This is what has been placed before me.
Me.
Not my neighbor, not my sister, not my brother's battle. But me.
Funny to think we are all created DIFFERENTLY. Each thinking his/her own thoughts trillions a second. Our bodies function DIFFERENTLY, some short, some tall, some with illness, some healthy, some thin, some fat, some medium. Our personalities and our perspectives are very DIFFERENT from one another. Some are positive, some are superficial, some are depressing to be around, some are funny, some are real, tell it like it is type of people. (I think back to C.S Lewis' poem Thank God for Ordinary People. )
We all need the same things. Basic needs: food, water, shelter, sleep; and want the same things, purpose, significance, forgiveness, compassion, a place to belong, and love.
Anyone could make these blatant observations associated with rhythm, nature, the repetition of life. Superficial stigmas, that can be the cause of stereotyping and rightly so. For example, if a man dresses nice, takes care of his body, has the personality similar to a girl, likes to hang out with women, is passionate in his speech, and generous with hand gestures... awful to say- but he might be assumed as "gay." Or a more hypothetical approach would be "it looks like a tree, it acts like a tree, it moves like a tree, therefore it is a tree."
Yet what really makes a tree a tree? And defines a man, or woman's preferred gender? What MOTIVATES us to do things, and defines who we truly are?
THE ANSWER: What's inside us.
"That's it?!" You may say. But truly- what is inside you right now? A bubbling well of emotions, a empty stomach of guilt and self doubt, uncertainty of the future? Wants that haven't been defined? Truth? God's holy spirit? Feelings that are out of control and unknown?
Let's start to tell you what has been inside me lately.... I've been having an overwhelming amount of different feelings, certainty, tiredness, love, doubt, peace, insecurity, anxiety, and uncertainty. Yes, all of us feel these emotions, but recently they have been hitting me like the highs and lows of a roller coaster. In the good times, I feel ON. TOP. of. the. world- without ever having to ask why. But in the low times, I feel like crap, and am trying to make sense of WHY I feel a certain way- when 2 days ago I felt great! How you feel is so uncertain. Point being...
You can't count on your feelings to guide you, or give you motivation, or get you to your goal. You can't count on your feelings to draw on for motivation. Your feelings are so uncertain, and so will be your purpose if you use them as motivation or excuses when you feel like it.
So what will be your muse? What WILL drive you on and keep you steady?
TRUTH.
GOD's TRUTH.
When I lift my eyes up to God, and reflect back on what his word says, I am reminded of my purpose, his promises, and find a new passion, HIS PASSION.
See- what's the point in living for a feeling? What's the point in fulfilling all your temporary desires with superficial lusts, only to wake up the next day unfulfilled and in the same place... Looking up at that mountain of your dream- and knowing you have just as many steps to the top as you did yesterday.
I remember when I was in Thailand climbing to the top of Doi Sutep temple in Chaing Mai. There were almost 1,000 steps to the top. It took me awhile to get to the top- but once I got started I looked back and thought- I've come to far to give up now. The first step is the hardest one.
Why don't we take that step? Why don't we do those hard things? Why do we push things off and procrastinate until procrastination becomes our hobby? In my case- it is the fear of being great. The fear of failing. The fear of rejection.
But really when I look back, the fear of failing isn't half as bad as the guilt I feel the next day for not even trying. (because I was too tired, or because I DESERVE a night off)
Why do I have these fears of failing? I've realized they stem from my obsession with PERFECTION.
Gosh! I woke up this morning with a thought on my mind. A revelation of grace in my heart. I said out loud, "I am no longer going to be a slave to perfection." Perfection isn't even natural. God designed everything, and everyone differently.
Perfection is a striving. It's an ambition. But even in the most requiring careers or hobbies- art, medicine, dance, military combat, mechanics, engineering, perfection is rarely and almost never achieved. Not all trees look the same, everyone is different. Flowers are different, animals are all different, snowflakes are all different. Animals even try to catch their food and fail. They try to attract a mate and fail. Failure and success are both parts of life. Without the both- neither would exist.
See when you break away from perfection, you allow yourself to be human. To be natural- to be free.
Let truth power your motivation. Work hard to get to your goal. Live in the moment of now. And be patient with yourself on the journey. Expecting perfection is setting yourself up for discouragement and disappointment. Dream you can get there- no matter how many times you fall back down on your face- you can always get back up.
Yet what truly defines uand unites us in the deepest significance is WHY.
