And If There Ain't No Beauty, You Gotta Make Some Beauty! (Have Mercy, Listen To Me Now!)


Do you take the time to see the beauty in all things?

I learned that from the very first album I ever bought, That’s The Way Of The World, the Earth, Wind & Fire masterpiece. I bought it at a Woolworth’s in 1974 when I was a freshman in high school.

On that album, there was this cut called All About Love.

Remember that one?

Remember Maurice White rappin’, “You are as beautiful as your thoughts, right on?”

Can you name some reasons why this is a beautiful sight?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTw349DdLvI
(Click to play “All About Love” by Earth, Wind & Fire.)

I bring this up because, if your world view these days comes from the media and from politicians, it’s easy to get the impression that the world is doomed.

Even our economic model is based on fear. If you don’t buy this right now then you won’t win, you won’t be sexy, you won’t fit in, you won’t feel good, you won’t be cool, you won’t save money, you won’t be safe … and so on.

But we know that whatever we focus on expands. So why focus on things we fear?

As in basketball or any other sport, you either play to win or you play not to lose. When you play to win, you win. That’s because when you play to win, you focus on what you want. Not on what you don’t want.

When you focus on some crisis that you fear, or on how hard something is … then you focus your attention on what you don’t want. That’s like playing not to lose.

Instead, play to win. Focus on your goals and how much you want them. Make your life about the things you want for you, your family, your neighborhood, your block, your city, your state, your world.

You’ll soon realize that the world is overflowing with beauty, all around you. In everything you see. There’s even a scientific basis for this in quantum physics called the Copenhagen Interpretation, which states there is no objective reality; everything is subjective.

Earth, Wind & Fire: That's The Way Of The World

Sound deep? It just means that, in essence, the world around you is whatever you think it is. People find whatever it is that they expect to find.

Or, as Maurice White broke it down, “You are as beautiful as your thoughts, right on?”

(Yo, was he a quantum physicist?)

A quick way to improve your world right now is to turn off the TV, stop watching the news, quit your curiosity about morbid details and statistics, and stop focusing on all the problems of the world.

Start focusing on all the possibilities. Start focusing on all the miracles of the world. Start focusing on all the beauty of the world.

It’s all around you. Do you stop to check it out?

“I want you to stop … whatever you’re doin’. Just stop. ‘Cuz I wanna rap to you.”

Realize that you have a choice of what you think about and what you see. Each moment is your moment. It belongs to you. You choose what to do with that moment. You can live that moment in fear … or you can make it all about love.

Knowing the difference will change your life, and allow you to make history now!

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[…] That’s the Law of Attraction at work.  It’s also the Copenghagen Interpretation, which I mentioned before, at […]

ana walker
15 years ago

i loved it…one of my favorite albums growing up in Bermuda :) Brings back wonderful memories!
thanks claude!

MJ
15 years ago

Something told me to stop what I was doing and click on the link. I’m glad I did. I’ve been going through it recently and wondering why certain things were happening to me financially. I’ve been searching for some answers and over the last couple of days I’ve read or heard a few things to lift up my spirits (like this article). We all know life is what you make it but how many of us really and truly have the mindset of “you are as beautiful as your thoughts” when trouble or tribulation comes your way. That could be the difference between winning and losing on the basketball court or in the game of life. Thanks for the post Claude!

PS. I haven’t heard the name Woolworth’s in about 15 years. My hometown of Linden, NJ probably had one of the last standing stores. :)

15 years ago

You know, the more I check you out the more I think you lived near me in Gary, Indiana, where I grew up. My high school…Froebel…was integrated back in 1928. My now deceased pal Davage Minor, was the real deal on and off the court. Matter of fact, I believe we could have been the first two from the same high school to play against each other in the NBA-1951. In addition, I want to tell you about a guy named Fred Boone, who went to the same high school and was a hell of a baseball player-both hard and soft ball. He hung out with a bunch of our ethnic guys…loved the Yugoslavian/Bulgarian…and my stuff, Macedonian, food so much which our mother’s continually fed him, that be changed his name to Fred Boonovich. This my friend is my thought for this early friday…before breakfast….maintain….tosh

Thanks for the reminder!

shreedove
15 years ago

when i was younger, i spent a mind-numbing amount of time trying to understand what makes something beautiful. after many years of analysis the answer came and i could not believe how simple it was. the answer: the observer. in others words; me. i can either decide to see beauty or not. once i came to this realization i was able to see beauty all around me. i call it “the eye of the beholder effect.” quantum mechanics suggests that matter isn’t solid. instead, the material worlds is more like a fuzzy mess potential realities until it is provoked into a particular state of existance. this means that we have the power to influence our reality. i’m no expert on this subject, but i do know when something rings true with me. whenever the world seems dark, i remind myself that i have the power within me to shine a light. if you want to know more, pick up the dvd “what the bleep do we know” the experts in the film can explain it far better than i can. … just thought i would share. thanks for the post claude.

John Wolvereine Finn
15 years ago

15 minutes per day is all it takes for you to become greaqt, change the world and never have to worry about money or failure again!

As always, Claude continues to inspire.

I have lived by the words he has written and it is paying off in love, and business.

Claude told me once that if I had a friend that talked to me the way I talk to myself, would I hang around that person anymore?

When I talk to myself I always take the high road and focus on the BIG things I really want. I tell myself I can do it, that I like it and I am the best at it. Every once in a while I see people who are successful and my mind says “uh oh, you’ll never get to where they are–it is impossible” Remember their mind keeps telling them the same thing “you are not that good, it is all going to come crashing down on you like it did for Job” And we have a secret weapon to stop this kind of thought.

People like Michael Jordan, Gretzky, Claude Johnson, Martin Luther King and myself have big dreams– our secret is what we say back to our mind and that we focus on the dream. Like a freight train, nothing will stop me except me.

Now my mind just said “you have no right to put yourself up there with Martin Luther King or Wayne Gretzky…” I say “thank you for sharing but Jesus made me to be like him therefore I deserve better!”

Spend 15 minutes per day with Claude and learn to train your mind to become awesome!

You all deserve the best! I wish that for you all and thank God for Claude Johnson and The Black Fives.

John Finn

claudette
15 years ago

Very deep Claude. I am going to try only to see the beauty in everything today. Yes, i will turn the tube off.

Brandon Byrd
15 years ago

Mr. Johnson…This is deep, as usual, you’re inspiring!

[…] « And If There Ain’t No Beauty, You Gotta Make Some Beauty! (Have Mercy, Listen To Me Now!) 05 05 2008 […]