Tag: Simple Blessings

I hope [Willa] still thinks butterflies are beautiful. I think they are. We shouldn’t think for a moment that just because their lives are short they shouldn’t be here…

― Susan Meissner, As Bright as Heaven

Today I stepped out of my house not feeling my best but determined to not stay in and be sick. if i was going to be sick I would distract myself from it. So out I went slowly with the sun threatening to burn me alive. It was a hot day after days of rain. As I walked I saw a really beautiful white mixed dog, lively and bouncing around good-natured. His owners were nearby also venturing out enjoying his antics. As I walked he came up behind me and I wondered why he did move ahead of me. I realized he was waiting on me to find my way around the craters of water that are suppose to be puddles before he moved ahead. I thought to myself, “what a good-natured dog”. His manners was confirmed when someone approached the spot he was about to occupy and he stopped to let him pass. All that was missing from the scene was a cool breeze and birds chirping near by.

I got onto the main road, having forgotten the dog because I was on the lookout for a taxi – why can’t you ever see one coming when you’re feeling your worst? Preoccupied with this sorry state of affairs, it took me a few extra seconds to registered a loud thud. But when I did and turned around, I saw a really small, really low car driving down menacingly on something in the middle of the road. Before I could fully register that it was my white friend, he had been viciously consumed and dragged to death beneath that small, seemingly harmless car. When the car spit him out, he was no longer white, full of life and good-natured. He was just dead. Dead with its head raised in silent appeal trying to reclaim life that had already left it. I stood in shock at the vicious attack and tears filled my eyes. What was it about this animal that for the driver, who never slowed in his advance, made its life valueless? What is that thing within someone that make it so easy to disregard something so beautiful and so harmless, and transform it into something broken,reduced to a thing to be dragged and destroyed?

And it is even sadder, is that this treatment is not just meted out to animals that for some hold little value, but to people who they feel do not matter. Live is a gift that we should treasure; the lives of others is just as precious and necessary as our own, and to value only your life and those close to you, is to say that this gift only belongs to a few and the others are just living on borrowed time. That dog brought so much laughter and joy to the persons who owned him. He brought comfort and gave them a sense of purpose. As I looked at the little boy who witnessed the murder of his dog, I mourned not only for his dog but for another removed chip of his innocence. I mourned bitterly for him having to come face to face with a harsh truth, for some not every life matters enough to care about them, to try and protect them. Too often we leave people along the wayside to pursue our goals, never caring enough to make sure that they made it to the other side. Your life matters, my life matters and we should do everything we can to make sure we never forget our duty is to help and build each other, so we can fully be present in our today.

Be mindful of your intention, Because they may be self-serving….

We operate in a world that celebrates the ideology of “I will scratch your back if you scratch mine” and no this is not ubuntu. We give because it suits us we help because we help ourselves. What can be bad in this, is that the person we give is not made better in the giving but somehow may find themselves slaves to a system they did not help create. There are many who would us to think that they are good. But we know better.

We know that those good deeds have a price and it is one too high for many to pay but we are often forced to because we have been placed at the edge of a cliff to jump and take our chances with the sharks below or to yield and live with the one above water. So many surrender because they want to survive. We need therefore, to question the intention of the person giving. How we contextualize their act of kindness based on their track record. If we take the time to properly do our research maybe we can avoid the trap of a self-serving giver. Maybe I am overly cautious or a bit of a cynic, but it’s rare to find someone who gives without conditions; it’s hard especially when we begin to lie to ourselves about our true intentions.

Especially when we giving with the intention that this good deed may someday benefit us and a favor given will be returned, we have not given unconditionally. There are those who will only give when the giving is recognized and praised; they can do nothing behind closed doors, because they are public giver depending on the adulation of the crowd. By the time they decide to give, they have forgotten about the receiver, and are looking forward to the reward. So the receiver becomes a means to an end; their end.

There are persons who will “kill you with kindest”, and many will take this too far for too long. In their minds their adversary becomes wholly bad and they, wholly good. They do not recognize that they begin to house the monster they are vanquishing from that person. There is a sense of immeasurable pleasure that many get by carrying out the quote above to the bitter end; even if the person being taught the lesson has moved on and you still hold on because your kindness has underlining bitterness and resentment that you have taken and now operate in.

There are many reasons we give and not all of them altruistic. We need to be more mindful of the reasons why we give. If we give from a place of selfishness then there is absolutely no value in that giving. If our giving largely benefits us or was always intended to benefit us then the act is compromised. If when we give to someone it is to exert control over the relationship, then that relationship is broken. It is not in the act of giving that we get blessings, but it is in the intention behind the act.

