Let’s just say I was mated to certain ways of thinking, speaking and behaving that tapped into my soul
Requisite divorce proceedings from that way of living are well underway and I will be puruing a different tack altogether.
My soul thirsts for something different.
So this time, I will listen more carefully.
Trust.
And be.
This will be a leap of faith.
Here goes nothin.
We were all gifted with free will. For simplicity sake, I will let Artie explain in layman’s terms:
“…the philosophical and psychological concept that individuals have the capacity to choose their own actions, control their behavior and act as the ultimate source of their decisions.”
Thanks Art.
If I am not mistaken, this has been a source of inspiration and exasperation our entire existence. While we do have the capacity to choose our own actions, we can tend to be incapacited by following a herd. There is a wide variety of those these days.
Speaking from experience, I for one have had issues controlling my behavior. Some caused by the internally driven, but plenty of help appeared from the external side of things too. And add to that, the unsavory and destructive characters I have allowed to play a role in the decision making process.
All by products of my will.
At present, I am currently in the process of turning mine over to a higher power.
And you know what? The more that goes over to His side, the better my side is.
Maybe I will make it to the day that my side is empty of will. (I hope He knows what he is getting Himself into. )
Maybe not.
But what the heck.
It is worth a shot.
(pun not intended)
Sort of.
The way my mind works sometimes.
At first Buster Keaton came to mind. Not the two ton front of a house that fell over him, with him standing where the window would have been.
Him running between two cars in another flick, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World.”
Then when I started replaying that favorite over and over in my noggin, it all made sense.
They reminded me of certain distinguished aspects of my life.
How I created the circumstances for things to happen the way they did. My reaction. And the failed Plan B, C, D, ad infinitum I unleashed to make things all better.
And, then, the consequences of my mad actions.
In retrospect, I have learned that things can be somewaht maddening in the world we live in. However, if you can avoid being stuck in the past while not getting ahead of your self, things seem to work out.
Presence is a present unto itself.
It’s right in front of you.
It floors me that something initially written by an apostle and shared around the first century still has a clarity and resonance to this day, without the need of reformatting it into our current language.
Perhaps some of you upon seeing the word “apostle” within will be urged to click away. I hope not. Though this was penned by one who would later be martyred for his beliefs, the progression of the thoughts behind these words truly leads one to what life can all about.
And become.
Ttoday, they could be fashioned into some business or athletic team mantra. Perhaps a personal daily devotion, of the secular, or the non variety. The construction of his thoughts just happened to sit just right within me earlier this morning for some reason. While the prompt then didn’t really appeal to me, sharing my thoughts on this did.
“…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,
virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control,
self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion,
devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.”
Peter
Wow.
Faith can be directed towards and embraced in a higher power, as you understand it to be. And virtue is simply how you abide by the direction-of-travel-arrow within your personal moral compass. An inculcation of knowledge, knowing both yourself and the world in a deeper understanding works back towards the supplementation of faith and virtue while feeding the growth of self-control and its twin sibling, self discipline.
That aspect of this journey was not designed to be a sprint, but instead a marathon. Thus, endurance in every aspect – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – needs to be enhanced and built over time in order to reinforce the journey. This act lends itself towards a genuine devotion towards this path.
Then, once this level of change begins to embrace and transform you, its presence within your being becomes increasingly evident. As such, you cannot help but share this evolution with both the world and those all around you. It will never affive asdirectives or directions, but moreso in the form of you as exemplar.
Through compelling honesty and open vulnerability, an affirming level of intention will generate trust and a burgeoning fellowship withn all your interactions. As it matures, true mutual affection will emerge towards others. Wanting what is best for them.
And when this occurs, ultimately, all that was before, will then become. love.
Wow.
Whether 64 AD or June 1, 2026, his words remain and ring true.
To this man.
For these reasons.
...my temporary assignment. 