"SO, IT is Christmas"....to steal a line... "and what have we done?" (and, with just a few words I have you singing!) But, after this years happenings, after all your cumulative decisions the year over, are you happier, more resolute, more clear minded, more focused on things that make you happy?......
....Are you....happy?
LIFE IS a great teacher, however, many of us struggle listening to what life, and God, are trying to show us....why is this? Why, after pursuing a course we thought would make us happy, do we end up empty-hearted and lacking in joy, tired and wanting? Is it because we are hopeless depressants ourselves, incapable of being happy, or is it because we have been seeking for happiness in the wrong PLACES, doing THINGS incompatible with happiness, and with PEOPLE who are also, themselves, out of sync with a happy life? We each get to decide that for ourselves....
MOVING ON, we say we are "forcing it", when we continue to do things that don't work, trying, and trying, and trying to get "it" to work, whatever it is, even when our repeated and commendable fortitude and persistence has shown us that what we are doing isn't working. I love to wake board, but one year I was convinced to try slalom. After several failures I decided, while sitting in the water, that there was no way, this time, that the ski handle would slip through my grip. I yelled, "Hit it", with resolve I squoze the grip like a monkey does a fruit its determined to eat! Well, all I could see was a wall of water that I never seemed to get on top of, and so after roughly 10-15 seconds I released my grip and reached for the waters surface....but it was not there, so I took a stroke up with my other hand, but I could still not feel the air at the surface, so I took another stroke, this time kicking a bit with my feet, and I reached...still no air cooled my hand! It took me 3-4 strokes before I reached the surface! I had held on tight for sure, but instead of surfacing with the ski on top of the water, I went the wrong way and was deep in the lake by the time I had let go of the rope. When I finally surfaced I could see my brother-in-law with his shirt off, just about to jump in, thinking I was hurt and drowning! I learned then, and have often remembered back to this lesson, that I cannot always force things. Whatever our reason for forcing and holding on to things that aren't good for us - whether it be ego, we don't want to be wrong, or the fear that we have spent our time, even years, pursuing a goal that is a waste, (and nothing is truly a waste, bcs it is a learning experience), or just so confused and angry that we can't see reality for what it is, but whatever our reason, "forcing it" is when we just don't stop to acknowledge that a square peg cannot go through a round hole without destroying that square peg - changing it into something it is not. Sometimes change is good....I love change, but not all change is created equal! We are the judges for our own lives, so we must judge wisely and openly, for it is our happiness that is at stake, as well as those we love and share this life with!
WATCH!....
CHRIST, WHEN he lived, compared our personal growth and happiness to a to a "corn of wheat"....interesting...but keep reading :-). (I am going to use corn as the example, bcs whether corn, wheat, or grapes, the same is true.)
One kernel of corn will grow to a corn stalk roughly 8-12 feet high, and bearing 2-3 ears of corn, each ear holding 800-1200 kernels of corn! Think of it - one kernel produced an 8-12 foot high stalk and between 800-3,600 new kernels of corn! WOW! That's an amazing change! And what change had to occur for this to happen? It's a change we don't consider, and one that when applied to ourselves we don't want to consider - ironically.
WE ARE - all of us, no exceptions, (and I do not disclude myself) - Perception Challenged, just in different ways. These erroneous - some of them could be called corrupt -perceptions lead us down paths that rob us of joy, happiness and our true potential. So what do we do when we find ourselves unhappy and staring dbig change? Simply because we can travel that path should we? We can surly choose this, and there is always a return, but at what cost? For those considering the example at hand - gender change - you can return mentally and emotionally, but physically you will be forever altered, irreversible is the change. But as I say to myself and others: "We are not from here", and we are here to learn and grow, so every experience - for those who are honest - is a growing experience. But that choice for a gender change will alter their experience here on earth for their whole remaining time!
John 12:24:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Pretty deep to consider our growth and change in this way....But wait!....before we move on from this amazing transformation, lets consider that not only did the seeds major metamorphosis allow for reproduction of itself, it also did other side "things", magnificent in their own ways. This green cornstalk, has beautiful large flowing leaves capable of turning light waves into energy, the tassels have the capacity to pollinate other plants, and didn't just grow a few inches off the ground but grew more than 8-12 feet in the air! The root structure has the capacity to extract nutrients from the soil and deliver them up the stock nourishing the stock and cob to be able to grow its purpose - creating new kernels! What a transformation! So change can be great, productive, and for us, change is essential to realize our full potential....but, not all change is good. Consider what Corps have done to corn. GMO corn was designed, statedly, by them, of course, to kill any pests that attempted to eat it, but there may have been other reasons, not disclosed by them. So what did they do? Monsanto genetically engineered the corn to produce the botulin toxin, the same that we call botulism, the same that can kill us. Ironically, to those who don't think, obvious to those who do, not only does the botulin toxin affect bugs that eat the corn, but also humans that decide to consume it - slowly poisoning them! Why would Corps design such a thing? I'll leave you to ponder on that for now, but lets consider the symptoms associated with botulin toxin - Botulism symptoms begin with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking, which, if the dose is high enough, or the individual weak enough, can be followed by weakness of the limbs, chest muscles, and legs - anyone feel these symptoms? These GMO crops were also changed to be non-self reproducing, in other words, sterile. And they were made, also, to cross-pollinate with other natural, native corns, making their kernels sterile as well. A misanthropist would easily see this as a covert attempt to hurt people and make us more and more dependent on Corps, instead of God and the abundance of His creations! But GMO corn, what a concept In a purported attempt to try to prevent insects from destroying crops - 1 possible good - we have sacrificed 3 goods -
Keeping native species pure and maintaining the ability of plants to reproduce
In consuming this GMO changed corn we are now harming our own health, and
We becoming evermore dependent on Corps for our food supply, since our plants are becoming sterile, there is no other source of seeds save man-made seeds.
