My Soul on Fire

This morning I looked back on my blogs from the very beginning which was a little over seven years ago. It is cool to see the transformation of my writing style from then to now. It went through a metamorphosis just as life does. We are constantly evolving as a human being and as a person. Even our soul and spirit is a dynamic feature within us. As I reviewed my writings I witnessed this dynamism within my own self. I personally witnessed the awakening of the real person that resided inside me. Not sure if it was fighting cancer or walking away from my home church. All I know is I love me now much more so than I did then. 

I feel as though I have awakened a sleeping giant and now I am not real sure what to do with him. I told people for years that the way they see the world creates the world they see. Looking back I now see vividly clear that I created the world that I was taught to believe yet it did not line up with my heart, mind, soul, and spirit. Even though I went all out in trying to convince myself that I was living the so called truth, something always seemed amiss. I bet that sounds familiar doesn't it?

As I read some of my blogs from years past I could see and feel the pain that my witness was taking. I was sharing what I felt the world wanted to see, yet infusing it with what I felt my soul desired me to say. It was as if someone else was writing and I was inserting tidbits of my heart. Over the last  year as I gained courage from all the people that wrote to me I realized that God was using me in ways I never imagined. That is why I write so often about stepping outside of conformity and allowing God to come alive so that you too can come alive.

There was a time I felt as though I was stepping on toes by writing my thoughts about faith and religion. But the more I wrote and the more people wrote to me the more I realized how many questions are out there that people fear to ask. I certainly do not have the answers but I sure as heck have the questions. The deeper I allowed my mind to go the more I saw that God truly does live in us but not so much in the traditional teachings we have been forced to believe. I can see why so many people are leaving churches. It isn't because they do not believe in God it is because they struggle to believe what is being taught. Church is not a platform to share the world through a political prism. Church is not a platform to to subtly teach people to hate or judge others. Church should be a place that teaches us how to love one another and love ourselves.  

It is hard to be happy when you have to live your life based on a set of rules that make no sense. It is even more difficult to be happy when you have to live your life based on someone else's assumption of how it should be lived. It is our individuality that makes us people of the living God. Once we gain the courage to embrace that we can start to heal from the wounds that become infected due to trying to conform to the cookie cutter world we find ourselves in.

I recall a couple of friends that died of cancer and how I reflected on our short time together. I saw how God worked in us and through us so that we find the intestinal fortitude to fight for who we are. There deaths gave me strength because I saw how quick things can change. Now my passion is for life and helping those in search of meaning to find it. I see, as do you, way to much depression and suicide in our world today. Bitterness and hate seem to be at epic heights yet we teach the same tried and true messages that got us into this mess. 

The one constant that I believe with all my heart that will heal the wounds of humanity is peace, love and acceptance. We cannot hate that which we do not understand. We cannot hate people that are different than us and somehow expect the world to magically gain peace. It is up to us to reform our hearts so that we become a reflection of God's love to everyone we come in contact with. 

For those that read this that feel as though their life has no purpose, no meaning, or you have screwed up so much that you are a hopeless case, please remember you are the greatest miracle every created and your best is yet to come. Let no one dull your shine or steal your thunder. It is perfectly okay to question your faith and religion. If you do not get answers that reflect love keep searching. Do not allow anyone to force you to conform to one of the 25,000 so called truths that exist in the religious world today. Allow love to heal your heart and form a belief in yourself so strong that others will seek what you have. Be the reason someone smiles today and in doing so your heart will open doors inside you that you never knew existed. 

My goodness I got all this just from going back and looking at my journey of faith. It took courage for me to take the leap of faith but when I did my life opened up. So can yours. I believe in you and I hope and pray that you find a belief in yourself that will allow your human soul to catch fire.

peace and love

Dale