Month: April 2016

Discover the Meaning…of Life

On By Papa TonyIn Thought1 Comment

above_clouds-780x520When my grandson, ‘Braylon Breeches’ was younger, he would come with the family for a visit. And, being a child at heart, I knew what he liked. I would grab the shovel from the garage and announce, “Hey Breeches, let’s go to the garden and find stuff!” So, we’d head outside to the garden and I would dig down into the dirt. And, what did we find? Well, we weren’t looking for anything in particular, but we both knew what joy would be found in our discoveries. We found rolly pollys, worms, spiders, bulbs, roots you name it. We didn’t find something we were looking for, we found whatever was there…

As I reflect back on our precious grandson-grandpa time together, I can’t help but recognize the lesson we found in the dirt. Life is discovered in discovery. The joy of living isn’t in what you already know, it’s in discovering what you don’t know. Everything God has done has a meaning and a point and a purpose. Absent any meaning, life becomes a drudgery; a perpetual passing of time; a gameshow replayed out over a lifetime. The meaning of life is found in the meaning. And just like my favorite discoverer and I found out, you don’t know what you are going to find until you start looking!

The trouble with adulthood isn’t in getting older, it’s when by habitual repetition, you stop looking for the rolly pollys; when you think you already know what’s out there; when you give up on finding something new. As you sit there immersed in the conundrum of the meaning of life, ask yourself, are you still looking for the answer? If you seek, you’re going to find, but only if you persist in the seeking. Your full-time adult responsibility isn’t just to work at your job, it’s to work at discovering the meaning behind things. The clues are all around you. Don’t let a scientist or a theory or a so-called educated person talk you into surrendering your pursuit. Do not settle for a meaningless existence or accept that you are here at this moment in time via some random expression of nature or evolution. Both of those things are real, but they’re only the surface of the garden. The treasure is down a little deeper.

Life isn’t happenstance or random (sound familiar?). There’s supposed to be a point to it. How sad it must be to be persuaded that there is no greater purpose and that you, through some cosmic magic, are just here to live out 70 or 80 years, acquire as much stuff as you can and then die. How tragic! Life, your life, is a helluva lot more than just the here and now. But, the here and now is important! We’ve all been cast in a drama of epic proportions. The storyline is familiar; good versus evil. We all have an assigned role, but the character in that role is of our own choosing. We’re supposed to be the starring role, but ignorance regarding our greater purpose renders us extras, bumbling about in the background, without any lines! It’s high time that you find out your starring role.

Finding meaning is like finding anything, you have to be willing to look. Stop simply accepting everything that happens to you and start seeking to understand why. Are you winning? Great, why is that? Are you getting your butt kicked? Not so good, but why is it happening? Those simple, unpretentious discoveries are going to lead you to something; something great!

Life often appears to be an unwieldy beast fraught with challenges, oddities and absurdities. Many times there appears to be no sound explanation for why things happen. But, make no mistake, everything happens for a reason and whether that reason is positive or negative, it exists and is not beyond your ability to understand it. Your understanding, however, comes about as a result of a discovery; a discovery you can comprehend if you remain willing to look. I should add that the world will offer you many of the apparent reasons why, but if those reasons break down in logic at any point along the way, they’re probably not true. The truth is a cohesive whole with no holes in it (pun intended 😉 ) and the contradiction is a clue that you haven’t found the truth yet. God’s Word, the logos is flawlessly logical, but like any literary masterpiece requires more than a cursory reading. It’s worth your time to understand it.

Discovering the meaning of life is no more complicated than discovering the hidden world beneath the soil. All that’s required is a heart that wants to know and a mind that’s willing to pursue it. I know of no human being living who earnestly asked God for an understanding and never received it. Often the signposts show up, but habit man; I already know man, gives up on his quest in favor of the familiar. Familiarity certainly feels better, but it never finds the gold. The best fruit can only be found by going out on a limb!

Your life is important enough to take the time required to understand. God never intended for you to drift through life, wandering from one seemingly unrelated circumstance to the next. He wants you to know… The question is, do you?

Braylon Breeches is 8 now and has since dropped the “breeches” moniker. I think it’s time for me and him to go on a discovery hike. I know I need it…

Just some good thoughts…

Advertisement

Is Life Random?

