The greater danger\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
for most of us\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
is not that our aim is\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
too high\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
and we miss it,\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
but that it is\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n too low\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n and we reach it.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n MICHELANGELO<\/p>\n (1475-1564)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet, Renaissance artist\u00a0Michelangelo Buonarroti is an<\/p>\n outstanding figure in the history of the visual arts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Over the past twenty-five or so years, I have appeared regularly on radio and<\/p>\n television talk shows, conversing with listeners who call in and join the dis-<\/p>\n cussion. One of the most frequent criticisms I have received from the<\/p>\n hosts of these shows is that I offer far too much hope for people in dire<\/p>\n circumstances and that this could be a dangerous thing. Despite this kind of<\/p>\n fault-finding, I am still at a loss to understand how having too much<\/p>\n hope could be a dangerous thing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When people tell me of a medical diagnosis that implies no cure being<\/p>\n possible, I encourage them to shift\u00a0their aim to a completely opposite outcome. I talk frequently about the law that has allowed any miracle that has ever occurred, since the inception of<\/p>\n time, to take place. I explain that that law has never been repealed and is<\/p>\n still on the books. I cite cases of people who were told to go home and wait<\/p>\n to die, who were given six months to live and who freed themselves of their<\/p>\n illnesses and their diagnosis. I receive mail every day from people who re-<\/p>\n fused to listen to the low aims and the low hopes that others have had for them, describing how grateful they were for a message of hope in difficult times.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I believe that Michelangelo, who lived a few days shy of eighty-nine<\/p>\n years, still sculpting, painting, writing, and designing in an age when ninety<\/p>\n was about sixty years beyond normal life expectancy, was speaking to this<\/p>\n idea of having very high hopes and aims in this famous quotation of his.<\/p>\n The danger is not in false hope, rather\u00a0it is in no hope or low hope, and<\/p>\n consequently our objectives and aims are diminished by our beliefs before<\/p>\n they can be worked on and materialized.<\/p>\n This not only concerns the overcoming of physical maladies, it in-<\/p>\n cludes virtually everything in our lives.<\/p>\n The world is full of people who have\u00a0aimed low and thought small who<\/p>\n want to impose this diminutive thinking on any who will listen. The real<\/p>\n danger is the act of giving up or setting standards of smallness for our-<\/p>\n selves with low expectations. Listen carefully to Michelangelo, the man<\/p>\n whom many consider the greatest artist of all time.<\/p>\n I recall standing in front of the statue of David in Florence and being transfixed. The size, the majesty, the spirit that seemed to jump right out of the marble was Michelangelo saying<\/p>\n to all of us, \u201cAim high.\u201d When he was asked how he could create such a<\/p>\n masterpiece, he responded that David\u00a0was already in the marble, he simply<\/p>\n had to chip away the excess to allow him to escape. High aim indeed. And<\/p>\n speaking of high, take a look sometime at the Sistine Chapel where<\/p>\n Michelangelo painted the ceiling by lying on his back and working every<\/p>\n day for four years between 1508 and 1512. It was a project that lesser artists<\/p>\n would have considered impossible, yet Michelangelo took it on and many<\/p>\n more in a lifetime crammed full of high energy, high talent, and, yes, high<\/p>\n aim.<\/p>\n Virtually all of Michelangelo\u2019s artistry gave expression to the idea<\/p>\n that love helps human beings in their struggles to ascend to the divine. This<\/p>\n was true in some three hundred sonnets that he wrote, and it showed itself<\/p>\n in his depiction of spiritual themes in his painting, sculpting, and archi-<\/p>\n tectural design. From a humble beginning as a banker\u2019s son in Italy, this<\/p>\n man, because of his high hopes, big dreams, and intolerance for low expectations that we hold for our-<\/p>\n selves.<\/p>\n Michelangelo\u2019s advice is just as applicable today in your life as it was<\/p>\n in his, over five hundred years ago.<\/p>\n Never listen to those who try to influence you with their pessimism. Have<\/p>\n complete faith in your own capacity to feel that love that shines through<\/p>\n David, Madonna and Child, and the heavenly frescoes on the ceiling of the<\/p>\n Sistine Chapel. The love is your conscious contact with this artist who<\/p>\n shared the same universal spirit of oneness with you and every human<\/p>\n being who has ever lived.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His accomplishments arose from the message he offers all of us at the<\/p>\n beginning of this piece. Aim high,refuse to choose small thinking and<\/p>\n low expectations, and above all, do not be seduced by the absurd idea that<\/p>\n there is danger in having too much hope.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The paradox of love\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n WAYNE W. DYER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The greater danger\u00a0 for most of us\u00a0 is not that our aim is\u00a0 too high\u00a0 and we miss it,\u00a0 but that it is\u00a0 too low\u00a0 and we reach it.\u00a0 MICHELANGELO (1475-1564) Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet, Renaissance artist\u00a0Michelangelo Buonarroti is an outstanding figure…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg",900,609,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg",900,609,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=300%2C203&ssl=1",300,203,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=570%2C570&ssl=1",570,570,true],"portfolio-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=600%2C609&ssl=1",600,609,true],"portfolio-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1",800,600,true],"menu-featured-post":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=345%2C198&ssl=1",345,198,true],"qode-carousel_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=400%2C260&ssl=1",400,260,true],"portfolio_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=500%2C380&ssl=1",500,380,true],"portfolio_masonry_regular":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=500%2C500&ssl=1",500,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_wide":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=900%2C500&ssl=1",900,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_tall":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=500%2C609&ssl=1",500,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=900%2C609&ssl=1",900,609,true],"portfolio_masonry_with_space":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=700%2C474&ssl=1",700,474,true],"latest_post_boxes":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=539%2C303&ssl=1",539,303,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?fit=600%2C406&ssl=1",600,406,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/post-2322.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Philosophy<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"The greater danger\u00a0 for most of us\u00a0 is not that our aim is\u00a0 too high\u00a0 and we miss it,\u00a0 but that it is\u00a0 too low\u00a0 and we reach it.\u00a0 MICHELANGELO (1475-1564) Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet, Renaissance artist\u00a0Michelangelo Buonarroti is an outstanding 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