LIFE
Do you ever find yourself living in a world of make believe? For me today it is as if I live in a place where two worlds collide. I live, as do you, in a place that strives for political correctness externally yet somehow we cling to our true reality thoughts internally. As I allowed this to resonate through my mind I began to realize how much of our lives are lived in such a pseudo fictitious way that we totally lose sight of who and what we are, to the point that we wonder if we are dreaming or living in reality. Not only do we lose sight of who we are we are taught to just accept that "it is what it is", which by the way I think is a bunch of bull.
I have been thinking about this for several months, but like everyone it is one of those thoughts that you really can't speak about. I always use the analogy of religion, not in an effort to bash it, but to draw a comparison. I know many people, as do you, that continue going to the same church that they dislike and are not being fed spiritually simply because it is where family and friends go and we do not want to rock that boat. I believe that is also true in other areas of our lives. Consider this for a moment. How often do you lie in bed or utilize windshield time to think about the what if's in life or the why not's? The truth, if there is such a thing, is that we cannot be who or what we are because we are WAY too busy being what the world expects us to be. Heck we are even told what to pray for and how to it. If you think long and hard enough we have others that try to tell us how God answers our prayers. Interesting isn't it? Think about it before you judge my thoughts here.
In my path I, like many, see mountains and obstacles in the way. More times than not we choose to go around instead of over. We follow the path of others instead of blazing our own trails. My heart, soul, and mind tells me that God did not place us here to be normal, he gave us life to be extra-ordinary. God needs us desperately to be ourselves, we must stop being and acting like everyone else or the world will never gain peace, love, and happiness.
We are as unique as a snowflake yet we strive so hard to fit in. The goal should be to stand out. I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but today I know how I feel about life. I choose to live it. I can't tell you how many times I have spent my precious time dying when the goal should be living. Think about that for a minute. I recall the day I looked around and discovered that I was just like everyone else. I was living the American life, not the American Dream. I went to church, had a nice family, a nice home, and a career that supplied my needs. That is all great and I will not make light of that BUT there is so much more. Most people never realize that until tragedy enters their life. It can be the diagnosis of stage four cancer, which was mine, or it can be the sudden loss of a loved one. It can be a myriad of things that makes you stop dead in your tracks and go "is this all there is".
Our churches, most of them, teach us how to fit in, not how to stand out. Our family teaches us how to blend in and be responsible, not how to take risk and live. The air is fresh and crisp the higher up the mountain you get. The problem is that mountains are fairy tales in the world in which we live, but the truth is that they are there and they are real and we can learn to climb them. Obstacles do not confine us they define us as we give ourselves permission to go over and through them.
I think as we make the decisions in life to live we begin to alienate those that were once close to us. Few will cheer you own but many will choose to hold you back. God's grace is abundant when we choose to live the life he so graciously gave us. The toughest obstacle or the highest mountain you will climb will be leaving the life of comfort and conformity and entering the road less traveled. Even though it sounds as though I am speaking to you I am actually speaking to me.
I learned so much from running that I find it is applicable in life. We are conditioned to believe that we cannot run one mile, much less ten. The truth is we can run 10 or 20 if we just keep moving in the right direction. The more we run the better we feel. That is apropos in life, the further you move from center and into your own God space the more your life will take shape. What society teaches us is that self esteem is less important than blending in. Remember we only have ONE life, did you get that, yes ONE LIFE. We do not get to do this again so we must strive to do all we can while we can.
As you know I walked away from my church of 19 years and my spirituality and faith has grown exponentially. I am not advocating you do the same I am just saying I needed a change in an effort to find who I was. I had lived long enough being what everyone else wanted me to be and I deeply desired to see where the grace of God could lead me if I had the courage to step out and stand alone. What I found was so much greater than I expected. The road was rough but the journey smoothed out. I have no destination other than being the best me possible. I truly believe that God made us different so that we could be made complete. When we spend our whole lives blending in or being what and who we are told to be we are robbing the world of future miracles. Hope resides when our heart and soul comes alive yet hope is often diminished when we live our lives in the shadows.
I am living on the edge everyday and I honestly love the view. I feel as though with my heart in line with my soul I am better able to help others. Now instead of seeking permission to share God's love or use positive energy for hope and healing I can use what I have and that is the totality of love. I will stumble many times in my march through life but I will not look back. Life can be short and it is our choice to choose to live it now. Stop the excuses that you have been trained to use and start finding reasons why you deserve to be the Greatest Miracle in the World, which by the way you are.