On By Papa TonyIn Thought2 Comments

2000px-Two_red_dice_01.svgImagine, if you will, that your life plays out on a field of pure potential. There’s no predetermined destiny or well-developed course. You came from the factory with complete freedom of will to function within a complex, fully loaded network without limitation. You began with a mind and a heart as a means to tap into that potential and were given the ability to develop your own life as you saw fit.  In the infinite field of potential (called life) you were provided with the choice to soar as high as the heavens or fall as low as the deepest valley. This is how your life started and this is how your life functions to this day. There is no element of randomness involved. Randomness is a deception on a breathtakingly, masterful level. Behind every apparent act of randomness is a carefully crafted plan.

In a world designed by God there can be no element of chance. There is nothing without purpose or meaning. Often the meaning or cause remains hidden and in a futile attempt to understand, man is forced to guess. Man is schooled to evaluate by cause and effect. When he fails to see the connection, as he often does, he foolishly assigns erroneous causes and played out to his exasperation, assigns nebulous causes which are not causes at all. The apparent randomness of life is such a nebulous cause. If you could see life as God sees it, you would be well aware of the complicated, unbroken chain of events that led to both your greatest accomplishments and your most tragic catastrophes. You did not land a good break nor did you run across a patch of bad luck. In the same way that a plant does not just appear, but first began as a seed, so your life and the results thereof began as a seed. And through knowledge or by ignorance, you planted and one day received. This offers you no consolation for the horrible things you may have experienced, but it is the truth, somewhat simplified, of course.

My purpose for attempting to explain this is not to condemn you for any negative events you are presently surviving, but rather to give you back something you have possessed all along. The sooner you stop guessing at the game of life and get back to life’s Designer, the sooner you can change the course of your life and start manifesting the results you really want. God is quite adept at teaching you the truth and seeks only a willing heart. If you were paying attention, you would recognize where He was already at work. Whether it came in the form of an apparently random thought, or a close friend, or a teacher or your own attempt at evaluating what happened to you, God was back there igniting a burning bush to see if you might stop and investigate. No-one is exempted from God’s tender love and guidance if that person really wants to know. No-one…

The notion that life is random serves only to take away reason and purpose and meaning. Without those elements, life becomes pointless. Logically there would be no point in what you think or what you do or what you believe, if life is random. It all becomes a giant exercise in futile existence whereby stuff just happens to you from a perpetual state of “look-out!” Now just observing your surroundings, you know that isn’t true. Nature alone denies that theory and it isn’t anyone’s mother.

There are reasons behind even the most insignificant events. Sometimes those reasons are good and sometimes those reasons are bad, but how you vote determines the election (Dr. VPW). No person can control every aspect of life, nor should he want to, but he controls a helluva lot more than he thinks. He is playing in a field of pure potentiality with the potential to do or go or be whatever he wants. His only limitation is his beliefs and ignorance regarding the reality of things. God said, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” It’s ignorance fostered by a world carefully manipulated to present an apparent order that is not order at all. It’s a training program you have participated in without knowing you were participating. It is the systematizing of error that once accepted leads only to misery and hopelessness. Just think about how many things you hold as true that really aren’t true at all. The doctor said your disease was incurable, but God didn’t. The system says you cannot achieve without the right education, yet many achieve despite it. If you do this, you’ll get that and if you don’t do this you will suffer. All erroneous, all systematized, all put forth as truth to a world starved for goodness and love and success, then resulting only in evil and hate and failure.

This is your opportunity to break out of the myth of randomness and regain control of your life. This is your chance (pun intended) to chart a new course whereby you decide how things are going to turn out. This the reality of the life that God gave you complete with a full catalogue of instruction, if you want it.

Breaking free from bondage and limitation and ignorance isn’t any more complicated than deciding in your heart that you need God to help you. You ain’t smart enough to do this on your own as your own experience exemplifies…

So as I wrap up these good thoughts, I peer into the sky where I see the moon mocking the sun by appearing to rise in the east behind the clouds, draped by the splendor of the mountains and I think, “Thank you God that this wonderful sight isn’t random either…

Just some good thoughts

The Good Life…

On By Papa TonyIn happiness, ThoughtLeave a comment

Good-LifeThere’s something out there that all humans are after. It’s something often talked about but rarely found. It’s the inner heart desire of every person that draws breath. It’s a goal, an experience, a journey and a destination. It is the pursuit of all pursuits, the good life!

