But we find ourselves continually
seeking out things that we hope will satisfy these
desires. The truth is that we are
totally happy and self-fulfilled only when we give
of ourselves. Simply stated,
we "get" by giving.
Humanity’s greatest limitation is self-centeredness. We are the least happy
and feel less fulfilled when we
become obsessed with our own importance. When
we place ourselves at the center of
all life. In fact, it is the self-centeredness that is
one of the greatest obstacles to
becoming fully human.
People have enormous potential due
to their innate talents.
Each of us has enormous potential as a result of the innate talents we possess.
Very few of us, however, for
whatever reason, ever achieve the full potential of
our talents.
Potential is best realized by setting goals. What is it that allows some people to
realizet their full potential
and for others to fail to do so?
The deciding factor in whether or not we can realize our full potential lies in the
setting of goals for
ourselves. If we drift aimlessly through life without defined goals
and clear direction, we
cannot expect to fully realize our potential.
Limitation of this potential creates frustrations and restlessness.
When we fail to take advantage of our favorable talents and all of our potential,
or in other words when
we limit our potential, the result is restlessness and
frustration.
Setting goals helps us to discover and put into use, all of our talents and
direct them toward
attaining our goals.
On one hand, all too often we hear of gifted individuals whose lives are stifled
and sometimes
devastated because of their inability to achieve their potential. On
the other hand, we have
all heard uplifting stories of individuals who used what
talent and gifts they
had including their limitation, physical or mental, to attain their
goals against
overwhelming odds. (An example of someone who exemplifies the
use of gifts and
talents to their fullest extent is appropriate here, e.g., sports figure,
family member, friend,
business person, public official not a religious person such
as Mother Teresa.)
5. THE MEASURE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Giving oneself totally is the highest personal and creative act a person
can accomplish.
It is the highest level of human development, for it is only when we turn our
needs and efforts
outside ourselves that we set our talents into motion and challenge
our full potential.
Giving of self can be directed to: 1) self, 2) objects, 3) ideas,
and 4) persons
(1) Self— To direct the giving of self to self is to strive to be the best we can be.
All of our energies are
directed solely to our goals. Examples may be a body builder
or aerobic dancer whose
energies are spent in developing their bodies for health or
to master a sport, or
it may be the musician or sculptor who strives to perfect their
artistic talent. (Use
other examples as appropriate.)
(2) To Objects - Here the individual directs all of his/her energies, gifts and
talents to the
accomplishment of some project or program. For example, the
construction of a
building, a bridge, a space vehicle or the creation of a particular
business. (Use
other examples as appropriate.)
(3) To Ideas - This is to strive to bring into reality or to bring alive a drive or
to realize
a certain cause. It may be the use of all of our potential and talents to
make this
world a better place to live. For example, Jonas Salk who spent
many years
of his life developing the polio vaccine. (Use other examples as
appropriate.)
(4) To Other Persons - In giving of oneself to other persons, we direct our gifts
and talents
to helping others, to assisting the less fortunate, the sick, the elderly,
the
homeless, and the lonely. We put the needs of others or the injustices they
suffer
ahead of our own needs.
The focus of a person's life limits or extends the meaning of that person's life.
6. THE PROCESS OF BECOMING FULLY HUMAN
Let us now discuss the process of becoming fully human.
The mature person—the key to this process is the realization that the mature
human being is the
master of his or her own life. The individua1 may be physically
or mentally challenged
or may have other limitations. However, each person realizes
that nothing, other
than their individual self, can command their inner being to direct
their actions toward
becoming fully human or to hold back and restrict their
development as a human
being.
Becoming fully human is a process. We can now examine the five (5) specific
steps in the process of
becoming fully human. They are:
(1) The person chooses a goal;
(2) The person gains conviction for the goal;
(3) The person lets the goal fulfill his/her aspirations;
(4) The goal sets the criteria for the persons actions;
(5) Achieving the goal becomes a way of life.
Starting the process to be fully human requires a person to achieve each and
every one of these
steps. Let us now look into each step in the overall process
of becoming fully
human.
(1) Choose a goal - The goal must be worthwhile. It cannot be a goal that is
of little consequence
to us.
(2) The goal and its criteria must become an inner conviction. It must be
something that compels
us to act in a certain way.
(3) Set the goal in an attractive and feasible light so as to fill all of our
aspirations.
(4) These aspirations will guide and rule the criteria for our actions. Each step
we take ín obtaining
our goal must be guided by what we believe is most worthwhile.
(5) The achievement of the goal becomes a way of life. It encompasses all that we
do, all that we are,
and all that we wish to become. We live, drink, and eat to achieve
the goal.
Every person has a goal—an ideal. The awareness of this goal, this ideal, may not
always be consciously
in our thoughts, yet it exists. We need only to set the goal
learly and move towards
its achievement.
7. WHAT IS AN IDEAL?
It is necessary to understand what is meant by an ideal, in order to seek its
achievement. Ideal is
defined as the center of our goals, it is the combination of ideas,
aspirations, and
preferences which attracts a person and moves him/her toward it
attainment. It sums up
happiness for the person. It is the axis of that person's life.
Definition has two elements, which are are: 1) a vision, and 2) motivation.
We will examine these
in greater detail.
(1) Vision - Vision is the combination of ideas, aspirations,
and preferences in
life. Vision is
static or fėxed. It provides the framework, structure, and understanding
of the ideal.
