“A total acceptance of yourself brings about a total transcendence of yourself.”
(Adyashanti[1])
Today, we are celebrating the virtue of transcendence, with the final post in our series leading up to Character Day[2].
Character Day is a global online event, featuring experts in the field of character education. The purpose of Character Day is to encourage schools, corporations, universities, civic groups and others to host group discussions about the importance of character development. All participants (Sign up here!) receive access to award-winning films, conversation starter kits, a comprehensive online resource hub, and a mobile app, including over 5,000 pieces of curated content focused on the importance of character development. This is all provided to support those who are interested in hosting their own Character Day event, and the resources are free!
Character Day is a worldwide phenomenon, and it’s growing fast. In 2016, there were 93,000 unique Character Day events held in 125 countries, and in all 50 United States. Every event is focused on a single, simple theme: developing character strengths.
At Happy Living, we believe that every day is Character Day. And we write, a lot, to inspire others to believe it too. In fact, we’ve been writing about the character strengths—wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence—since long before we even heard of Character Day.
A quick search on our website for “gratitude”,“optimism”,“appreciation”, and “spirituality” all strengths listed under the category of “transcendence,” returned seventy-seven different posts! (Gratitude=44, Optimism=6, Appreciation=14, Spirituality=13).
Here are excerpts from a few of my favorite Happy Living posts about transcendence.
Gratitude
What I Have Learned… So Far – Gratitude
So today, I share with you the gift I was given by Coach McClure more than thirty years ago in the hope that it helps shift your perspective and gives you a big dose of contentment and gratitude, for who you are and what you have, now, at this very moment and remember that ‘your life belongs to another’s dream’.
Optimism
Positive Thinking Yields Positive Outcomes
Studies show that positive thinking can provide significant health benefits including decreased feelings of loneliness[3], increased pain tolerance[4], and general better long-term health.
Thinking positively isn’t about ignoring reality. It’s about living proactively. One study showed that when people who thought negatively had a problem, they felt helpless. People who thought positively were more likely to believe in their ability to problem solve and take action to eliminate the problem.
Appreciation
My appreciation for the environment gets stronger every time I go out in nature, so this Earth Day I’d also like to encourage you to get back get outside!
As someone who has spent the last five years exploring the outdoors as much as possible, I encourage you to do the same. There truly is an outdoor activity for everyone, and part of the fun is finding what you personally love. So, whatever your relationship with nature, find something that appeals to you and use Earth Day as the perfect reason to get out into the great outdoors. I promise you won’t regret it.
Spirituality
Magnificence & My Philosophy on Spirituality
Many years ago when I watched The Secret[5] for the first time, I was instantly attracted to a phrase in the movie, “I am magnificence in human form.”
While the phrase was inspiring, I was also intimidated by it. Magnificence felt like too grand a description for me, almost boastful and arrogant. But long after finishing the movie, “I am magnificence in human form” stuck with me. It resonated deep, and it seemed important.
Many years, books, long hikes, and hours of thought later, that phrase has become the centerpiece for my philosophy on spirituality.
This post is the last in my series leading up to Character Day 2017. Check out my favorite posts about Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, and Temperance.
Take One More Click to join our free Happy Living Character Day Workshop on September 13 to bring positive character changes to your life.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adyashanti
[2] Watch 1min Character Day Trailer
[3] Dispositional optimism and loneliness in older men
[4] Testing the relation between dispositional optimism and conditioned pain modulation: does ethnicity matter?