There are many lessons in this old fairy tale, rhyme, story and poem. What is your interpretation of this story in: your personal life, your relationships, your friendships, your business, your spiritual life, your social life, love, fear, jealousy, loss, job search, quality of products, cynicism, fatalism, negativity, common sense, politics, democracy, voting, freedom, rights, sustainability, kindness, smiling, and more? 

How does this story apply to the power of an ordinary person to make a meaningful and positive difference in life? 

Some people believe that just being or surviving in the world is enough, and that nothing else is required or possible. If everyone thought this way, what would be the result? 

Many people doubt their own power or ability to make any positive difference in the world. Most people are more afraid of their own power and abilities, than of dictators or terrorists. One of most powerful things people have is their own voice and words that are spoken or written. It has been said that all it takes for a person to not commit suicide who is seriously thinking about doing it, is a kind, supportive person telling them something positive and providing them hope. One sentence, spoken to a suicidal person, can save their life. Is that worth doing? Is that worth saying? Here is one way, place and time where just being and surviving will not save that life. Saving that life requires doing, saying and possibly taking action, such as going over to that person and helping them personally in some way. 

A war can be prevented by saying the right things, at the right time, in the proper way. All of these things can be seen as a ‘nail’, or seemingly very small things. But for lack of these nails, very negative things can happen, such as suicides, dictatorships, and wars. 

Is it better to give or is it better to take? There are many in the world who live their whole lives and careers by focusing in taking. Ayn Rand is an example of someone who teaches that selfish taking is good and noble. But is it really? What are the consequences and international implications of this vision and policy? For more on this, click on the following link…

Bottom line, never give up, and do what you can in small ways, as your intuition leads. Stay positive and encourage others to not give up. There is always hope, even in the darkest of situations. Giving up solves nothing, and makes the situation worse. There is always a silver lining, opportunity or gift inside of any challenge, difficulty or obstacle, whether that is personal, relationship, national, political or international. 

Remember that historically, there have always been challenges and difficulties, and someone else always has it worse than you do. So when in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death, know that there is always light right around the corner, and that winning or success in some form or fashion is always possible, no matter what appearances or circumstances look like. 

The hardest part of the inner struggle is maintaining the positive, staying in the moment, heart based focus and discipline. 

It may seem like a small thing, like a nail on the shoe of a horse. It may seem that donating something to AGRP will make no difference. The world seems by appearance to be headed for a very dark place, so why bother with even trying to do anything? However, the lesson that could be applied is that despite seeming to make no difference logically, it may be the most important thing to do something positive, or to give something anyway. Why? To get this, means looking at a redwood tree’s life.

Let’s look at an average mature redwood tree today. It has taken between 2,000 to 3,000 years to reach maturity. Let’s assume again that someone planted a redwood seed 3,000 years ago, which created this mysterious and grand tree today. The person doing this tiny act of planting a seed possibly did not know that planting a tiny seed that is the same size as a tomato seed would result in something so large, so many years later.

Imagine raising children that take 3,000 years to mature and how you would do that, and what it would take. How would you have to think and do things in order to pull that off successfully for many generations of these type of children?

Tiny actions today, (such as planting a seed, or saying the right words) can have HUGE impacts when seen from a perspective of thousands of years down the line. Everything starts with a thought or an idea, which is then followed by an action. Without action, nothing changes, and nothing happens. Money is a tool that can create good things, or very dark and destructive things. You have enormous power when you decide what to support with this tool, and what to withdraw your support from. Your actions also make a huge difference, just because you did more than think or have feelings about something. Action turns a thought or emotion into reality, and then grows it. 

The idea of the science of sustainable health sounds good, but without any actions or money behind it, it will most likely never take hold, never see the light of the mass media and never reach maturity or wide acceptance. You may see your life as having no meaning or purpose. You may be the missing ‘nail’ that the universe is waiting on to make it all work the way it is supposed to. For want of a ‘nail’ that is YOU, what kingdom will be lost, whether that kingdom is here now, or it is 3,000 years in the future.

For lack of a donation, for lack of support, “for want of a nail”, for lack of words, for lack of actions, the science of sustainable health might never be heard about or seen. For want of a nail, the human kingdom and all life on the planet may be lost as a result. Even $1.00 can make a difference, just like a tiny redwood seed, or a sentence to a suicidal person can make a difference. 

In the grand scheme of things, money is not something that can be taken along after passing over. All money accumulated here has to be left behind. For whatever amount of money you have accumulated, what is the legacy that you want to leave behind? In other words, 7 generations from now, what do you want your name to be associated with? What is the best use of that money? Is there something better or more important that teaching the science of sustainable health? Whatever your intuition leads you to do or speak, do that, because it may be the ‘nail’ that wins the battle, which wins the war, which saves the kingdom, for 7 future generations. Never give up, because that one nail may mean the difference between success and failure for the whole world and all living things on it. 

What result would you want to see if your money was put to work to create a more sustainable future? What is more important than teaching the science of sustainable health?  What would you hope the result would be in 3,000 years from teaching the science of sustainable health to large numbers of people via whatever methods, whether online, mass media, schools, colleges or other methods? If you are led to do something more important, more critical than this, then do that, whatever it is. 

Conversely, of the science of sustainable health is never taught to anyone, and is never supported by anyone, and schools keep on focusing on short term profits, with no regard for consequences, what do you predict the outcome will be?