SOMEONE ELSE'S TRUTH

How do we, as human beings ever learn anything? Of course there are many different ways for one to learn something new. But most of us learn from what another person tells us. As a child we are taught by our parents or other caretakers until we reach that point in maturity where we can learn from our own experiences. Here is what I consider a must for any of us who are truly seeking our own answers. And that must is that we need to become very aware that what others teach us is really only what they conceive as truth. And just because they say it is true doesn't necessarily make it true for us. Again, there are many truths that will stand the test of time. An example--Your parents teach you to not walk into the street while cars are coming toward you. You know what happens if you do, and that is a fact that will never change. But the truths I wish to talk about today are those truths that one accepts as their guideline to living a good life. Here is where it gets real tricky trying to decide if another's truth is going to be the same for you. An example--your parents belong to a religious sect that has it own set of guidelines to follow. The parents are convinced that this is the right way to live and the right way to go in finding your spiritual path to enlightenment. So naturally, wanting what they believe is the best for you, they teach you their truth and expect you to follow in their footsteps. This can and has worked for many people throughout the years. But there are many cases when one just doesn't feel that the path their parents have chosen for them is the right one. So they rebel against that particular teaching and go off in search for their own path. