Drawing Out the Dragons: A Meditation on Art, Destiny, and the Power of Choice

by James A. Owen

• ISBN10: 1609073681
• ISBN13: 9781609073688
• Publish Date: 1 March 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Shadow Mountain
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 128
• Language: English

Reviews

[sstaley]

Have you ever read something and realized you were meant to read it? This is how I felt about Drawing Out The Dragons. I will admit, I have REALLY been struggling in my life the past few years, but especially the past few months. I have felt helpless and struggled to even want to succeed at anything. As I read this book, I felt like James A. Owen was speaking directly to me. In fact, whenever I read something that touched my soul, I underlined it or put a star by it. This book is now pretty marked up. I'm not defacing the book, but using it wisely for my own benefit!

In trying to decide what to share with you, the readers of my blog, I wasn't sure how much I could share without writing pages and pages. James Owens has lived through many trials and hard times in his life, but he found ways to overcome these hardships.

The number one message that James shares, is one that he learned early in life as a young boy while dealing with an illness in a hospital.

"One of the most important things I can tell someone who is struggling: You have a greater destiny than this.You are meant for greater things than this. And if you want to beat this, to overcome whatever it is you're grappling with, you are strong enough to do it. And if that's the choice you make, it's possible to live a wonderful, extraordinary life." (page 27)

After I read this, I sat silently for over five minutes just thinking about this message and how it applied to my life right now. Then I had to read it over again a few more times. I feel that this message, and many others in this book are so empowering and motivating.

Some other ideas that inspired me were these...

-(This message is one he often shares with school children)

"I believe they can do anything they choose to do in this life, and it doesn't matter how old they are. All that matters is if they have the desire and determination to put in the effort required to be good at what they do."
(page 32)

What a great thing to share with kids who need to know that they can succeed if they have the desire.

The last thing I wanted to share with you made me write "WOW" in the book. It helped me with my somewhat fatalistic thinking as of late, that nothing good has been happening in my life and there's nothing I can do about it.

"We have to choose to live deliberately. Things are going to happen to us whether we make choices or not. So it's up to us to make the choices to make things happen. To be the kind of people who make things happen, not the kind of people things happen to. We have to choose to live deliberately. To actually actively make choices." (page 54)

So you see...WOW! We can make things happen, not just have things happen to us. :) This book is full of things/ideas that will help you in your life, whatever struggles may be happening at the moment. I can see that I will be reading this book again and again. I will share it with my children and other family members, young and old.

I want to end with one more thought from the book. I hope that this will encourage you to believe in yourself more.

"Every moment is another chance to learn, and another chance to make a choice. Everything does happen for a reason, and the things that happened were supposed to happen, because they did happen. And while no one can change the past, the future begins anew every time you choose to live deliberately.

Those who make miracles happen are the ones who, first, believe it to be possible, and second, are willing to pay the price to make it so." (page 113)

This book gets a 5 star rating from me!

To read more of my reviews please go to:
whynotbecauseisaidso.blogspot.com