Me.
Not my neighbor, not my sister, not my brother's battle. But me.
Funny to think we are all created DIFFERENTLY. Each thinking his/her own thoughts trillions a second. Our bodies function DIFFERENTLY, some short, some tall, some with illness, some healthy, some thin, some fat, some medium. Our personalities and our perspectives are very DIFFERENT from one another. Some are positive, some are superficial, some are depressing to be around, some are funny, some are real, tell it like it is type of people. (I think back to C.S Lewis' poem Thank God for Ordinary People. )
We all need the same things. Basic needs: food, water, shelter, sleep; and want the same things, purpose, significance, forgiveness, compassion, a place to belong, and love.
Anyone could make these blatant observations associated with rhythm, nature, the repetition of life. Superficial stigmas, that can be the cause of stereotyping and rightly so. For example, if a man dresses nice, takes care of his body, has the personality similar to a girl, likes to hang out with women, is passionate in his speech, and generous with hand gestures... awful to say- but he might be assumed as "gay." Or a more hypothetical approach would be "it looks like a tree, it acts like a tree, it moves like a tree, therefore it is a tree."
Yet what really makes a tree a tree? And defines a man, or woman's preferred gender? What MOTIVATES us to do things, and defines who we truly are?
THE ANSWER: What's inside us.
"That's it?!" You may say. But truly- what is inside you right now? A bubbling well of emotions, a empty stomach of guilt and self doubt, uncertainty of the future? Wants that haven't been defined? Truth? God's holy spirit? Feelings that are out of control and unknown?
Let's start to tell you what has been inside me lately.... I've been having an overwhelming amount of different feelings, certainty, tiredness, love, doubt, peace, insecurity, anxiety, and uncertainty. Yes, all of us feel these emotions, but recently they have been hitting me like the highs and lows of a roller coaster. In the good times, I feel ON. TOP. of. the. world- without ever having to ask why. But in the low times, I feel like crap, and am trying to make sense of WHY I feel a certain way- when 2 days ago I felt great! How you feel is so uncertain. Point being...
You can't count on your feelings to guide you, or give you motivation, or get you to your goal. You can't count on your feelings to draw on for motivation. Your feelings are so uncertain, and so will be your purpose if you use them as motivation or excuses when you feel like it.
So what will be your muse? What WILL drive you on and keep you steady?
TRUTH.
GOD's TRUTH.
When I lift my eyes up to God, and reflect back on what his word says, I am reminded of my purpose, his promises, and find a new passion, HIS PASSION.
See- what's the point in living for a feeling? What's the point in fulfilling all your temporary desires with superficial lusts, only to wake up the next day unfulfilled and in the same place... Looking up at that mountain of your dream- and knowing you have just as many steps to the top as you did yesterday.
I remember when I was in Thailand climbing to the top of Doi Sutep temple in Chaing Mai. There were almost 1,000 steps to the top. It took me awhile to get to the top- but once I got started I looked back and thought- I've come to far to give up now. The first step is the hardest one.
Why don't we take that step? Why don't we do those hard things? Why do we push things off and procrastinate until procrastination becomes our hobby? In my case- it is the fear of being great. The fear of failing. The fear of rejection.
But really when I look back, the fear of failing isn't half as bad as the guilt I feel the next day for not even trying. (because I was too tired, or because I DESERVE a night off)
Why do I have these fears of failing? I've realized they stem from my obsession with PERFECTION.
Gosh! I woke up this morning with a thought on my mind. A revelation of grace in my heart. I said out loud, "I am no longer going to be a slave to perfection." Perfection isn't even natural. God designed everything, and everyone differently.
Perfection is a striving. It's an ambition. But even in the most requiring careers or hobbies- art, medicine, dance, military combat, mechanics, engineering, perfection is rarely and almost never achieved. Not all trees look the same, everyone is different. Flowers are different, animals are all different, snowflakes are all different. Animals even try to catch their food and fail. They try to attract a mate and fail. Failure and success are both parts of life. Without the both- neither would exist.
See when you break away from perfection, you allow yourself to be human. To be natural- to be free.
Let truth power your motivation. Work hard to get to your goal. Live in the moment of now. And be patient with yourself on the journey. Expecting perfection is setting yourself up for discouragement and disappointment. Dream you can get there- no matter how many times you fall back down on your face- you can always get back up.
Yet what truly defines uand unites us in the deepest significance is WHY.
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