If you’ve lived any amount of time, you know there are as many theories on the way to get there as there are people. One man’s good life is a nightmare for another. One woman’s unacceptable is another’s acceptable, and even more, a victory. For some it’s money. For others it’s family. For some it’s solitude and quiet space. For others it’s opportunities for learning. Truth is, you have the privilege to decide your good life yourself. But, there is one consistent thing that underlies all variations of the good life. It is  the most glorious and delicate balance in life. It’s called self-control…

If you’re like me, you tend to bristle up when that “control” word shows up. Nobody likes to be controlled. And, sometimes it’s tough to control yourself, especially when that controls involves the things you love. But, and you cannot find a larger but, self-control is truly the essence of life; the good life. Here’s the paradox, the more control you exercise, the more free you become. Now, before you get besieged with sadness, self control doesn’t mean refusing happiness or good feelings or good things.  Self control is more about enjoying your happiness and producing good feelings and maintaining your good things.

Have you ever had the experience of finally deciding to control some aspect of your life? If you were successful, i.e. lost the weight, stopped a behavior, brought some ‘out of control’ aspect under control, how did you feel when the job was done? Conversely, those areas that are out of control; those aspects of you that drive “you” nuts, the things you do over and over and over again and despise yourself when you do them, how do they leave you? You see, your feelings, though not 100% reliable, are trying to tell you something. They’re telling you that you need to get a grip on you! And, sadly, you know it’s true.

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Fun is always fun, but there is a ‘too much’ fun. Wine, the great mood enhancer, has an end point where it changes from a sparkle to a sedative. Tasty food is delightful but the Thanksgiving gorge is over the top. Discomfort is the tell-tale indicator. Bad feelings are the barometer. If you really think it through, there should be no down side to a good thing. But the downside sometimes applies not to the thing itself but the quantity of the thing.

In every realm of life, there’s an expectation of control. Control keeps you healthy. Control protects your finances. Control enhances your experiences. Control makes your highs higher and mitigates your lows. Your life depends upon your willingness to control it. I would surmise that whenever you observe someone who seems to be living the good life, behind that life is some element of control; decisions you maybe never see.

Life is always about staying in balance. Work is good unless you work too much or too little. If you work too much, you allow it to compensate for other areas it was never designed to cover. It becomes a consuming force and begs for remedy. If you work too little, the penalty is found in dissatisfaction and angst. Even a day at work where your focus is not on work but quitting time, makes for the longest day ever. If you’ve ever lost your job, you know that time off is not really time off when your responsibilities aren’t handled. But, how sweet is your vacation when the work preceded it?

Life requires both the things you have to do and the things you get to do. If all you have is things you have to do, you’ll live your life in misery. Likewise, if all you do is things you get to do, you’ll soon be found wanting. A lawn must be mowed before you can enjoy the patio. The bed must be made to make the night’s sleep that much nicer. Food is eaten on clean dishes. Work comes before play and play is made possible by work. The weekend comes at the end of the work week, not before it. The balance is the beauty of it all.

I think you may discover one day that the good life you were after was right there for you all along. But instead of being found in fame and riches, it is found in a thousand little choices; choices you make in defense of yourself. Choices that don’t always feel good, but always feel good if you know what I mean. The ability to sometimes say no, to yourself… The sublime, inherent ability to finally take command of yourself; your elusive self! That, my friends is the sure steadfast definition of the good life – getting and then staying in control of yourself…

You don’t know where to start, you say? Begin the next time you start to do something you really wish you wouldn’t do. Listen to the gentle urging inside you when there’s a decision to be made. Pay attention to that thought back there telling you something you have been trying to ignore. You already know where the control needs to be, you just need to make up your mind to do it. And when you do, notice how that feels and see if you cannot get a glimpse of the good life yourself…

Just some good thoughts…

 

 

You, the Unique, Wonderful You!