(2) Motivation - Motivation is the force or power that moves
us toward the
vision. It empowers us
to act out our vision, we could say then, that motivation is our
esire or effort to
consciously pursue our ideal.
Both elements must be present or it is not an ideal. Without the vision we
cannot know our ideal.
Without motivation we cannot move toward the
accomplishment of the
ideal. Therefore, both the object and extent of self-giving
defines a person's
ideal.
A person’s life ebbs and flows according to his/her ideal. All people have ideals.
We may not be
consciously aware of all of our ideals, but they exist. There is no
human life without it. As we experience the ebbs and flows of life our ideals change.
Ideals in life change. They are different in childhood, youth, and maturity. As
young children,
our ideals most likely involved toys, games, parental support, and
comfort. As young
adults, our ideals probably included athletic and scholastic
chievement, fashionable
clothes, and romance. As adults, our ideals may very
well include marriage,
children, career, and associations (secular and otherwise).
Since all people have goals, there is no human life without an ideal.
8. THE QUALITIES OF AN AUTHENTIC IDEAL
It’s vital—it must provide great meaning and constantly move a person into an
ever-growing awareness
of life, and all that makes up life.
It’s complete—able to live our whole life for this ideal because it will lead us
to
maturity. It must
contain definable goals which fulfill our present and future needs
It must inspire us
toreach out and give of ourselves. It should challenge us to strive
to fulfill our
potential and enable us to live our whole life for it because it will lead
us to a mature and
meaningful existence.
It motivates us to overcome obstacles to meet its criteria. The authentic ideal should
motivate us by giving
us the strength and courage to continue to move forward toward
its attainment in the
face of strife, time, energy, frustration, and other obstacles we may
face in our life’s
journey.
(A good example of how someone sets goals, ideals, and it was their authentic
ideal—Lee Iacoca, BiIl Gates, Abraham Lincoln, _________ (add
women as well)
or other example—fulfilled all criteria.)
9. INFLUENCE OF THE IDEAL ON LIFE
Authentic Ideal
An authentic idea1 gives purpose and meaning to life, and causes a person to rise
above his/ her normal self. It
forms a person as a vital, hopeful, realistic, and unselfish
individual who is in control of
his/her own life and in love with life itself. An áuthentic
ideal will drive each person to
enhance the lives of others. The persons life is directed
not by his/her instincts but rather
by his/her conviction. His/her ideal has the potential
of becoming more important than
life itself.
False Ideal
A false ideal discourages and disheartens.
It prevents a person from striving for a new and perhaps authentic ideal
Giving oneself to a false ideal, one which is hollow or undefined, can only
discourage and dishearten. It
may also prevent a person from pursuing a new
and perhaps authentic ideal.
Therefore, a person should carefully evaluate his/her choice of an ideal, but not
be so cautious so as to never
give of himself/herself or never take a risk or accept
a challenge.
10. KINDS OF IDEALS
As you would expect, there are many kinds of ideals in life. They are
categorized by subject,
goals, apparent ideals, and real ideals.
By Subject - These ideals would include personal,
family, collective,
national, and
universal.
By Goals - These would include wealth, glory, fame,
honor, prestige,
peace,
justice,happiness, sports, fun, and many others.
A person may have any number of ideals to match each part of his or her life.
For example, one may
strive to be a good business manager, strive for happiness,
and tranquility in
his/her family, work to end hunger and work for world peace and
social justice for all
people. The examples are as endless as there are ideals.
We should also be aware of the distinction between an apparent ideal
and a real ideal.
Apparent Ideal - An apparent ideal is one that we like to believe
motivates us.Real Ideal - A real ideal is one which in fact motivates us. A person might
say that he/she is concerned for the homeless and less fortunate of the world
or of a particular region, and donate time and money to this praiseworthy ideal.
However, in his/her concern for others. there may be a self-fulfilling ideal to
acquire prestige and recognition in the community.
The
person’s real ideal is the building up his/her own prestige and power.
His/Her concern for the
homeless and less fortunate is only an apparent ideal.
11. NECESSITY OF KNOWING OUR IDEAL
We need to examine our ideals to determine whether it is a real ideal or just an
apparent ideal.
It is important to know your ideal. Without a clear knowledge and understanding
of your ideal you may
very well subject yourself to an aimless, frustrating, and
is couraging existence.
A comparison can be made between the structure and course of a sailboat,
and the whole of a
person and the course of his/her life. The main mast of a sailboat
holds the sails that
enable the keel—the main frame of the boat—to move forward.
Without the mast, the
boat would drift aimlessly at the mercy of the elements. Similarly,
our mast is our ideal,
and without a clear perception of it, we too, would drift aimlessly
through life at the
mercy of all that surrounds us. The mast of the boat is fitted to the
keel to insure that it
will be steady and secure. So too must our ideal be fitted to our
life to provide
stability and security. One person (all that we are) must be offset by
our ideal (what we are
trying to become) as it supports and gives direction to our
whole life.
To discover your ideal, simply observe where your thoughts, your free time,
your money, and your
energies go. There is your ideal.
So now I ask you to consider—what is your Ideal? To arrive at a complete
answer, I leave
you with the following questions to ask yourself:
• Where are your thoughts?
• What do you think about most often?• How do you spend your free time?
• On what do you spend your money?• What pleases you most in life?
In the answers to these questions, there you will discover your ideal!!!