The Spirit of God breathes inspiration, while the carnal mind breeds vanity…

Fred C White

It’s very hard for many persons to be honest with themselves. Instead they pretend they are good (and nothing else), even when their actions say otherwise. They find ways to make themselves the victims; because being a victim has benefits.Others use religion as a shield to hide behind, scriptures to shamelessly revel in their belief and be divisive.We struggle to remain humble. We are all guilty of not taking the time to truly come to terms with who we are – the good and the bad. Instead there is an awkward doubling of being “authentic”, while fighting to suppress things about ourselves we do not want to be revealed. This is when we are broken.

The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life

Job 33:4

But when we take time to find peace then we can be honest about our ourselves. When we rely less on our own understanding then the Holy Spirit gives us freedom from the chaos, worry and despair that create. In essence we need to connect everyday with the Spirit of The Most High to truly remain authentic. When I trust in God and heed His words then I don’t have to worry about what is to come, the things that are to be will be and they usually bring a sense of peace and joy which can be found nowhere else. Think about the last time you were excited about something and how long that excitement lasted. Now if our excitement came from knowing that the Holy Spirit would always be there to uplift us, doors we never imagined will open. The excitement that comes with this truth will be immeasurable. This is when we begin to connect with God.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25

We can experience true joy by connect with the Holy Spirit; when we do not look to those around us to provide happiness and peace but to the true source which is the Holy Spirit. We have to strive everyday to maintain our connection with God by seeking his counsel and not that of those around us. We need to have faith in God rather than ourselves.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Then you will call on me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. you will seek me and find me when you seek me with your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13

She walked in the dark unsure of where to place her feet. She walked alone. The cold bit into her flesh and the icy cold sliced into her fragile skin. As she swayed from left to right, she recognised this could be the end. Just ahead she knew she would find the answer. She could neither see nor hear. She was lost. A million and one hands,voices and bodies pushed against her advance and threatened to pull her under. She stumbled, buckling under the pressure that she could not see and did not understand. Somehow she had just enough strength to drag herself along. Would she make it? Suddenly she saw a blinding light; she heard the horns just as it became too late. Was it too late?

What if we woke up everyday expecting the best and not the worst? Many persons are too afraid to think this way, because for them life has shown them that expecting the best all the time is a fantasy. And whether we like it or not, we live in the real world, with real problems. However, do we have to focus so heavily on all the things that could or have gone wrong? How have we contributed to our hopeless state? Many of us are unwilling to admit that we are complicit in our own situation. When we choose to focus on our problems and wallow in them we are not acknowledging that even in our difficulties God has a plan for us. We see opportunities to get out of bad situations and we are too afraid to take them, because everything else has failed so far. So we say, “why bother”. Like the girl above we do not get off the road we are on until we have a sense of direction. Instead we continue without a purpose and expect to get results.

The Small Pieces Matter

There will always be situations that threaten our happiness but we do not have to allow them to reek havoc in our lives. When you see the overcast skies, do you complain about the possible negative conditions it will bring or do you express gratitude at the experiences you will have because of the rain. Far too often we take the little things for granted. But think about the fact that those small, seemingly insignificant things end up creating the bigger picture. We don’t have to continue our aimlessly sojourn, but can find some measure of direction and insight in the word of God. What you need to do sometimes is to stop and think about what you want to seek out in your quest to live your purpose. Will you continue to walk down a dark road with a fear filled outcome or in confidence at the little blessings waiting around you to be collected and used for your good?

I am sure that we have often faced the dilemma of, “going it alone”.You may feel you have the mental or physical stamina to do any and everything under the sun.

We are sure that we can make it all by ourselves if we are patient and prepared. then as we go along the baggage we carry gets harder and harder to bear. We may stop for awhile to continue later…

Some of us become distracted and fail to continue. Others, eventually continuing, realize that the path ahead is too unfamiliar and we simply wander aimlessly trying to find the way.

We may notice that there are some persons ahead of us and some behind and some just upon us. We allow them to get farther, closer or pass us. we never utter a word until everyone is out of sight.

“No one can say I didn’t do it on my own”.At the same time by doing it alone, we get no closer to our goal; we have not made it.

Maybe this is the perfect time to decide if you really can do it by yourself, if that is necessary or even what you really want to do.

There are days when you really need someone to tell you, “it’s okay, try again tomorrow”, “it’s okay if things do not happen the way you want them to”. To celebrate great and small victories and someone who will be there when you need them. You will definitely (need someone) to help you from going over the edge!

No matter how great we are and how much we have achieved, you can’t do it all. It may take two, three, four or more but you certainly, you can’t do it with just you…