/ Publisher's Message, March 2011

by Raj Girn

Publisher’s Message, March 2011

Jun 25, 2013

Being In The Present Is All It's Cracked Up To Be!

Towards the end of last year, I was at a cocktail party amongst a group of 30-40 year-old, very accomplished men and women—the kind of people that influence social perspective. An interesting topic ensued about accomplishments which more often then not, leads to a debate on the lessons of our past and hopes for our future.

This occasion was no different. As the opinions of intellect and experience were propelled, it was clear that there was no agreeing on which was more important— the past or the future, until one of the attending CEO’s 12 year-old daughter stepped up and out-of-the-blue, retorted, “Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness”. The room was silenced. I asked her where she’d heard this, to which she said she’d read it on the internet. I asked her if she remembered who had said this, to which she replied coyly, “James Thurber”. “Ah yes!” one of the guests responded, “the author of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and well known columnist for The New Yorker last century!” Well, to say the CEO whose daughter had silenced a crowd of some of the most learned people I know was tickled pink, was an understatement—the Cheshire cat smile that beamed from ear to ear was obvious, and what a lesson we learnt from a 12 year-old child!

I went home that night, still enamoured at the way this young girl had silenced a room full of knowledge and influence. So much so that I was compelled to consider the notion of living in the present. Having spent all of my life in periodical retrospect and consumed by visions of the future, I was aghast at the shear simplicity of this concept, which is by no means new, but by all means, a new adoption to my life. Yes we need to reflect on the past to ensure the lessons are learnt, and we need to hope for the future because without hope there is cynicism. But most of our time should be dedicated to the present because the now tells us if our yesterday is in a healthy place within our lives, and the future tells us if our present is on track.

This experience opened up a whole new perspective to me on yet another level—the idea that wisdom and insight are not exclusive to age and education. Up to this point in my ten year media career, I had almost only done Open Chest interviews with celebrities and personalities who were relatively mature in years (mid-twenties and up) because I’d always believed that years bring with them insight that is a prerequisite to being able to ‘open chest’. Was I ever wrong! Just recently at ANOKHI’s 5th Annual Gala (highlights on page 20), I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely actress, all of five feet tall and 19 young years of age—Melinda Shankar, star of the globally syndicated TV shows, Degrassi: The Next Generation and How To Be Indie. We first met at the welcome soiree the night before the gala and instantly, upon first speaking to her, I knew that I was faced with a young woman whose wisdom far surpassed her age. I flashed back to the 12 year-old girl who had silenced a room. So it was confirmed, I would do my next Open Chest with Melinda, my youngest subject to date. And what an inspiration she was. Read the full story on page 24, and maybe like me, you’ll discover that age is nothing but a number!

To access my full almost nine year roster of Open Chest interviews, please visit me at: www.openchest.com – it’s FINALLY live and in the present!!

Until Next Time,

Raj Girn
Publisher

BY: RAJ GIRN / PUBLISHED: THE LIVE BEAUTIFUL ISSUE, MARCH 2011
PHOTOGRAPH OF MELINDA AND RAJ BY TONY DI LORENZO www.tdlphoto.ca

Raj Girn

Author

Raj Girn is an award-winning media personality, confidence coach, consultant and mentor. Bio: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/our-founder/ Testimonials: https://www.theopenchestconfidenceacademy.com/about/testimonials/