Creation and Transformation

The best way to predict the future is to create it. (Peter Drucker)

Imagine being a wizard. If you were, you would have the powers of creation and transformation. You would be able to bring things into existence and transform what you dislike into something you do like. If you had such powers, what would you create? What would you change?

If we would awaken from our slumber, we would discover we ARE, in fact, wizards. Once we awaken to this fact, we won't put up with a life of mediocrity any longer. Think of the fun, excitement, joy, and wonder that will fill your life, if you would only use your powers.

Sandra took the same bus to work every day. So did Mary. They were strangers sharing a long bus ride in silence. But one day Sandra took the initiative and started a conversation with Mary. They were soon friends. Think about it. Their friendship was nonexistent, but through their powers of wizardry, it came into being. Strangers were transformed into friends. A boring bus ride magically became a joyful time.

You need to become aware of your powers for two reasons. First, to take advantage of them and create the life you desire. Second, to avoid misusing them and creating havoc. You see, whether you're asleep or awake, aware or unaware, your powers remain. But when you act without awareness, you may unwittingly create what you don't want. For example, rather than creating friends, you may be creating enemies, and instead of experiencing joy, you may be experiencing misery.

As children we grow up with miracles such as cell phones, computers, and books, but soon take them for granted. We become complacent. We become satisfied living as a magician with a bag of tricks instead of as a wizard with a sea of potentiality and infinite possibility. As Albert Einstein (1879 ~ 1955) said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

One of the greatest miracles is that we are created in God's image. Like Him, we have the power to create and transform. We can, for example, create goodness and transform grief into joy. Indeed, nearly 4,000 years ago, Zarathushtra taught that our purpose is to join God in creating a world of goodness. We are the tools God uses to enhance His work. Or, as Luigi Pirandello (1867 - 1936) expressed it, "Nature uses human imagination to lift her work of creation to even higher levels."

To become aware of our power is a cause of joy. Poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877 - 1938) is so overcome with joy that his words may appear a bit arrogant, but that is not the intention when he writes, "Thou didst create the night, but I made the lamp. Thou didst create clay, but I made the cup. Thou didst create the deserts, mountains and forests; I produced the orchards, gardens and groves. It is I who made the glass out of stone, and it is I who turn a poison into an antidote."

Let's move away from a philosophical consideration of our great powers to a practical application. If you were a wizard, what would you do? Would you remove the burdens you have to carry, the problems you put up with, and the pain you endure? All wizards do precisely that. They make their burdens light; they transform their pain into gain, and they change problems into solutions.

How do they do so? Well, wizards are wise. They understand that if they wish the world to appear pink, it is far easier to wear pink glasses than to paint the entire globe pink. If we wish to eliminate our suffering, it is foolish to try to change the world, for it won't change. Instead, we need to put on the glasses of awareness. When we do so, it is not the world that changes, but our perception of it. What do the glasses of awareness reveal? Simply this: Everything that happens to us is for our own good. Everything is a lesson to be learned. Everything is an exercise to strengthen us. Once we see the world for what it really is, a classroom, a gym, and a playground, all our 'problems' dissolve. Why would wizards resist what makes them better? Why would they fight what makes them happy?

Complaining doesn't bring happiness, gratitude does. Bickering doesn't bring happiness, friendship does. Criticism doesn't bring happiness, praise does. So, as wizards, we need to use our powers wisely, not to sow hatred, but love; not to cause suffering, but relief, and not to instill fear, but to inspire confidence.

Those who are unaware of their powers are as good as dead. Like dead volcanoes, they are powerless. Those who have an inkling of their powers but do nothing about it are like inactive volcanoes, full of potential, yet powerless. But those who are aware and act, are like active volcanoes, full of explosive power. They transform the landscape around them.

For 15 years I lived in the most expensive city on earth, Tokyo, Japan. No one came clamoring to my door, begging me to work for them. Instead, I took the initiative, visiting companies and showing them what I could do. I quickly developed clients by creating my own opportunities. And my income transformed an expensive city to a surprisingly affordable one. Such is the power we have as wizards.

Reflect on your own power. Be confident in your ability as a wizard and tackle those problems thrown your way at the office. Break them open to discover the opportunities and solutions hidden within them. Always be aware of the magic you can do. You can be a force for good at the office and boost morale merely with your presence. You can transform the incompetent to skilled workers, the slackers to motivated employees, and the troublemakers to team players.

At home you can create an environment of love, encouragement, and support. You and your spouse can create life and raise a family of wizards that will make a valuable contribution to the world by spreading harmony, understanding, and acceptance wherever they go. And what about your circle of friends? You can create laughter with your humor, pleasure with your smil e, and enjoyment with your company.

The wizard's toolbox contains imagination, desire, commitment, vision, and awareness. Use them to build purpose and meaning in your life. And remember the words of fellow wizard Vida D. Scudder who wrote, "Creation is a better means of self-expression than possession; it is through creating, not possessing, that life is revealed." Let's create the world we share with awareness. And as we do so, we will reveal more and more of ourselves and take delight in the knowing.