Vision of Love

Hi Douglas Hansen here,

Recently, I rediscovered one of my favorite songs, it is called: "Vision of Love. by MariahCarey. It reminded me of something that is very easy to overlook.  Love is powerful, wonderful, and so much more.  It is the foundation of everything good.

It reminds me of a Vision of Love, I still have.  It is a dream, but unfortunately, it feels like it may slip away?  It is powerful and important, at least it is to me.    It is much more than just a new car, or new house, or other tangible thing.  I will see if I can explain . . .

A short time after I returned from active duty in the military, I realized I had skydived, climbed mountains, explored caves, adventure into Anasazi ruins, and more, but the activity by itself, and the materiel things were not all I thought they would be.  What I did figure out was that people, and sharing these things with them was what really made.

"People are the Spice of Life."  Just like the lemon pepper I put on my food, it makes plain rice or soup, or almost anything more palatable.  Without people the challenges in life would be overwhelming.  I must admit, life has been rather challenging for me, over the past few years and when I heard these words, which she sang so well it reawakened something inside of me, that is almost like a curse.  

Maybe my mother taught me this, and I am glad she did, but it hurts sometimes.  My parent ended up getting married at a rather young age, and things did not work out for them.  Anyway, my mother had to raise me during the early years of my life.  One thing which she taught me, which is easier to communicate is, "She taught me never to fight."  Well, in theory it is a great idea.  In actuality, in the short term, it led to being bullied and chased home from school, by kids smaller than I. 

This led to some challenging situations. That was to change later in life when she remarried.  My other father saw me run into house with kids chasing me.  It only took a moment, and I realized I was flying back out the door.  He had grabbed me and turned me around, and gave me a good boot, while explaining that I was to “Get back out there and kick his tail.”   

I do not remember all of the details, but the kids stopped picking on me, and my self esteem began to grow.  At the time, that may have been a good way to handle that.  I guess there are times when it is appropriate to fight?  I am not suggesting she did a bad thing, but she did the only thing she could, “She taught me the good living principles as she best could.”  She is intelligent and caring woman.  She probably taught me some of my EQ skills, or being more sensitive to other people’s needs, and concerns, as well as mine. 

Had I developed and understood these important EQ skills, and the defensive skills, I probably could have avoided many of the confrontations of youth.  Confidence has a way of quelling things.  Of course, that is dependent on the other person’s understanding of life; and the importance of alliance.  My father"s" each taugh me important and good skills too. 

Studies that I have seen suggest that your EQ is more important than your IQ?  One book I have read, by Dale Carnegie, says that EQ skills are responsible for 85% of your success in life, whereas IQ is only 15% responsible?  Makes sense to me.

Well, back to my dream, it is tied to a curse which I deal with.  It was my goal to build a business around mountaineering, backpacking and the out of doors, and climb Mt Everest.  Everest was to be like the Super Bowl.  I figured it would give me some credibility and attract people’s interest.  From there I figured I would share outdoor skills with them, and when it made sense, I would slip in a few thoughts about the good living principles of life.

I do not have enough room to communicate the big picture, which I have experienced on climbing trips.  It is kind-of like a soccer game, or baseball game where the other team is really testing there own skills, by doing things that make sure you are playing your “A” game, rather than what sometimes happens, where one team tries to tear the other team down to their skill level.  

When both teams, play to aid the other team to be their best, then both teams end up playing an unforgettable game!  The points are just the excuse to shine, and share in a friendly competition rather than

I believe life can be that way, and in fact, we are doing a pretty good job at it.  Compare the last few hundred years, to the last few thousand, you can see we live a life that is much better than the world on average, has experienced, in the prior few thousand years of . . . doing what they have done.  “How it working?”  Well, we are doing much better, yea!

Oh, I bet you are wondering about my curse.  Well, it is like this, I “feel” like I can “visualize and almost touch,” how wonderful life is, when we live together in a positive, synergistic manner.  Call me crazy if you want, but I can touch it and feel it, from time to time when talking with others, teaching classes, or on adventures of one sort or another.  It is like magic, and other people feel it too.

I still have the dream, which I believe is trying to find me.  Will things come together?  Who knows?  May I suggest  that you go to youtube.com and watch: Mariah Carey sing - Vision Of Love (from Fantasy_ Live at Madison Square Garden)    

Here’s the words just in case you are interested.

Vision of Love

Mariah Carey

Treated me kind
Sweet destiny
Carried me through desperation
To the one that was waiting for me
It took so long
Still I believed
Somehow the one that I needed
Would find me eventually

I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given to me

Prayed through the nights
Felt so alone
Suffered through alienation
Carried the weight on my own
Had to be strong
So I believed
And now I know I've succeeded
In finding the place I conceived

I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given to me
I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given me

I've realized a dream
And I visualized
The love that came to be
Feel so alive
I'm so thankful that I've received
The answer that heaven has sent down to me

You treated me kind
Sweet destiny
And I'll be eternally grateful
Holding you so close to me
Prayed through the nights
So faithfully
Knowing the one that I needed
Would find me eventually

I had a vision of love
And it was all that you've given to me
I had a vision of love
And it was all that you turned out to be

Songwriters: Mariah Carey / Ben Margulies

Vision of Love lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group