Gail's Blog

The Basis of Greatness–Where is it?

I look at the headlines, I hear the chatter and the noise.  Today it is a certain threat, tomorrow it’s another.  We gather underbigstock--196232251 the tree of disruption, uncertainty, exhaustion and fear.  Some of us are angry, some resentful, some are sad, mad and tired.  Our leaders are corrupted and we are fearful that our democracy will be eroded and permanently damaged by their long-lived deeds of corruption.  We want it to improve yet we choose people to lead us who lack greatness and wisdom.  We settle for promises and stay anxious, worried and fearful.  It is almost like ground hog day.  It just repeats and repeats and we wonder why it has become so polarized.  I include some of the thoughts of Wallace Wattles the great philosopher from the early 20th century who wrote deeply on greatness.

As I look at individual lives of our current leaders and those who would like to be leaders, I question the ability of any of them to be great.  But then you might ask, what makes one great?  How can you recognize greatness?  It certainly isn’t monetary success.  We have untold numbers of people who are financially very wealthy but they are not great.  They are successful in creating wealth, some through corrupted methods.  It certainly isn’t necessarily in any religious leadership.  They may good at gathering in the flock or becoming “pastor-preneurs” but that doesn’t create greatness.  It does sell trinkets, books, candles and other assorted opportunities to hold a tangible piece of God. How about academia?  Perhaps, there are some really great people here with professors, researchers, scientists?

Greatness is something different.  The essential ingredient of greatness is wisdom.  Wisdom is the power to perceive the best ends to aim at and the best way to reach those aims.  As Wattles states in the “Science of Being Great”, it is the power to understand the right thing to do.  The person who is able to be strong enough to do the right thing and is wise enough to know the right thing to do is the truly great person.  This wisdom is dependent upon knowledge.  Where there is ignorance, there cannot be greatness.  Human minds are limited so we must connect our minds to the real wisdom and only Divine wisdom knows all.  Only Divine wisdom knows all truth.  Wisdom is obtained by reading the mind of the greater intelligence.

To create better leaders for our land, we need to obtain greater knowledge and tap into the greater intelligence.  We need to stay clear of those who promise and preen, who pander to audiences, who speak words of babble and promise quick fixes.  We need to understand that our society is incomplete.  It is unfinished.  We can work to complete this unfinished society instead of “renovating a decaying one”.  We can work with better hearts and a more hopeful spirit.  The key is look upon civilization as a good thing that is becoming better.   Always see the world as evolving .  It has been produced by evolution and is not finished.  We have come from very simple forms of life to complex human beings to becoming more complex and refined human beings as we continue to evolve.  Everything is incomplete and in the process of becoming.

We cannot lose heart.  By going back to our center we will find the pure idea of right.  You have outgrown many ideas and from force of habit continue to permit them to dictate your life.  Abandon what you have outgrown.  Do as well as you think.  Think the best thoughts in business, in politics, in the community and in your home.  Develop a gracious countenance.  Remember that you cannot be ruled from below if you are to be great.  You must rule from above.  Do not be in a hurry and do not act from superficial impulses.  You can trust Divine Intelligence for the solution of all your puzzles.  There is no hurry.  There is only Divine Intelligence.  Remember you will get no power or wisdom until you are calm.  Be poised, be calm, be cheerful and have faith in the Divine Intelligence.  Remember this, you are not mentally developed by what you read–BUT, by what you think about what you read.  You will manifest greatness only when you begin to stand alone.


16 responses to “The Basis of Greatness–Where is it?”

  1. Sharon says:

    Excellent and very timely. Thank you, Gail!

  2. Gaye Rehder says:

    Gail, all I can say is ditto to all of the above. A great thought provoking read.

  3. Rebecca says:

    Thank you, Gail, for your beautiful and inspiring article. Every moment is an opportunity for us to develop calm, poise, faith, cheerfulness and perfect belief that all is well.

  4. Gail Minogue says:

    We learn best when we are not comfortable. Mistakes are part of the journey. Thank you for commenting John

  5. Gail Minogue says:

    Thank you Nancy for the taking the time to comment. Sometimes we just need reminders of our power and to get back on the right road. It is easy with the chaos of the world to forget that the world will keep going on with or without us.

  6. Gail Minogue says:

    Thank you Roidina. Great replies. Thank you everyone for commenting and assisting the rest of us with your words of wisdom.

  7. Gail Minogue says:

    We can all thank Wallace Wattles for his wonderful wisdom. We all need to see this from a higher perspective. Just think, we used to swing from trees and have lots of body hair. Now we walk upright, get waxed and line up at Starbucks. We are always in the process of becoming and it is never complete. Thank you for writing.

  8. Maawiya says:

    Thanks Gail for writing this.
    Just what I needed to read.
    “There is no hurry” that is a good reminder for all of us.
    We have to find calmness somehow with all the chaos going around us.
    Thanks such profound words of wisdom. Very powerful.

  9. Roidina Salisbury says:

    Wow, Gail. Super! Thank you, thank you, and ditto to all of those replies that I just read.

  10. Candyce says:

    Gail,

    How heartening to read. Gave me motivation, direction and strength, which is in itself great!

    Best,
    Candyce

  11. Nancy E. Wood says:

    WOW. That was one of the most inspiring and clearest outlining of our current state of affairs that I’ve come across — and it also indicated the simplest and most powerful direction and steps that we can take to reclaim our promise as Americans, and as humans — Find your TRUE Power within yourself and tap it and use it and learn to TRUST IT as your ultimate source of understanding and decision-making — on every question, topic, and choice, daily or monumental — that impacts your life. Many, many thanks to you, Gail, for the consistent wisdom and excellent guidance you generously impart to us.

  12. John Phillips says:

    My favorite takeaway: Everything is incomplete and in the process of becoming.
    This leaves space for the process of evolution and making mistakes along the journey !

  13. Andrea Gold says:

    Your article contains great takeaways…just a few being: 1) The person who is able to be strong enough to do the right thing and is wise enough to know the right thing to do is the truly great person. 2) You will manifest greatness only when you begin to stand alone. And a number of other points.

    If you are not changing, you are falling behind. The nature of Life is to evolve — or your energy can get “stuck.” Develop clarity, trust and faith in your own inner guidance. Come from the highest place in all of your actions and thoughts. And then you will be great. But you won’t care about that, because you are too busy helping the world be a better, happier, healthier place!

  14. Heather Holmberg says:

    Gail:

    Thank you so much. I loved reading this. Greatness might be such a lonely road that people shy away from it. And, connecting to Divine Intelligence is the only way to traverse that road.

  15. Gloria says:

    The last paragraph is a brilliant call for us to rise above and stand tall like mighty redwoods…

  16. Christina says:

    Great article and so true. Thank you for sharing. You should post this on YouTube

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