On By Papa TonyIn intentional life, living in the moment, new beginning, ThoughtLeave a comment

Bok-Festival-AzaleasI found myself gazing incredulously at God’s creation as the low light of an early spring evening glimmered softly upon the plant foliage, making the early blooms more vivid and more true. From innumerable shades of green contrasted against the deepest purples, richest reds and sparkling yellows, to the willow tree, bent over, chock full of the weight of a million, delicate white and pink blooms, all seemed to speak to my heart and encourage my soul. They adjured me to observe the Master’s hand, impregnated with a uniqueness carried out over a million iterations. And as I paused in quiet revelry, I understood. Everything that God has made is singularly, unique and in that unsurpassed majesty, is wonderful beyond comprehension. That, my dear friends, is the uniqueness that is you, the wonderful, unrivaled, unparalleled you!

You are a miracle of all miracles in that there is no-one just like you on the entire earth. Imagine for a moment the exquisite combination of genes, environment and upbringing that brought you into play. You couldn’t replicate it if you tried. There’s none that thinks like you; processes information like you or comes to the exact conclusions that you do. You are a one of kind model from a factory where all are of one kind. Your heart, your fears, your love, your tastes and your aversions combined have no match. You are on this earth to bring forth all that you truly are and you alone have been assigned your role. The world doesn’t need another Ghandi or Martin Luther or Mother Theresa, it needs you. They have already done their own work and for that the world is grateful. What remains only is the work that you must do.

You know, most people abhor their uniqueness in a futile quest to be just like everyone else. Their scarlet hair is an affront to them and instead of rejoicing in their rarity, they seek dyes and colors approved by the majority. A slightly lower ear, a cowlick, or a different color eye becomes a hinderance to happiness and fulfillment. And age exacerbates the process as millions cleave to the fleeting look of youth never once considering the mighty oak, scarred from the storms, battered, yet standing firm and proud in its place. People want to fit in and blend and follow plans someone else has made. They want to walk in paths well defined; fall in love as movie stars do; work for businesses whose owners are already rich; falling in line with all the rest, in perpetual pursuit of someone else’s life. And as they acquiesce and settle, they never once consider the place where they sit as master, living a life of their own making; offering all that they and they alone can bring.

Immediately dismiss the notion that all should be famous or adored or worshipped. Your prize isn’t fame or notoriety, nor does your contribution have to have altered the course of the world. Your gift is the gift of who you are and what you bring to the table that no-one else can offer. Your unique abilities not only bless the creation but they bring back to you joy unspeakable. And as you dare to stand as who you are, unashamed and adamant, you will find yourself immersed in situations and people and environments that need you the most. You never have to find them for they will always find you.

Thus it’s time to let the real you back out again. Be true to yourself. Love what you love and despise what you despise. Don’t hide your tastes or try to downplay your aversions. If you disagree, say so. If something touches your soul, don’t be shy. When others mock you for being true to yourself, their derision is a testimony to their own hidden self, still scared, laying low, clutching the bed covers. How could someone laugh or scorn you for being you. It would be more frightening if you were them!

You see, the systems of the world are pushing everyone on to the same course; a trail that leads nowhere and takes a lifetime to arrive. And the prize for having finished is hundreds of regrets in thousands of wasted days. Meanwhile that song; that dream; that ideal lays buried in your heart ever seeking expression but never having been given opportunity. And we wonder why people are so unfulfilled nowadays… True fulfillment can only come from the real you, expressing yourself in real ways, to a world submerged in illusion.

So, where do you begin? Begin by deciding today that you will never again utter a negative word about yourself. Choose to evaluate situations and circumstances and to eliminate endless self-evaluation. Don’t spend another moment in negative consideration of your own heart or motives or desires. Stop saying no to the things from which your heart says yes. Let your interest be your interest even if completely solitary in scope. Read books that speak to you and you alone. Be yourself unreservedly, immensely, unabashedly. And above it all, love yourself like you used to, without judgment and criticism and complaint. Love your flaws and your frailties and your foolishnesses. Love your quirks, your eclectic whims and even your absurdities. When is the last time you just loved yourself for who you are without apology? That is who you are after…

As the sun started to set and as the gentle, lowering light began to dissipate; as the foliage lost its radiance and the flower colors dimmed to shades of gray and black, and as the beckoning willow hid it’s tender blossoms for the night ahead, I couldn’t help but remember that our uniqueness is something that will never change and the world deserves to see it in the light of day…

Just some good thoughts…

Don’t Be Mad at Money…

On By Papa TonyIn belief, prosperity, ThoughtLeave a comment

DollarMoney get’s a bad rap. Money in our society is just a medium of exchange. It’s not magical, nor is it evil. Having it doesn’t bring bad things into your life and there’s certainly nothing noble about not having it. It is simply the modern day method of trade. It is the means to get the things you need in life. So, why are people so messed up about it; even mad at it?

