Essay on the Art of Living: Pathways to Personal Growth

This course has provided me with real-life practical skills that can help me develop as well as improve my awareness in various life spheres. The book, The art of living: Pathways to personal growth, has insightful topics that enhance a person’s thoughtful process in becoming a better person in society. Its fundamentals stress a person’s innermost feelings while interacting with the natural environment because nature has a way of managing human life and slowing it down. Five topics, essays 9, essay 10, essay 11, essay 26, and essay 37, from this book awakened my conscience, and now I am able to think differently and do certain things in such a way that enhances my life. The chosen five topics from the book have enabled me to be able to explore my potential as a human being in order to attain my highest possible functioning level while getting in touch with my deepest feelings as well as nature.

Based on essay 9, “Nature is Random, Don’t Fight It,” I have gained faith in the ways of God, and I believe that he can shape my life accordingly. However, this belief does not prevent me from thinking about working hard. I know God helps those who help themselves, but with his blessings, I am confident of succeeding. One fundamental aspect that has changed my thoughtful process from this chapter is that nature has a significant effect on human life. However much a person plans correctly, one cannot control specific surrounding aspects of it because sometimes sinister may occur. From this perspective, I have learned not to get too excited when my ideas backfire because nature may have played a part in them. After all, it is believed to be random. So, it is advisable not to fight it. By having faith in God, I think that some problems, if ignored, nature can solve them. This way, I can think critically when resolving issues. Through hard work, I am sure that God will grant me the desirable result on any undertaken activity, and even enhance the outcome. Therefore, God’s power is great and this strength is typically manifested in the role that nature plays on the human’s plans. Believing in him may have a desirable influence on the outcome of a person’s doings.

“Faith” is another topic that is inspiring spiritually, and closely related to the influence of nature on humans. While believing in the power of God, I find this topic important because it sheds light on many aspects of spiritual life. Therefore, I can discover the meaning of my life, especially knowing its significance. Believing in God’s capability is the first step that I commonly assume because, with him, everything is possible. This action involves a lot of emotions, and with God, life is better. Good things typically befell those who trust in God (Minelli, 2007). Thus, it is the reason why religion is essential in society. Nature is commonly intertwined with the blessings of God, to mean, the environment is random and it may influence one’s decision. Thus, fighting it is not an ideal concept. Instead, having faith in God while doing the best as par, the ability can remedy a situation. The art of trusting God as the giver of life is therefore, important in my personal growth. To achieve this advantage, I attend church when necessary so as to obtain spiritual strength. Even though I have trust and faith that God controls most events in my life, I believe that he supplements my hard work for a better outcome. Therefore, with God’s help, I focus on sharpening my expertise

Job skills expansion is another aspect I noted as an important lesson from the book. Essay 10, “Expand Your Job Skills,” has insights on how one can manage this requirement. This prerequisite is typical of most companies currently. Many firms have downsized or force their workers into early retirement before the right time. So, to avoid this trap, I must stand out. The desirable way is to expand my job skills and enjoy the work I am doing. The book stresses the need for a person to learn new expertise, especially handiwork. This way, I will be able to perform different roles in my job area. Undeniably, firms require individuals who can work practically using their hands. I believe this is a recipe for the theoretical knowledge that a person receives from school. The future is trending towards this direction, and therefore, I cannot be left behind. I have to take action and have additional expertise, especially those that involve using hands to perform tasks. I anticipate the future to change in the dimension whereby employees must have skills to work with their hands, and yet our education does not stress too much of that. While imagining an ideal world whereby everyone is knowledgeable, I find it impossible to define who will handle the handiworks for the companies. Acquiring extra expertise in one’s field of specialization can be a recipe in a job environment. With this merit, I believe I can survive the layoffs and early retirement threats, which are characteristic of contemporary firms.

The essay 11, “Do Your Own Handiwork” is closely linked to my insight of the essay 10. This section delves much on doing handiwork while the previous one talks of skills expansion, which in my case, I identified handiwork as the area to improve. Handiwork is vital expertise that every person requires as an employee because the future is trending towards that direction. So, blue-collar workers will have far-reaching benefits, especially those who are knowledgeable in specific fields. For example, handiwork improves one’s health condition, enhances brain functionality, and even prolongs life. So, I believe that by doing physical activities, I will reap these benefits. Meanwhile, I am currently saving money in order to learn physical activities. This way, I will be able to channel my free time into worthwhile activities and improve my health significantly. The acquired expertise, even if not immediate, I believe, will help in my career. By then, I will be able to do activities with my hands. I intend to mentor others once I become an expert in physical activities. I will achieve this plan through examples and counseling. Particularly, I will start with my close friends because I do not want them left behind in this mission. Afterward, I will influence other people who may have an interest in doing physical activities.

I envisage “Mentoring Programs Work” as one of the most important topics in my life. I believe that by joining the mentoring programs, I will be able to gain significant life changing techniques that are essential in life. As I pointed out, a person with practical handiwork skills has significant merits. So, I intend to earn this merit from such programs. Gaining experience through handling objects and activities is more vital than reading about them on books and even hearing (Minelli, 2007). With this merit, one is able to develop a practical skill. Well, reading and hearing are forms of gaining insights about how certain activities occur, but performing them practically is a recipe to that knowledge. One benefit explicit with learning from the mentoring programs is that one is able to improve his or her confidence in the ability to do real practical jobs that require handiwork. Therefore, I believe that I can enhance my expertise in various activities by observing and copying how my mentor acts. Typically, a mentee is most likely to experience different challenges when observing their role models perform tasks. Good mentors likewise are expected to show learners effective ways of doing activities; otherwise, one may copy wrongly. In my case, I expect to actively enter mentoring programs work and acquire practical skills that I can again share with others.

The five topics from the course have fostered my ability to be able to attain the highest possible functioning level while getting in touch with my emotions and nature. Essay 9 and 37 have significantly influenced my reasoning for having trust in God. He is capable of anything, and through faith in him, I can easily succeed through him. The rest of the three topics have delved much on developing me as a person, especially mentoring me to be physically involved in various activities of life. From the mentoring programs, I believe that I can enhance my physical activity skills. This merit is highly sought after attribute in the current and future job market, and therefore, it will enhance my employability.

References

Minelli, M. J. (2007). The art of living: Pathways to personal growth. Champaign, Ill.: Stipes Pub.