Foreword to “The Two Sandals.”

Living is like looking at life through a kaleidoscope, with an unknown hand continuously turning the hand piece and changing what there is to see. This book asks questions and offers answers that allows the reader to come up with a road map to understand and respond more appropriately to this kaleidoscope.

The author of this book and his writing cannot be separated from each other. His life is evidence for the book. He has actively researched the themes in this book since 1984. He has presented these ideas in 26 countries, in some instances through the media of a translator. This is one piece of evidence about the trustworthiness and relevance of the information in this book.

Here are two things you will not find in this book:

1. Stories and myths about a universe on standby. The self-help wave at present is one of doing something and you will get: find the secret, visualize, be grateful, do three things to enhance your happiness and the universe will give you …. You will not find ways of inviting the universe to your party anywhere in this book. Gabrielle Oettingen refers to this as the cult of optimism.
2. Advice on “all you have to do is …” and you will have the life you want. Some of these do-to-get-myths are that happiness must be found, happiness will occur if you change your life’s circumstances (more money, different car, magnificent co-habitation partner), or even: you have it or you don’t.

Current research is indicating that this cult of optimism may do more damage than good (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/positive-fantasies-hurt-real-world-success/).

Against this tide comes a timeous and relevant book that maps out a gentle but firm journey, gives another take on the kaleidoscope called life. You need two sandals to walk life. The one sandal is your intent. The other sandal is how and what you pay attention to.

Living with appropriate intent is the result of an incremental growth process. This process of growth to maturity might be considered by some as a spiritual journey. It is very definitely a way of answering some serious questions about living and the meaning of life. If the answer is: “benevolent intent in the form of unconditional giving”, what might the question be?

The companion sandal is the attention that reflects your intent. The more the emphasis is on “getting” rather than “giving”, the more your focus, actions and energy will be about getting things. Then of course will you be a ready sucker for the cult of optimism or the “all I have to do is …”-thought viruses. As you progress on this incremental journey of becoming mature, and acquire the wisdom of right living, you will find a shift in that you are seeking more ways to give than to get. Then you will be a member of a universal group of people living the right life with wisdom.

How will the reader know this is an appropriate and worthwhile journey? The evidence for this thinking is to found in multiple contexts: successful work, effective teams, and high personal well-being. This book will create the awareness that will alert you to find the evidence for these ideas in many spaces of your current life. The activities in the book allows you to explore many contexts and to be pleasantly surprised at the answers you discover waiting for you.