Here’s one place you might get it twisted. You’ve been tricked into associating money with greed, or in other words, something or someone sold you a lie. Have you ever noticed that people who think money is evil tend not to have much of it and when they get it, try to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Here’s a newsflash folks, you need money. Money may not buy you happiness, but it’s a damn site easier on you than poverty. It’s accepted that you don’t need incredible luxury, but if you’re honest, you probably need more than you have.

Did you know that people who are truly greedy never give the concept a second thought? But, there you are chastising yourself for wanting something nice. “Oh, that’s too much,” you say. And why exactly shouldn’t you have something nice? Who convinced you that your value was so low? Do you realize that it doesn’t make any difference to God whether you have a Mercedes or a Ford? Who is the car for anyway? Well, what blesses you? So, why would you think it matters? I submit it’s because you bought a lie. No-one gets anything in life without believing they can get it. The things you enjoy in your life, right at this very moment, you have believed to get. Whether you did it by hard work or by investing or expecting it from your parents, you believed for it. I’ve often mused why the children of wealthy parents seem to become wealthy themselves. Simple. They grew up accustomed to the best and naturally expected to have the best themselves. Lottery winners, generally unprepared for a windfall, tend to lose it quickly, so don’t think rich folk’s only advantage is starting with money!

What exactly is greed anyway? Greed begins where need ceases. Greed is the unbridled urge to acquire things. But make no mistake, greed is not the desire to have your needs met and have them met abundantly. Shoot man, that’s a promise from God. An abundant life is a life of abundance, so you figure it out. To say an abundance of money is somehow contrary to an abundant life is absurd. We aint trading cows honey, we’re using money. Greed has also been defined as having more than you need. So what do you need? Who decides that? You do! Follow my logic for a moment. If someone else defines what you need, where does that end? Let’s say you can afford a modest house. Is that greedy? You could always get a more modest house, right? Or what if you decided to sell that house and buy a larger, less modest house? Are you being greedy now? What if, in your prospering ways, you earn a ton of money? Are you now not allowed to buy a deluxe house? Because,  you don’t need it? Again, who gets to decide that? You see it all becomes very foolish. People are mad as hell at Joel Olsteen because he lives in a mansion. Joel said he receives no salary from his ministry and makes his money via book sales and speaking engagements. Yet, because he speaks a positive message of God’s love for people and preaches messages of encouragement for God, he should somehow live in a modest shack approved by the masses! Whether he needs a mansion or a modest, deluxe home is his business and why on earth should we care so much? Well, we care because our own needs aren’t met and we are still mad at money!

If I read one more meme attributing virtue to not having money, I think I might scream! There’s absolutely nothing noble about not having your needs met. There’s no joy in not being able to do what you really want to do. There’s no happiness in constantly repeating that you cannot afford something or worse, “if I can’t afford it, I don’t need it.” You know debt isn’t the answer, but aspiring for better is a natural God-inspired desire. Your life is worth having the best. Other people have the best, why not you?

Obviously I’m not talking about being poor and doing the best you can to escape it. Nor am I condemning the simple life minus a multitude of stuff. I’m confronting the notion that money is bad or evil and that you are greedy if you want it. I’m challenging the idea that all wealthy people are crooked and somehow wrong because they haven’t bought into the lie. My good friend at work lives in a very wealthy neighborhood and he says those folks are some of the most giving people you have ever met. Hmmmm, something to that maybe?

The love of money is the root of all evil, not the money itself. Money is just money. Evil enters in when you do ‘whatever’ to get it and then use it and the power associated with it to hurt people and utlimately hurt yourself.

So, what is your takeaway prize for indulging in this discourse? You need to change your mental relationship concerning money and take away both the magic and the evil. Money is simply a means of exchange; exchanging your money for the things you need and want. God wants you to live a more than abundant life and you’re gonna need a little cash to get the job done!

Believe to get your paper!

Just some good thoughts…