IS THIS a good change? Sorry for the repetition - but, not all change is good. So, how does this apply to changes we make in our own lives? There are many peddling ways of living, philosophies of happiness, means and ways to get what we think we want, but not all philosophies will have happiness as their outcome. Modern medicine can sloppily alter someones gender, for those unhappy with their natural gender, (something for which so many organic naturalists, who so desperately and religiously hold to keeping things in their natural state, are so surprisingly supportive and advocative, making this another stunning display of the tremendous irrationality of humankind) - but is gender change the change the person needs - making them forever changed and sterile? Or is there a deeper change needed? What about the soul? Is there more to be learned about leaving nature as it is and learning to cope and make do? Each of us will answer that for ourselves and as our search for knowledge continues to bring us more opportunities - blessings and cursings will be available to us.
WE ARE - all of us, no exceptions, (and I do not disclude myself) - Perception Challenged, just in different ways. These erroneous - some of them could be called corrupt -perceptions lead us down paths that rob us of joy, happiness and our true potential. So what do we do when we find ourselves unhappy and staring down a road of big change? Simply because we can travel that path should we? We can surly choose this, and there is always a return, but at what cost? For those considering the example at hand - gender change - you can return mentally and emotionally, but physically you will be forever altered, irreversible is the change. But as I say to myself and others: "We are not from here", and we are here to learn and grow, so every experience - for those who are honest - is a growing experience. But that choice for a gender change will alter their experience here on earth for their whole remaining time!
WHAT ABOUT those who have made changes or are advocating hard for change in society - whether they be gender, or any change for that matter - taking up drinking to help assuage stresses, coffee or another "upper" to replace the pizazz a good nights sleep alone should give, or many sex partners to fill a void of companionship and satisfy a never ending lust for new flesh, or an activist who is fighting for reparations - what if they have not found happiness? What if they have realized they have gotten nothing but unhappiness and entrapment for themselves and others? CHANGING course is an option! :-) That is the amazing part of life! We can self assess - FEEL, and by these feelings of despair, hopelessness, directionlessness, etc, decide to walk another path, one that we all know inside, if we listen to the small voice within us. And, one more thing...don't think too hard about it! We can make the simple hard a lot of the time! Letting go of what is hurting us, ironically, can be so hard, like tearing a beaten spouse from a horribly abusive partner. Why is it so hard? Humans, as rational as we like to think we are, are so irrational because of our emotional side - even those who profess to be scientists are no different, as a Doctor of Chiropractic for nearly 23 years, and having read thousands of research articles, and books, it has always amazed me to see bias in scientific research.
AS YOU are seeking a good, positive change, for you and society around you, may I suggest a path option? You guessed it, no drum roll necessary -choose Christs way for a bit, just experiment with it....you don't have to become the dumb, blind follower you think you see among the Christian masses out there - and I know, some are, because that is humanity - irrationality! But you don't have to approach it that way - if God is worth following, if He is all powerful, all knowing, and the like, He didn't get there by being irrational himself. Nor would a Being so described want a blundering crowd following Him. He said - know the truth and the truth shall SET YOU FREE! Hmmm, is this true? Only one way to find out - Experiment for yourself, and see if it is real! Why can't you look at others and not arrive at the conclusion that is is not where you want to be? Precisely because you can't trust the experimentation done by others....they may have been sloppy in application, or victims of their own bias or misperceptions, or lacking in moral honesty. Try this change on, if it does nothing for you, then take it off and don't bring it into your life, like clothes that are promised to look good on you but don't! And one word of caution...if I may....don't gauge the effectiveness of the truths and secrets God has shared with us by the lives of those around you! You may have noticed in your professional life: there are many people out there who miss the mark, we all do to some degree, many miss it terribly. So, don't allow your experiment to be derailed by others inconsistencies and lack of truly adopting God's ways - this human trait - the distorting of truth - is in effect a confirmation of Christs words when he said - "narrow is the gate and straight is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it", and "wide is the gate and broad the way that leads to death, and many there be that go in there at". My goal and yours, is to be the "few", but hopefully there are many!
SO, MERRY CHRISTMAS!...and try as the world may, they cannot undo Christ in Christmas - they may take it out of their celebrations, but it still is His time, it is about Him and His ways - even though many humans have terribly misrepresented His ways and life, it is still the most joyous, a season when more good acts are done, when more are forgiving, kind, more allow someone else to go first in line, when we are most likely to give of our sacred money for the good of others! It is Christs' gift to us - showing us what life could be like if we chose to live this way - His way - for the other 345 days of the year! Give it a try, learn about Him and His way of life, then try it on for yourself...just try it on and experiment a little. God will show you He lives and see's you, and will show you He is there, and you will find happiness and fullness of heart!
Merry Christmas!
.png)