Living in the light

Seeking the truth takes us into many paths. You can never live in the light unless you have been thru the darkness. Life is about making a choice. The knowledge you seek comes from your ability to make the right choice. Everyone who has inhabited this world thru the ages has learned via their bad choices and decisions. Whatever you have done can not be worse than what others have done in the past.

When all seems to be going well.......pray for him!

"He is doing very well. Everything seems to be perfect in his life. I envy his lifestyle and all that he possesses. How can someone be so fortunate? Isn't he so lucky? He has the perfect family, a great job, a beautiful home. I wish that I could have what he.............don't!"

Pray for him instead! Pray for him right now! Pray for him with all of your heart! When all seems to be going well, the rug is pulled from under him suddenly and he is going to need your prayers to guide him thru the turbulence. He is going to need your prayers so he doesn't quit. He is going to need your prayers to learn his true purpose.

Take a step back and find the lesson......

Impulse can be our own worst enemy. It can lead us into the abyss guided by ego and pride. Why not reach the edge of the precipice and rather than taking the step; allow them both to go first? Everything that occurs in our lives is not by accident. Some might say that our free will is the creator of each event. I believe our free will guide us into the path (whichever may be), but we can choose from at least two of them. The path is pre-determined.

This morning I had this vision: there is this black woman wearing a dark blue skirt, white blouse, and sandals. She is sitting on a wooden chair with a pot filled with corn between her legs. This is her daily ritual. She is singing and stirring the corn with some sort of wooden spoon. She doesn't have a worry in the world. Chickens gather all around her for the next meal. She grabs a handful of corn and throws it at them. Some will eat while others will play with the corn and discard it. Some will come back for seconds while others will not appreciate the effort. Some will be forever grateful and others will see her as just another "meal ticket." No matter their responses, she goes about her daily routine without worrying about the results. It is not up to her to decide what the "chickens" will do with the "gift" that she has been given at that particular moment. It is her job to feed them, to teach them to be grateful, and to swallow her pride when they reject her corn.

Our daily lives can be seen in this context. Are we throwing corn at others for the sole purpose of feeding our own ego? Or do we really want to feed others despite the results? What happens when we are rejected, offended, or abandoned? Take a step back and rather than lashing out with a vengeance; find the lesson. Take a step back and rather than accusing that person of not appreciating your "kindness," find the lesson. Kindness is giving and expecting NOTHING in return. Take a step back and put yourself in their shoes; and you would have learned another lesson, an important tool in your arsenal, and another handful of corn to feed others.

Doors will open no matter what!

All doors are closing. I dig myself out of one hole to fall into a deeper hole. I am swimming against the current. There is a strong wind and I put my head down just to take one more step. One by one I lay each brick on this wall when suddenly the entire project comes crashing down. Good news are hard to come by.......so I thought!

I had a late lunch yesterday and as I was walking to my car I came across a man sitting on the curb. It was around 3 pm and this guy was so drunk he couldn't even light his cigarrete. He looked at me as if to say "I am done. I give up." He had given up in life a long time ago. I told him jokingly that he was alive and to be grateful. He replied, "You are lucky because you seem to have everything in life." If he only knew?, but...........yes indeed! I am lucky because I DO have everything in life. I haven't lost the zest for life. There is still a bounce on my step. I can accomplish anything. A setback is one more twist on those starting blocks that will thrust me forward stronger than ever.

He wasn't asking me for money. He wanted something else. A word of encouragement is what I gave him. I shook his hand and said a silent prayer. "May the obsession that consumes you today brother dissipates and you can regain your quest, whatever it may be."

Just turn the doorknob and the door you thought was closed will open when you least expect it. It doesn't have to be your door. It works just as well. The doorknob is called faith and purpose.

Point of View

Our faith in the future and all that entails becomes unbreakable when we change the point of view with regards to this life. If we think that our spiritual life has no limits, what we experienced before or are going thru right now are nothing more than a short passage, a brief stay in a very ungrateful country. The pain associated with this temporary stay is short term and it must be followed by happiness. As a result, we view each new challenge or obstacle with a sort of indifference, calmness, and tranquility.

Unfortunately, most people direct their thoughts to what is going on right now. The future is measured by our short term happiness and acquisition of material things. It is like a child who can't see beyond his toys and would do anything to acquire more and hold on to the ones he already possess. Whenever there is some kind of loss (material or emotional), sadness, frustation, a feeling of injustice, or a shattering of the faith takes control of our lives. In most instances, it is our ego and vanity who have suffered and we allow them to take complete control of our lives.

On the other hand, if our view expands beyond this life, the importance placed in the material things can be as insignificant as one ant colony in the middle of the Sahara or one star among millions. Everything is viewed with relative importance and the suffering is easily handled because our destiny is assured.

Security

I define security as the absence of risk, change, triumph, and life. For many years, I held a very secured government job with a steady paycheck, solid benefits, and guaranteed retirement after 25 years of service. However, the security was a mirage because my career was being held hostage by my immediate boss. If I acted, criticized, or behaved in a manner that went against the agency's goals and objectives, my career came to a screeching halt. Taking risks meant playing Russian roulette with my career and future. Triumph always came at the expense of compromising my principles. "Congrats JC on your new position even though you probably back stabbed someone to get there or 'brown nosed' your way to the top." Even in instances when the triumph was well deserved, the stigma always remained. This security took away my life in exchange for a paycheck. My dreams were cut short and replaced with a retirement token. The seed of my potential didn't emerge because I chose instead to water the seed of my fear.

What a wasted opportunity to reach for the stars!

Get up and keep going!

I got home at midnight on Thursday after attending my weekly spiritual meeting, and I felt very tired and worn out. I've had this cough and fever for the past week or so and I can't seem to shake if off. I needed to sleep for a couple hours and wake up at 3 am to get ready for the flea market and sell some antique furniture that I acquired last week. When the alarm clock went off, I didn't want to get out of bed. My brain was telling me....."are you crazy JC? stay here in bed. forget about the flea market. you can go some other time. it is too early. you are not feeling well. you are sick. take care of yourself. take it easy. it will be ok. don't worry." I listened to my brain for a few minutes (not much to listen to since there is not much of content up there anyway) and decided instead to listen to my heart. I HAVE TO DO IT NO MATTER WHAT! I don't care how bad I feel. I don't care if I have 102 fever. I don't care if I puke all the way up there. I don't care if I don't sell crap all day. I HAVE TO DO IT AT ALL COST! OTHERS ARE COUNTING ON ME. OTHERS WHO ARE SOUND SLEEP RIGHT NOW HAVE PLACED THEIR TRUST IN ME! I WILL NOT FAIL!

Thank you for your input Mr. Brain. Put your clothes on and get ready because you are doing some selling today at the flea market my friend.

Get up and keep going. Ten percent of what happens is out of your control. Ninety percent is how you react to it.