Follow The Leader

ByHarvey Kalmenson
Following a leader,
if you will,
it may deter the most critical of life’s happenings:
STANDING STILL
Tempting to find a leader
When leaders don’t abound
Removing a good one
When he, or she,
Black, white, or brown
Or any other shades
comes around
Not a good thing to do
Say brethren today
Echoing this country’s past….
      Not too long ago, country folks came together and Abraham Lincoln became our sixteenth president. Standing still was beneath him—standing still was never purposeful for Abe. He was, and remained, on a mission (with us, a brand-new American society) where all men have the same color blood flowing through their veins. Abe’s integrity, aroused from the Bible, showed indomitable cause!
      Once more, as a people, we lurched forward. Once more, one more time, Abe urged us all to join hands together. Today, our enemy is a virus. And like Abraham Lincoln moving—not standing still—remains the parcel of our American integrity. It is and will remain our survival.
Only one single moment in time will show itself more than once upon its face.
It will belong to you, alone, as your chance to do with it, stimulated by your singular will to accomplish, or to stand still, watching, unable to avoid the stymie you, and you alone, are free to remove.
Standing still is not limited to remaining in one place being singular, or without any thoughts of personal choice.
What it does mean, in as short and sweet a definition to be found in any annals of society, is a simple fact: if you are in life’s race without movement, you are in the process of losing.
Life is definitely a means to its eventual end.
Without forward movement, one will find themselves in retreat; often, in retreat without conspicuously or consciously being aware of it.
hk  
2021
May I recommend:
“Abraham Lincoln: The War Years”
A four-volume biography by Carl Sandburg, published in 1939.
It was awarded the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for history.
      It took Carl Sandburg eleven years to research and write this compassionate description of what leadership is all about. These award-winning volumes, at one time, were standard teaching tools in almost every state in America. Today, the vast majority of high school students have never heard of Carl Sandburg, a very great poetic leader.
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” Carl Sandburg
And one more thing….
      A little tip of a thing I do when I’m in search of something I need in my life (what I refer to as ‘recapture’), what I want, preferably what I love and/or like, all just things many folks might take for granted or don’t notice when they are there for the most of the time… Why do I choose to offer this to all who surround me? Because at this moment, I find my own mind in need of stimulation.
      Educating others has been a mainstay in my life for as long as I can remember. When a current or past student calls our office or writes a letter of thank you, it serves to placate any thoughts of my personal failures. Here’s a secret: the greatest failure of mine remains any contemplation of standing still. Don’t look for mollification when you didn’t do anything wrong.
      In a moment of silence, or this man’s (me) valueless deeds having been miraculously accomplished, seeking to reclaim my burning desires for success motivation, fitting in with my personal fulcrum—the fact is, the right side of my report card will always read: “could do better!” There are times when I talk to myself about what can cure my needs. I’m alone and I say, “Okay then, light my fire”.
This year, 2020, I’ve needed help more than any other time in my life.
Note: I scribe this piece because of what we’re all going through at this moment in time. #19—The world’s current and most active pain in the ass. It’s difficult to cultivate a motivational desire for success when you’re worried about losing a loved one, family, or friend.
      Here’s the tip I promised: simply stated, I look for a new fact—a piece of knowledge to add to my arsenal each and every day of my life. If I’m learning, I’m not standing still. When pain enters a life situation, I turn to a leader—current or from the past—to show me the way to move forward.
      It’s a simple trick, but it does take application. Single pages in books, or often a single paragraph, helps me to move forward with a rush; making comparisons to myself and the heaviest and most devised pressures life has to offer. Lincoln’s life pressures far exceed anything I’ve ever had to deal with.
      Today, just looking at any remembrance of our sixteenth president offers me a needed stimulus—his world-acclaimed Emancipation Proclamation, established in 1863, close to four years before the Civil War would end in 1865.
And then came Winston, Leader Personified
Note: Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, as a result of Germany’s treaty-breaking invasion of Poland. Winston Churchill was a leader in the wings. He took the helm for his great empire, alone in the world. He received the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”. And of course,  his goal was to end them, with or without the help of the United States of America. Nazi Germany declared war against the United States on December 11, 1941.
        
      I was always under the impression as a much younger person (while just beginning my high school exploits—or education you might say) we were the real heroes of World War II.
      Most of our team’s athletic coaches also doubled as regular teachers. Mine were mostly instructors in American History and or U.S. government. It was during a practice when one of our coaches introduced us to the likes of his hero—a man he referred to as Winnie—known to the world as Sir Winston Churchill. My life was about to change directions, on that very spot, in that one moment in time.
      What occurred then in a single moment was to be etched in my mind’s eye and would remain with me to this very day, as I convey my innermost thoughts to you all. Our coach had introduced his history class to a few of Winston Churchill’s most well-known speeches, amongst them were the same quotes from his “Their Finest Hour” speech. Winston Churchill epitomized the term ‘leader’. Many historians believe, if not for him, the second World War would have been lost to an axis triumphant. The man stood alone without equal.
“Final painting by Winston Churchill of his ‘most special place in the world’ which he gave to his bodyguard is expected to fetch £80,000 at auction.
  • Wartime Prime Minister gifted ‘The Goldfish Pool’ to bodyguard Edmund Murray
  • Sergeant Murray received painting just years before Churchill’s death in 1965 
  • Murray had had even helped the politician prepare his easel and paint brushes
  • Churchill completed 544 paintings after he took the hobby up in the 1920s
  • The painting has never been exhibited before and is expected to fetch £80,000″ 
Pain Into Gain
      For many more years than most, it has become my habit to put into practice a ritual each and every day of my life. I will not end said day without the same practice taking place. Whether it’s a word, a paragraph, a page, or many chapters. I seek to take from another’s writings, at least a modicum of learning.
      For me, there will never be exhaustion too great that would, whatever the circumstances arise, hamper, or serve as a deterrent in order to assuage my desire to learn something of value to my life. Learning has become my fountain of youth. No pill can compare to the curative aid to one’s existence helping an individual during and after a time of strife.
HK’s latest read:
“The Splendid and the Vile” by Erik Larson
“Highly recommended.” -Harvey Kalmenson

“I can [already] tell it’s going to be good, all the way through.” -da harv

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