Second Chance
Feelings change like the wind. One day you feel ecstatic about something and the next day you feel cold. Is it the weather, our jobs, social media, friends, or what that causes our attitude to shift so dramatically so quick. It is like the ole "fine line between love and hate". It is almost as if our feelings can be manipulated at will by outside influences beyond our control.
As familiar as that paragraph sounds it is not a good thing to have feelings of peaks and valleys so extreme that we ride like the wind one minute and sink like a rock the next. If our lives are that vulnerable to emotions we are probably living on the edge of mental chaos. There are many things in my life that have lead me to such places, none of which I am proud of, yet all of which I gained wisdom from. I am sure you can say the same thing.
As many know I have written extensively about some of the dangers of organized religion. How it shapes our minds into a person we do not even recognize only to see it come crashing down when the veil is truly revealed. I have seen, and been a part of, what I call the country club of religion only to later join the cast out Christians. I was ecstatic with emotions I thought were real yet turned out to be an image of my pseudo self that had my feelings going haywire. Not that religion is bad, but if it shapes you into a person that judges others instead of loving others it will hurt you one day. Relationships can have the same impact on feelings. There are times in our lives when we all face vulnerability for various reasons. Maybe our self esteem has been drained to the point of non existent and we try to fill that void with an expression of love toward others that lives us empty. That can happen so subtly that we even convince ourselves that our purpose in life is merely to love someone else and not ourselves. Being caught up in keeping up with the Jones' is a dangerous place that can mold your emotions into harden steel real fast. I have to have this, I have to have that, we need this or we need that, next thing you know the human touch has been cast aside and replaced with pleasures so shallow that they are like a drug that you can't get enough of yet it never seems to have the feel you desire for very long. More, more, more and it never fills the hole your heart has dug. This leaves friends and family at such a distance they do not recognize you and you can't even recognize yourself.
Life is a series of lessons, none are good or bad they are simply points of wisdom that put together make up who we are. We can't live in yesterday nor can we wait for tomorrow. The beauty of life is that we have right now. We are given the ability to get over yesterday because time doesn't travel backwards. I challenge you to make a decision to balance out your feelings and emotions. How? By replacing the hard parts of your heart with the softness of which God placed in you. Harboring bitter feelings toward and about anyone or anything is unhealthy. Do not say "I can't help how I feel", because the truth is YOU CAN. Bitterness, jealousy, hate, resentment, envy all lead you to an emotional theme park that has roller-coasters that take you to the heights of life and the depths of despair but in the end you still have to get off the ride and leave the park. As I often say we are born with love in our hearts, anything else is learned behavior. If you seek God in you then you seek love, if you seek materialism, power, and ego you seek that which is environmentally learned and will cause you to have a hard heart and others to have a hard heart toward you. Remember you cannot fake humility to yourself, others, or God.
Decide today that your life is worth living, slowly but surely put the pieces together that can replace those ill feelings with warmth and affection. You can't wait on the actions of others to guide your life because that is a merry go round that never stops. Your life is your life. It isn't to be lived for anyone else but you. When you discover the power of love, forgiveness, acceptance, and peace you will find that life has more meaning than you ever imagined. Stop the wheels of hate and bitterness now and let your heart, mind, and soul heal in ways that magnify God and diminish the need for a material driven ego world that controls everything about you. You deserve a second chance and that time is now.
peace to you
Dale
As familiar as that paragraph sounds it is not a good thing to have feelings of peaks and valleys so extreme that we ride like the wind one minute and sink like a rock the next. If our lives are that vulnerable to emotions we are probably living on the edge of mental chaos. There are many things in my life that have lead me to such places, none of which I am proud of, yet all of which I gained wisdom from. I am sure you can say the same thing.
As many know I have written extensively about some of the dangers of organized religion. How it shapes our minds into a person we do not even recognize only to see it come crashing down when the veil is truly revealed. I have seen, and been a part of, what I call the country club of religion only to later join the cast out Christians. I was ecstatic with emotions I thought were real yet turned out to be an image of my pseudo self that had my feelings going haywire. Not that religion is bad, but if it shapes you into a person that judges others instead of loving others it will hurt you one day. Relationships can have the same impact on feelings. There are times in our lives when we all face vulnerability for various reasons. Maybe our self esteem has been drained to the point of non existent and we try to fill that void with an expression of love toward others that lives us empty. That can happen so subtly that we even convince ourselves that our purpose in life is merely to love someone else and not ourselves. Being caught up in keeping up with the Jones' is a dangerous place that can mold your emotions into harden steel real fast. I have to have this, I have to have that, we need this or we need that, next thing you know the human touch has been cast aside and replaced with pleasures so shallow that they are like a drug that you can't get enough of yet it never seems to have the feel you desire for very long. More, more, more and it never fills the hole your heart has dug. This leaves friends and family at such a distance they do not recognize you and you can't even recognize yourself.
Life is a series of lessons, none are good or bad they are simply points of wisdom that put together make up who we are. We can't live in yesterday nor can we wait for tomorrow. The beauty of life is that we have right now. We are given the ability to get over yesterday because time doesn't travel backwards. I challenge you to make a decision to balance out your feelings and emotions. How? By replacing the hard parts of your heart with the softness of which God placed in you. Harboring bitter feelings toward and about anyone or anything is unhealthy. Do not say "I can't help how I feel", because the truth is YOU CAN. Bitterness, jealousy, hate, resentment, envy all lead you to an emotional theme park that has roller-coasters that take you to the heights of life and the depths of despair but in the end you still have to get off the ride and leave the park. As I often say we are born with love in our hearts, anything else is learned behavior. If you seek God in you then you seek love, if you seek materialism, power, and ego you seek that which is environmentally learned and will cause you to have a hard heart and others to have a hard heart toward you. Remember you cannot fake humility to yourself, others, or God.
Decide today that your life is worth living, slowly but surely put the pieces together that can replace those ill feelings with warmth and affection. You can't wait on the actions of others to guide your life because that is a merry go round that never stops. Your life is your life. It isn't to be lived for anyone else but you. When you discover the power of love, forgiveness, acceptance, and peace you will find that life has more meaning than you ever imagined. Stop the wheels of hate and bitterness now and let your heart, mind, and soul heal in ways that magnify God and diminish the need for a material driven ego world that controls everything about you. You deserve a second chance and that time is now.
peace to you
Dale
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