Excerpts from "This I Believe," Part 1

(Editor's Note: I can't italicize in post titles, but I obviously would have if I were allowed to do so.)

The first-year summer reading for the Stonehill Class of 2015 is a book called This I Believe. It is a collection of personal belief essays composed by many sorts of different people. According to the front cover, it includes "the personal philosophies of remarkable men and women." During the 1950's, This I Believe was a featured segment on National Public Radio. Now, their project consists of reading emailed essays and reading everyone's personal belief statement. The incoming freshmen to Stonehill will read this book, and during the fall semester, will draft a belief statement of their own. In this series of posts (which will occur at a completely arbitrary rate dependent on how often I read this book), I will include excerpts from This I Believe, as well as some personal thoughts on each quote. And more than likely, I'll put together my own personal belief statement after all's said and done. Who knows, maybe you'll even get a chance to see excerpts from that one too.

(Allison, Jay, and Dan Gediman. This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. New York: This I Believe, 2006. Print.)

(Yes, I cited. I'm a big boy now...have to follow the law.)

- "You only have what you give...what is the point of having experience, knowledge, or talent if I don't give it away?...It is in giving that I connect with others, with the world, and with the divine."
These quotes will go chronologically throughout the book, and this comes from the third essay in the collection, titled "In Giving I Connect with Others." What I like about this quote is that it implies a give-and-take mechanism. If you give what you have, then by some means or another, you will receive something in return. Whether it is the joy of giving, or another gift given to you, you will be able to receive something, and something beautiful, at that. So don't be afraid to give. You will be given something in return.

- "It has more than once reminded me that skepticism about life and nature is most often expressed by those who take it for granted that belief is an indulgence of the superstitious."
I highlight this quote more so for its elegant grace in word selection, something of which I am an extreme proponent of. It's also interesting to think about - the people who question the structure of life and all that goes with it are also the people who think that belief and faith are just indulging to the superstitious, and that which one cannot control. So what does that say about the skeptics? They haven't indulged in the superstitious, but they've indulged in their own belief that life isn't what others believe. I could probably write an entire post about this, but I digress.

- "The fabric of my life is now woven with gratitude and humility. I have been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom that comes from facing one's worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength in surrender."
I like this quote because it talks about acknowledging something in your life and letting it go. In this essay, a woman talked about her stagnant life after her husband's passing away. Facing her grief was the hardest thing she could ever do in her life, and it changed her for the better as a result. I admire that. It's extremely hard to lose people in your life, and I've been lucky that I haven't had to experience that as much as other people may have. But this idea of facing your fears and surrendering...it's not giving up. Absolutely not. It's opening up to yourself and others, and you will see what you're really made of, and that is where the strength and freedom comes from. It's hard to shape, but beautiful in its form.

I realized that if I were to have all the excerpts in one post, then it would be extremely long, and no one would make it to the end. So, putting my (very bleak) marketing skills to use, I'm going to end my reading for this sitting now, and leave you with these three excerpts, hoping that you crave more soon.