my thoughts on..........being Chirst-like

I recently had a "discussion" with someone on facebook regarding the interpretation of a bible verse. My friend had quoted Ecclesiastes 10:2 - "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, and the heart of the fool to the left." He then proceeded to relate the verse to liberals and conservatives, concluding that the left-leaning liberals are, indeed, fools.

Having known this person for several years, I know he considers himself to be a Christian. However, if the definition of "christian" is - "to be Christ-like," I ask, how Christ-like is this attitude of superiority? What exactly is Christ-like about categorizing a huge segment of the population as fools, simply because you don't agree with their political views? Perhaps it is their lifestyle, or their culture that you find offensive, or the way they look. When did it become acceptable, for those of us who call ourselves Christian, to not only allow, but actually promote disrespect, slander, dishonesty, and even cruelty to others?

The scriptures were written to fill our needs, not fit them according to our interpretations.

And those are my thoughts on that.

my thought for today........

We have control over only 3 things in our lives:

- - The things we choose to think about

-- The way we choose to see the world around us

-- The things we choose to do in our lives

my thought for today

The way we live our lives is the way we live our lives.
Annie Dillard

my thoughts on..........pain

"No pain, no gain" is a sentiment we typically associate with physical activity. I wonder if it would not be just as aptly applied to the mental aspects of our lives. I have experienced very good times in my life, and I have had very bad times in my life. From which did I learn the greatest lessons? Without a doubt, it was during the "bad" times. Even knowing this, however, it is always difficult for me to recognize the lessons while in the midst of the pain. Just as I complain about the painful effects of exercise, even though I know it is good for me, I admit that I find it difficult to acknowledge the benefits of any experience that causes me pain, as I am actually experiencing that pain. But - just as a healthy body is the payoff for exercising, a healthy mental perspective can be the result of lessons learned from the trials of our lives. We only have to allow ourselves to learn from the experience, and then to move forward.

Otherwise, we just stay stuck in the pain.

And those are my thoughts on that.

my thought for today

Make your vision a mission.

continuing my thoughts on .......... goal setting

As strongly as I have come to believe that setting goals can sometimes limit my growth, I have just as strongly come to believe that having a clear vision of the life I want, is the key to unlimited growth. The operative word here being - clear. If I am not clear about the kind of life I want to live, I am going to be indecisive, unsure, and much more likely to allow other people and events to influence the direction of my life.

Jim Rohn (see a link to his website below) encourages us to ask ourselves these questions:

1. Who do I want to be?

2. What do I want to do?

3. What do I want to have?

4. What do I want to see?

5. Where do I want to go?

6. Who do I want to share it with?

I know it is not enough to simply ask myself these questions, and then push them to the back of my mind. It is not enough to think about what I would "like" the answers to be, and then push those answers to the back of my mind. It is not enough to tell myself I will ask myself these questions later - when I get my life on track and can think about the future. None of those are acceptable, if I am to live the life I want to live. Because - my life is NOW! It won't wait until I have more time. It won't stand still until I have more courage. It won't stop because I don't like the direction it's going. My life will keep going, until the end, whether I participate in it or not.

And those are my final thoughts on that.

my thoughts on.............goal setting

For years I was the ultimate goal setter. I had a one year plan, five year, ten year, and even a 20 year plan for my life. Over time, as my life evolved, my desires changed. Goals were modified and time lines were adjusted. But regardless of what was going on in my life, there were goals - things to do, places to go. Until finally one day, I realized my goals were not directing my life, my life was dictating my goals. Whenever something unforeseen would happen to change the direction of my life, I would adjust my goals to fit the new direction. After years of playing this leap frog game, I realized it had been a useless exercise.

That is not to say I didn't accomplish anything with my life. And - some of the things I accomplished were those one year, five year, & ten year goals. But I can honestly say, the greatest achievements in my life did not begin as preconceived goals, but rather as a clear, single thought in my mind. A thought that simply appeared. Without solicitation, without struggle. A thought that was at once idea, plan, result.

So - if not through long term goal setting, how do we stay focused? What do we need to do to provoke those thoughts that become the reality of our focus? We need to think more in terms of a vision for our lives. "Vision is the part of our lives that encompasses pure possibilities," Deepak Chopra. We can (and probably should) set short term goals to help us reach our vision. But setting long term goals can actually be restricting, and may even prevent us from realizing our vision. The key is to always be "seeing" one's vision without missing the beauty of the path along the way.

And those are my thoughts that.

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The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.