Tag Archives: growth

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The Place Of Contentment!

We tend to focus our energy on outward pleasure and the satisfaction of our senses at the expense of vision and the inner work of our lives.  The sad reality is that this produces a life of illusions, where appearances leave us empty and wanting more.  The wise writer of Ecclesiastes teaches us that “Everything comes and goes, there is nothing new under the sun.”  

The material world can only bring temporary satisfaction, because the stuff of the temporary world is – temporary.  When all we see, taste, touch, hear and smell is of the material world, we limit ourselves to only what exists in this world and cause ourselves to miss out on the vast blessings that exist in the spiritual world.  We often so focus on the creation, that we fail to know and appreciate the Creator.

The biggest problem with our trying to satisfy our senses is that our focus becomes the chase and attainment of that which is limited and temporary.  We get locked into a game of continuously striving, because there never seems to be enough.  We all know what it is like to live in this place of craziness, but most of us, are not willing to do life differently.  We keep doing the same things, making the same mistakes and expecting different or better results and that is just plain insane!  
 
Peace and inner satisfaction come from within.  Jesus teaches us to be in the world, but not of the world.  My satisfaction does not come from this world, because this is not my home, I am simply a spiritual being passing through a human experience.  When we learn to live life from the inside, then there is not much that is required from the outside for our happiness and peace,
 
We need to learn to look and see beyond the here and now.  We know that a flower is much more than just a flower.  It is even more than what our senses tell us it is.  It is more than color, taste, feel, smell and sound.  It is creation unfolding in a different way, unique and beautiful.  Evidence of something greater, someone with a greater plan.  It is in front of you for you to enjoy and be blessed by and when it ceases to be, there will be something else, but you don’t have to go out and find it, because it will find you.
 
Learn to relax.  Enjoy the gift of this moment.  Instead of being consumed by a focus on the search for what you can find outside of yourself, instead take some time to journey inward and discover awe, wonder, excitement and appreciation for the things that make your senses alive to appreciate and enjoy the gifts of the outside, physical, material world.
 
Allow life to flow in the natural order of “come and go” and avoid getting caught up in the tyranny of the urgent.  This moment is a seed, plant it, cultivate it, observe it from the inside out and you will enjoy it’s growth for ages to come.  You are a seed, your Creator has planted you, is cultivating you, observing you from the inside out and enjoying your growth.  When you get that you are created in the image of the Creator, then you will discover a power that allows you to live from the inside out and this is a big part of what it means to live blessed.
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When Empty Living Is Not A Bad Thing!

When I am driving down the road and I hear that little bell go off to remind me that my gas tank is on empty, I know that I have to do something about it, and so I head to the gas station to put gas in, so that I can get rid of the “E”.   When I have not had a chance to eat, my stomach will begin to growl and remind me that it is empty, and I will look for something to eat, so that I might fill that void.

We have been taught that when something is empty, we need to fill it. We walk into a room that has nothing in it and almost immediately our mind goes to the place of filling it with this and that.  I think all of this focus on filling, causes us to miss the value of emptiness.  Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching gives us the idea that “The usefulness of what is, depends on what is not.”  In everything, there is an emptiness, a missing something, but that missing something is something, not nothing and this is the challenge of our thinking.

Our lives are full of work and living, but that is not what really makes our lives meaningful.  It is often the spaces of our life that we perceive as empty that actually give us meaning and purpose.  Since all of life around us seems to work by filling the empty void with whatever, we spend most of our energy trying to fill things back up and miss the joy of the emptiness.

We try to fill our lives up with work, activities, events, hobbies and almost anything we can think of and the result is still a gnawing emptiness, a void that we just can’t seem to fill, at least in a way that brings us satisfaction.  This hole, void, emptiness is not a bad thing. In fact it has a purpose and it’s purpose is to help us to discover who we are and what we are about.  It’s purpose it to teach us that rather than spending all of our effort and energy on trying, that we should invest ourselves instead on simply allowing.  When we learn to allow what will be to be, we begin to enjoy the flow of life.

When you allow yourself to breathe. The breath comes in and it goes out, quiet naturally, until you decide to start messing with it. This is the best way to live life.  Rather than trying to force and make things happen, just allow yourself in your living to breathe.

Most people cannot stand silence. Why? Because it is emptiness.  Emptiness that we feel needs to be filled.  As soon as we get in our cars, we power up the radio.  As soon as we walk in the door of our home, we turn on our televisions.  When we have a moment to sit and do nothing, we are on our smart phones trying to fill the void.  And the result of all of this, is that we miss the power and blessing that the emptiness is there to bring.

At some point today, take a few moments to practice silence.  I try to spend at least 10 minustes everyday in silent meditation.  I try during this time, to go into that empty space and enjoy what my Creator has given me.  I have discovered that it is from this place that some of my most amazing and beneficial thoughts begin, grow and flow.

It is in this place that I meet the essence of who I am and as I learn to allow that essence to flow, the real me begins to reveal itself to the rest of the world.  Philippians 2:5-9 teaches us that this is what Jesus did when it says: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.”

Let go of everything – who you are, what you do, where you go, how you think, when you’ve got to be finished and learn to exist in the empty space of this moment.  Appreciate this moment and the space of what it is allowing you and let it to do what it desires. You will be glad you did, because you will live blessed.

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Learning Something New!

It is hard to learn something new, when you think you already know everything.  We hear and learn exactly what we want based on our very own values, beliefs, prejudices and personal history.  We wonder why we never grow and why we seem to be our own worst enemy?  A teachable spirit is an open invitation to a changed life.  A changed life is a growing life and and growing life gives glory to the Creator as it shares blessings with all around.  You Creator wants you to be happy and healthy, but allows you to make choices for yourself.  Life is about learning to make the right choices.

Do you really want to walk closer to your Creator?  Do you long to walk close, so that you may hear His chuckles and sighs.  Do you want to learn to see and experience the newness of life that only He can bring.  Do you know that you must let go of your old tired ways?   Do you know this is so hard to do, but not impossible?  To know His will, you must know Him, to know Him, you must let go of some things, so that you can grab hold of others.

We must learn to seek His face with an open heart and clear mind, knowing and trusting that as we journey forward with Him that He will bring about the transformation of our lives by the renewing of our minds.  The work that we need to have done in our lives, is not a work that we do, it is a work that we invite Him to do, by doing the work of faith that invites Him to come in and do His thing.

I challenge you to step away from the distractions and become totally focused on your Creator and the stuff of His creation.  He wants you to understand Him and as you seek to  understand Him and His ways, you will live according to the path that He has marked out for you.

Embrace Him and His will and be satisfied with nothing else and you will live blessed!