Buried Gold

Last night I was enjoying music at our local outdoor amp. As the tunes relaxed my mood from a hectic day, I begin to look around and let my imagination take me places that I seldom go. I'm sure you know that anyone can find the dirt in someone, but few can find the gold. As my imagination started going from person to person I quickly realized how true it is that we all have a story that is left untold. I was digging through dirt and sifting for gold.

The man that was sitting off to the right had a nice chair adorned with his favorite teams colors. He was obviously alone and from my vantage point was enjoying the music. He was singing the lyrics aloud and swaying to the beat. I gathered from that brief observation, that at that very moment, his life was content. He was in a happy place. Granted I have no idea if my calculations are correct, but remember this is my imagination, right. 

Farther to my right, up by the sidewalk, was a group of kids playing. The had no interest in the music what so ever, they were simply enjoying being in the moment and sharing fun times with friends. I have to admit watching the man sing and the kids play honestly brought some warm happy thoughts into my imaginative evening. For a brief second I allowed myself to get lost in the moment. 

Almost directly below me was a middle age couple. They seemed to be arguing about something. Thank goodness the music drowned out the conversation, but regardless there was an uneasy feeling just watching them sort out life issues. The disagreement may have been something as silly as what to wear to church the next day, or something as serious as a breach of trust between the two. I'll never know what led to their bitter divide, I just allowed my mind to tell their story. 

As I drove home, something interesting occurred to me. At various points in our lives we all have struggles that generate emotions that eventually forces us to  become the person others see. They do not know the story behind the face, they just see the debris field that is left in the wake of life's all too ugly battleground. 

During my ride, I realized the importance of windshield time. I was going places mentally I normally do not go. Usually I drive with a sense of purpose, you know business, appointments, schedules, etc. This particular evening was different, why, I'm not sure. I just had one of those awe inspired life encounters and I felt I needed to ride it out so I could at least have a chance at gaining the lesson being told. 

I begin to recall life lessons I have learned from my mistakes and experiences as well as those others have shared. It didn't take long to ascertain that we all struggle yet few allow it to become part of their story. We are so environmentally conditioned to hide emotions, good or bad. We absolutely cannot fully be the person we were born to be. Even though no one knows our story because they enter on a particular page instead of being privy to our complete book. Every page places a beautiful piece into the puzzle that makes up who we are. Think about those pieces for just a minute. 

It's often said that we should not judge others just because their sin is different than ours, but we do. If my puzzle pieces that contain the sins I committed are organized based on color, as an outsider looking in, you may say those colors should be dark. The truth is quite the opposite. The acts that many label as sin are probably beautiful majestic bright colors that could light up anyone's life. The risk we took, when others said be conservative. The moral code we broke just to feel that edge of adrenaline. The affair that was so sordid yet so refreshing at the time. The times we questioned the existence of a spiritual higher power, that was something other than the characters we were raised to believe. All of this is pieces to our puzzle. It is the composite accumulation of actions and decisions made by ourselves and others that have brought us to the place we are right now. 

I'm sure you know that each of us is only one decision away from a totally different life. That decision could cage us or free us. It could color a moment in time with a pale empty dull dusky dreary cloud filled look or it could light up the sky with hues so bright that others couldn't help but take notice. One decision, one action, one event can change it all. Is it risky, of course, as it should be. Remember God didn't bring you this far just to leave you. You were brought to the edge broken, battered , beat down, dented, dinged burned, scarred, cut, and bruised. Yet the edge is where we see two opposing forces. We either see the end or we see a new beginning. Either the story dies or the book becomes a best seller. One decision, one event, one action, changes it all. Do I stay or do I go. Do I retreat back to the conformity of a society that has little interest in who I am or who I could be. Or do I take the leap of faith with the hope and possibility that there is so much more to life than what I currently see. 

The eyes are useless when the mind is blind. I can only assume that you deeply desire to dream again, to live again, to hope again. No one ever has, nor will they ever, walk into your house and make your dreams come true. This is 100% your life, to be lived, by you, for you. This is your portrait to paint with any color you so choose. The only time you will ever look back is to see where you have been and to see the wisdom you gained from the road you traveled. No longer will you ever again be a prisoner to your past, from this point forward you will only be a product of it. This is your story, no one else's. It is a magnificent story too. Stand tall, do not accept the narrative of your life as formed by others. Be thankful to our loving God that you are DIFFERENT. We were not born to fit in we were born to stand out. All conformity will ever do for you is to make you a print not a portrait. Look around, take a deep breath, and tell yourself with emphasis, I AM GOOD ENOUGH. With all your heart and soul, believe it. You are God's greatest miracle, never forget that. 

Amazing all that came to me from opening my eyes and mind while listening to music at the amp. I farther expanded my imagination by being quite so my brain could be more active. Windshield time helped me paint my life with new vibrant colors. To live is the rarest thing, most people just exist. From this point forward, I choose to live. I hope you choose to do so too. Oh I almost forgot, I found the gold, I just didn't know that I was the one that had buried it deep in the dirt. 

peace and love

Dale