Tricky Dick inspired me today

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I found some inspiration from our former president Richard Nixon today. It wasn’t his politics, or anything related to Watergate, it is a quote of his that I believe shares his heart on what was at least partially why he entered the arena of politics- he said:

“A man who has never lost himself in a cause bigger than himself has missed one of life's mountaintop experiences. Only in losing himself does he find himself.”

Many people will only remember Nixon for Watergate which is sad because he was so much more. Did you know that while he was President, Nixon Established the EPA or that he made it a point to enforce desegregation of schools in the South? Nixon and JFK were friends, they had both been elected to Congress in 1946 and while on opposite sides of the isle they formed a close friendship that lasted at least until the 1960 election where they campaigned against one . Nixon he was a very complex, interesting guy who often broke from his group to pursue what he thought was better than partisan politics. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he is perfect, I once did a biography on Nixon for a school paper and read stories about his terrible temper. One story recounted how a young, somewhere around 6 years old, Nixon hit another kid in the head with a hatchet over a jar of tadpoles. My point is that Nixon was so much more than Watergate.

Back on point to my inspiration- What he said, the idea that maybe the goal, or at least A goal of ours should be to not just look out for ourselves but to lose ourselves in something bigger than us is fantastic. It is also very different from many of the messages that play to the “it’s all about me” that so often is found on our culture today. I would like to say that I’m really good at this, losing myself in things bigger than me but honestly I’m not, at least not like I want to. I still think about myself first in most situations, even when I should be thinking of others. I have lost myself in bigger, better things than me- Marriage and family come to mind and this is an area that I’d like to think that I excel but I know that there will always be room for improvement, anyone who says that they are the best at being a husband and or dad is either telling a bad joke, is lying or is really out of touch with reality.

So here is to Nixon and his epiphany, I’ve already been thinking about things I can do and I’m going to spend some more time thinking about ways that I can lose myself in things bigger than me. Who knows, I might get so lost that they have to send a search team for me ;)