Growing within

            Our lives consist of many seasons, all of which makes us active participants to our own growth. The growth that I am referring to however, is the source off all growth that hinges from the core of our beings. The ability to recognise this, sets us on a journey of true self-discovery and enables us to transcend into complete, resourceful, loving and spirit-filled gifts to the world. True growth therefore begins in the soul of man; all other successes in life stems from this one divine truth. It is from this place within that true worship begins. Every man is born with an innate desire to worship, for it is throughout his life that he journeys to commune with his creator- to learn who he is, to understand him and seek wisdom. It is only from this union with his creator that he can truly develop purpose. Nature is the blueprint which teaches man how his own growth takes place. God in his divine wisdom, knew that we would not fully understand our own process for growth unless if He sets examples of this in our daily surroundings as a constant reminder to us that " You grow from the inside then the outside". We never see the process, yet we readily recognize the outcome of growth; flowers bloom in the secrecy of the dawn, seeds planted in the ground miraculously push forth above the surface as small sprouts and eventually into towering trees, eggs cover the secret lives of the animals within, until they emerge revealing its true identity after months in solitude, mystery and confinement. All these processes begin in the unknown where the unseen hands moulds, pushes, breaks, mixes the contents specific to that one creature- the hidden parts of a seed before it emerges from the ground requires a different type of  nurturing and a different internal structure to that of an egg. Hence, the time required for growth in each would also be different- the period for incubation for an egg cannot be applied to that for a seed because if it were measured in the same capacity, one of them would have been robbed of vital stages that needs to be carefully processed in time.
      In the human soul, it is the same. We cannot expect a God who carefully formed each one of us with different needs and internal structures to treat us using the same period for nurturing and growth. We are all different and that was His purpose- that from the fountain of our beings, regardless of how long the process may be, we are not robbed of being carefully shaped and nurtured- we are taken care of in the internal first, where the external is a mere reflection of the remarkable process that has been taking place within.
So hence, growth within our souls takes a longer time. Why? Because it is the most important part of us. We  should not stretch our minds too far to  fathom why this is the case. The strength of anything begins in the workmanship of its foundation. A house built quickly with poor planning for its foundation where nothing was given its appropriate time to dry, eventually falls apart- it was robbed of the necessary time to ensure a good foundation. The strength of man therefore is never found in his ability to make money from huge investments nor in his ownership of anything found in the external world- cars, houses, land. These are but a reflection of a soul that after much time of careful union with God, in the gestation period of time has accumulated the strength that can only come from the Divine, a wisdom that can only be given from the Divine that later manifests itself and guides the soul to true self-discovery, making him learn to be resourceful, loving and exercising the gifts that he was given.
     Once we begin to understand this principle, once we begin to trust in the growth that starts from within, we would know that it is a process that serves us and God to be active participants in this journey of life. We would no longer look at our exterior and believe that wealth starts from the physical, but in the spiritual. We would no longer look at others and their external successes with sadness or envy, but we will know that we are on a journey of growth that would one day manifest itself in the wealth that needs to begin the soul first then explode into our world. For in any case, those who have sort to maintain external wealth, like the house with a poor foundation, eventually crumbles- for it has not the Divinely built inner structure to guide him with wisdom, love and purpose.
Blessings!

One step at a time

    It is already the third week into the new school term. Many of us have begun our journey in various fields, as students, teachers, sales clerks, caretakers......and already we are looking forward to the next vacation. Just the mere fact that the responsibilities of the day seem too overwhelming at times, makes us return longingly in our minds to that place where we are far away from anything that involves work, traffic, assignments, daily demands. Am I right?
   Life is indeed filled with many responsibilities; many we cannot escape, so why not enjoy life in the process? Have you ever had thoughts which begin like this : " I will enjoy my life when.... " ? When? When what? When I graduate then I can happy....I can't wait to move out from this neighbourhood...then I can be happy...If I win the lottery only then I can be truly happy...when I get a better job I would certainly be happy!.I believe we are all guilty of at least one of these. Why not choose to be happy now? Yes, it is a choice! Why make happiness a destination?
    Whenever we place a criteria on happiness, we can miss so many valuable lessons in life, including the beauty that we are slowly becoming within. Maybe that traffic we encounter everyday is teaching us to be patient. It is tiring yes, but enjoy the ride! Maybe your job has several disadvantages, but that is where God placed you to learn a skill, develop confidence and create your own business in the future! Some day you will graduate, but enjoy the ride! You are learning skills that you didn't have when you first started.You are being groomed for better things, so enjoy the ride!
  Remember, where you stand today was yesterday's future....and where you stand today will be tomorrow's past. The common factor here is today which we must enjoy. So do not worry about life.
Every man dips into his soul and by his very words creates his own destiny... simply enjoy your life...one step at a time...


