What Good Is It

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
~Mark 8:36

Where to begin? We all have stories and struggles as well as triumphs and they are all uniquely our own. Our experiences can be similar but make no mistake no two are exactly the same. Don’t get me wrong we can be empathetic with one another because our emotions have a common denominator, we are human beings created by God and with purpose. Even those individuals that we do not feel or experience a commonality with, we can and should be sympathetic towards their struggles. I am finding that there are so many struggles around me and even if I choose to dismiss them, that does not make them go away. I am learning that I have the power to choose, choose to not get so tied up in knots over things that are out of my control. I may have concerns and even then I can choose whether or not those concerns control me or guide me. Complaining, ranting and raving serves no purpose except to keep me miserable and fighting a battle that I sincerely have no claims to except my personal opinions. If a particular issues bothers me to the point of controlling me and/or separates me from others serves no one. Passions and convictions absolutely have a place in our society and our world and respect should be absolutes, acceptance is not a guaranteed; however, it is fabulously appreciated when extended. There is space for agreeing to disagree and there’s even more room for compromises. Democracy and diplomacy. My fears are that we have not and are not learning from history and the lessons and of horrific outcomes of actions and inactions. I often find it relatively easy to imagine myself in someone else’s place or situation but to actually be their specific circumstances, this serves to me more of a challenge. Why you might be asking…my reactions or recourse is drawn from my own experiences, and although they are and can be similar they are not an exact duplicate of emotions and in some cases are not even comparable to the other persons experiences. We have all said to someone, “I know exactly what you mean!” we probably did it today! I don’t say this pointing fingers, we are all human and we are all predisposed with at least one trait, selfishness. Some people handle this better than others and some feed on it more than others. At times, it seems we have a tendency to see the world and the people around us through our own limited narrow view, as limiting as a child’s viewfinder. We are constantly looking at the same images and are conditioned to see “our truth” and that can be as misguided as fools gold. It’s shiny and gold but holds no value. I once had someone very dear to me tell me that just because someone tells you something is true, does not make it so. The lesson I learned was that we must find some truths on our own and not just take someone else’s words for it. Another great lesson I learned was from a coach while I was as in college and that is this, “practice does not make one perfect.” “Only perfect practice makes one perfect.” If you practiced shooting free throws in front of the designed line and make all the baskets but in the game when you must stand behind the line and always miss, what have you gained? The best lesson learned here is this; there are always rules that must be followed. The reality that I am mind-fully trying to grasp is that not everyone is going to like me, not everyone is going to share my beliefs, not everyone is going to share my political views, not everyone is going to share my economic opinions…and it’s ok. I have several people in my life that I want to like me, respect me and appreciate me but there’s only one that is most valuable. God because all that I am is because of Him, I am not worthy of anything but Jesus loved me so much He died for me. Perspective note to self…this world is temporary, my permanent home is in Heaven with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.
~Blessings and Peace~

Mindful quotes:
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” ~These words have also been credited to Alice Roosevelt Longworth who was the daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt and a long-time Washington socialite known for adroit remarks.