Our lives have so much more meaning than we know.
peace and love
Dale
I have been thinking about this for several months, but like everyone it is one of those thoughts that you really can't speak about. I always use the analogy of religion, not in an effort to bash it, but to draw a comparison. I know many people, as do you, that continue going to the same church that they dislike and are not being fed spiritually simply because it is where family and friends go and we do not want to rock that boat. I believe that is also true in other areas of our lives. Consider this for a moment. How often do you lie in bed or utilize windshield time to think about the what if's in life or the why not's? The truth, if there is such a thing, is that we cannot be who or what we are because we are WAY too busy being what the world expects us to be. Heck we are even told what to pray for and how to it. If you think long and hard enough we have others that try to tell us how God answers our prayers. Interesting isn't it? Think about it before you judge my thoughts here.
In my path I, like many, see mountains and obstacles in the way. More times than not we choose to go around instead of over. We follow the path of others instead of blazing our own trails. My heart, soul, and mind tells me that God did not place us here to be normal, he gave us life to be extra-ordinary. God needs us desperately to be ourselves, we must stop being and acting like everyone else or the world will never gain peace, love, and happiness.
We are as unique as a snowflake yet we strive so hard to fit in. The goal should be to stand out. I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but today I know how I feel about life. I choose to live it. I can't tell you how many times I have spent my precious time dying when the goal should be living. Think about that for a minute. I recall the day I looked around and discovered that I was just like everyone else. I was living the American life, not the American Dream. I went to church, had a nice family, a nice home, and a career that supplied my needs. That is all great and I will not make light of that BUT there is so much more. Most people never realize that until tragedy enters their life. It can be the diagnosis of stage four cancer, which was mine, or it can be the sudden loss of a loved one. It can be a myriad of things that makes you stop dead in your tracks and go "is this all there is".
Our churches, most of them, teach us how to fit in, not how to stand out. Our family teaches us how to blend in and be responsible, not how to take risk and live. The air is fresh and crisp the higher up the mountain you get. The problem is that mountains are fairy tales in the world in which we live, but the truth is that they are there and they are real and we can learn to climb them. Obstacles do not confine us they define us as we give ourselves permission to go over and through them.
I think as we make the decisions in life to live we begin to alienate those that were once close to us. Few will cheer you own but many will choose to hold you back. God's grace is abundant when we choose to live the life he so graciously gave us. The toughest obstacle or the highest mountain you will climb will be leaving the life of comfort and conformity and entering the road less traveled. Even though it sounds as though I am speaking to you I am actually speaking to me.
I learned so much from running that I find it is applicable in life. We are conditioned to believe that we cannot run one mile, much less ten. The truth is we can run 10 or 20 if we just keep moving in the right direction. The more we run the better we feel. That is apropos in life, the further you move from center and into your own God space the more your life will take shape. What society teaches us is that self esteem is less important than blending in. Remember we only have ONE life, did you get that, yes ONE LIFE. We do not get to do this again so we must strive to do all we can while we can.
As you know I walked away from my church of 19 years and my spirituality and faith has grown exponentially. I am not advocating you do the same I am just saying I needed a change in an effort to find who I was. I had lived long enough being what everyone else wanted me to be and I deeply desired to see where the grace of God could lead me if I had the courage to step out and stand alone. What I found was so much greater than I expected. The road was rough but the journey smoothed out. I have no destination other than being the best me possible. I truly believe that God made us different so that we could be made complete. When we spend our whole lives blending in or being what and who we are told to be we are robbing the world of future miracles. Hope resides when our heart and soul comes alive yet hope is often diminished when we live our lives in the shadows.
I am living on the edge everyday and I honestly love the view. I feel as though with my heart in line with my soul I am better able to help others. Now instead of seeking permission to share God's love or use positive energy for hope and healing I can use what I have and that is the totality of love. I will stumble many times in my march through life but I will not look back. Life can be short and it is our choice to choose to live it now. Stop the excuses that you have been trained to use and start finding reasons why you deserve to be the Greatest Miracle in the World, which by the way you are.
Our lives have so much more meaning than we know.
peace and love
Dale
Comments