Enjoy YOUR life!

What are you keeping in your 'house'?

    It is about that time of the year when some have decided to partake in some spring -cleaning around the house. It is during this time one can make some interesting discoveries: blank pages, pens which  no longer write, newspapers dated 2009.....yes. I, personally, have stumbled upon such items before and I often wondered why I even bothered to keep them. The old, insignificant collection is finally discarded and it is at this point one  realizes the alarming amount of trash that occupied the rooms of the house.
   What do you consider to be  treasured items in your home? How do you treat these? With pride and dignity of course! Picture frames adorn tables and walls and are carefully dusted. Jewelry, of great sentimental value, is placed neatly in  a box on a shelf. Paintings, books, and for some, even clothing is treated in the same manner. Why is this the case? Simply because it is human nature to treasure items that we collected over the years, which remind us of people, events, places and they aid in generating positive feelings; reliving good memories. We, therefore, have a tendency to  keep and treasure whatever brings us great joy.
   Why then do we find ourselves doing the opposite whenever it pertains to our thoughts? Many of us find forgiveness very difficult, especially when we have trusted, befriended or cared for someone who in turn, has caused us pain. One sight of the aggressor and we cross the  street, ignore, or walk away from since by doing this we seemingly emptying ourselves of a bad memory; but all the feelings have already returned by simply seeing them again right? So forgive? "That person must pay" you might say. The truth is they do not....but you do.
   We live in a house of thoughts. Everyday we decide what we are going to 'purchase' to adorn our house- we buy goods and we eat from it. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves if we ' spring-clean' our house of thoughts and what are the things we keep and discard. It is here, we discover, that unlike the tangible homes we live in where we keep the treasures and throw away the old collectibles, we actually do the opposite! We remember the friend who lied about us 5 years ago and still refuse talk to her/ him, the person who stole money and never repented, the girlfriend or boyfriend who cheated and the list continues. In other words, we carefully dust, polish, shine, and hang picture frames of our old ' newspapers from 5 years ago' and the pen which no longer writes and soon run out of space for our real 'treasures' which, if we are not careful, can eventually be tossed aside. Would we ever frame a rotten potato or polish a worn out sneakers? Of course not. Every time we choose to collect items in our house of thoughts that we should discard  it would eventually lead to unforgiveness.
       The cure? Throw away the unwanted, painful, old memories that stir up negative emotions and pull out the good memories of people, places and events that brings you exhilarating joy every time you remember. The painful memories have served their purpose; analyze, learn from it and move on. Have you ever laughed aloud while remembering something hilarious you experienced with a friend? We all have. You deserve many more like that. Treasure these moments instead in your house of thoughts........



Laugh
  

Embracing who you are: Embracing who you are: I received this photo...

Embracing who you are: Embracing who you are: I received this photo...: Embracing who you are: I received this photo in an email today. The... : I received this photo in an email today. The email con...

Embracing who you are: I received this photo in an email today. The...

Embracing who you are: I received this photo in an email today. The...: I received this photo in an email today. The email contained photos of a variety of beautiful birds and this one caught my attention....

      I received this photo in an email today. The email contained photos of a variety of beautiful birds and this one caught my attention. If you look carefully, or even at first glance, you would notice the red splotches which adorn the chest area. It was on of the most remarkable but yet attractive feathers I had ever seen, and perhaps because the 'bleeding heart pigeons' as they are called, are indeed unique. The bright red might be considered a unattractive characteristic for many and even thought of as an 'ugly' sight since it does give the illusion that the birds are bleeding.
     Then I began to reflect on us, humans. What are our 'bright red splotches' about ourselves that we disdain, that we consider to be unattractive, hideous? Is it your eyes, nose, teeth, your hair colour, acne? The truth, is most of us secretly do carry concerns about our physical appearance and sadly even to the point where we may hate ourselves because of it.
     We live in a society which constantly bombards us daily about what we 'should' look like, plunging many  to make physical changes which, in fact, is our God-given characteristic. We are told what beauty should look like but not how to embrace beauty as it already exists. No one, no human is a copy of another. We were uniquely designed that way; God's design. How many of us, as these birds would quickly seek ways to bleach and get rid of the red feathers because we looked at other pigeons and believe we were meant to look like them?
      Begin to see yourself as I see these two lovely birds, as attractive, unique awesome creatures. The truth is, without those red highlights on the breast area, they would look so ordinary, like the pigeons we see everyday. Their ' bleeding' chest actually made me view this picture several times in complete admiration. So, embrace yourself, love that unique quality; shine! Embrace your God- given beauty; there is only one  you in the world. Embrace who you are.......


Shine!