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Never Lose Enthusiasm - Aldous Huxley - Secret of Genius

The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.

attributed to: Aldous Huxley

First, I am a little uncomfortable with using this quote.  Normally, I research the origin of a quote for assurances of correctness.  However, after ten minutes of weeding through google results of pinterest, twitter, and the huge quotation cites, I could not find the context of this quote nor conformation that it was Huxley.  Sigh.   If any of my gentle readers have the citation and context of this quote, it would be greatly appreciated.  

 Second, I decided just to get on with the blog.  What is important?  Spending time verifying a quote (which is not the main purpose of the blog) or crystallizing my idea in writing.  And then to get on living life.  

 Enthusiasm.  This is what attracted me to this quote.  When things were dark for me, I didn't even have the enthusiasm some days to do anything more than grab some snacks and sit in front of the television.  Argh - what a waste of time.  Like my readers, I have many talents.  Some are not as appreciated as others, but I have them.

 Not practicing my skills and talents. Not growing my skills and talents.  Not sharing my skills and talents.  That is self-absorbed and selfish.  

 Living in Philadelphia, I met a retired teacher.  I think she was a teacher.  She was small and birdish, hopping around different community help groups.  She had a routine I was told:  She volunteered at five different charities one day a week for each with a smile.  Her volunteer work never overlapped with mine and I was too "busy" to seek her out and talk to her.  I was a self-important 30-something.  It was my loss.

 Today, I am not at the retirement age but I am fighting my own tiredness and the attitudes of today's 30-somethings.  One of the nice things about the internet is that you are judged on your work (postings) and not your physical appearance if you choose to have it that way.  Yes, Yes, and Yes, the pics, the instagrams, the facebookings are filled with images of instant celebrity based solely on appearance.  But they choose that (to a certain extent).  What the internet can do is provide a platform for pure written content.  So this blog might not have the "click-bait" that will increase views - but for 15 minutes a day I get to practice my writing and get my ideas out there.

 Propelling Enthusiasm!

Gratitudes:  Wireless keyboards, blue tooth headphones, and instant oatmeal.
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