INFP Introverts: The 64-Color Box

A tribe elder is talking with a young boy. “I am so very tired because I have two wolves inside of me and they are having a ferocious fight,” he says to the boy.

The child glances up at him with eyes wide with fright and curiosity. “What are they fighting about?”

“One wolf is full of hatred, anger, lies, blame, fear, ego, greed and regret. The other wolf wants love, compassion, truth, meaning, justice, peace and joy,” says the elder.

The little boy, concerned for his old friend, asks “And which wolf will win?”

“Whichever one I feed the most,” the elder replies.

—Native American Wisdom, “Two Wolves”

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken,
because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.
Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
The pessimist complains about the wind;
the optimist expects it to change;
and the realist adjusts the sails.

—William Arthur Ward, “To Risk”

One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through. Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters, whatever name we give it what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.

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Dies Slowly
Pablo Neruda

Dies slowly he who transforms himself into a slave of habit, repeating every day the same routines, who does not change brands, does not risk wearing a new color, nor talking to those he doesn’t know.

Dies slowly he who makes television his guru.

Dies slowly he who avoids passion, who prefers black to white and the tiny dot on the “i” instead of a whirlpool of emotions.

Dies slowly he who does not overthrow the table when unhappy at work, who does not risk the certain for the uncertain to go toward the dream that is keeping him awake. Who does not, at least once in life, flee from sound thinking.

Dies slowly he who does not travel, does not read, does not listen to music, who does not find grace in himself.

Dies slowly he who destroys his self-love, who does not accept help from another.

Dies slowly he who passes his days complaining of his bad luck or the incessant rain.

Dies slowly he who abandons a project before starting it, who does not ask about a subject he does not know, or who does not answer when asked about something he does know.

Dies slowly he who does not share his emotions, joys and sadness, who does not trust, who does not even try.

Dies slowly he who does not intend on excelling, who does not learn from the lessons on the road of life, who does not love or allow love in return.

Let’s avoid death in soft quotes, remembering always that to be alive demands an effort much greater than breathing.

Change. But start slowly, because direction is more important than speed.
     
Sit in another chair, on the other side of the table. Later on, change tables.
     
When you go out, walk on the other side of the street. Then change your route. Walk down other streets, observing closely the places you pass by.

Take other buses. Change your wardrobe for a while; give away your old shoes and walk barefoot for a few days—even if only at home.
     
Take off a whole afternoon and stroll about freely, listening to the birds or the noise of the cars.

Open and shut drawers and doors with your left hand.

Sleep on the other side of the bed. Then try sleeping in other beds.
     
Watch other TV programs, read other books, live other romances—even of only in your imagination.

Sleep until later. Go to bed earlier.

Learn a new word a day.

Eat a little less, eat a little more, eat differently; choose new seasonings, new colors, things you have never dared to experiment. Lunch in other places, go to other restaurants, order another kind of drink and buy bread at another bakery. Lunch earlier, have dinner later, or vice-versa.

Try something new every day: a new side, a new method, a new flavor, a new way, a new pleasure, a new position.
     
Pick another market, another make of soap, another toothpaste.
     
Take a bath at different times of the day.
     
Use pens with different colors.
     
Go visit other places.
     
Love more and more and in different ways. Even when you think that the other will be frightened, suggest what you have always dreamed about doing when you make love.
     
Change your bag, your wallet, your suitcases, buy new glasses, write other poems.
     
Open an account in another bank, go to other cinemas, other hairdressers, other theaters, visit new museums.
     
Change. And think seriously of finding another job, another activity, work that is more like what you expect from life, more dignified, more human.
     
If you cannot find reasons to be free, invent them: be creative.
     
And grab the chance to take a long, enjoyable trip—preferably without any destination.
     
Try new things. Change again. Make another change. Experiment with something else.
     
You will certainly know better things and worse things than those you already know, but that does not matter. What matters most is change, movement, dynamism, energy.
     
Only what is dead does not change—and you are alive.

—Author Unknown
…

“Do more than exist; live. Do more than touch; feel. Do more than look; observe. Do more than read; absorb. Do more than hear; listen. Do more than listen; understand. Do more than think; ponder. Do more than talk; say something.” —Author Unknown

“Many are those who talk like the roar of the sea but their lives are shallow and stagnant like rotting marshes. Many are those who lift their heads above the mountain tops but their spirits remain dormant in the obscurity of the caverns. Believing is a fine thing but placing those beliefs into execution is a test of strength.” —Kahlil Gibran

One day, the father of an extremely wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the purpose of exposing him to the lives of poor people. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me, what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us but they serve others. We buy our food but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us but they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

…

“As thinkers, mankind has ever divided into two sects, materialists and idealists; the first class founding on experience, the second on consciousness; the first class beginning to think from the data of the senses, the second class perceive that the senses are not final and say, the senses give us representations of things, but what are the things themselves, they cannot tell. The materialist insists on facts, on history, on the force of circumstances and the animal wants of man; the idealists on the power of thought and will, on inspiration, on miracle, on individual culture.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1842)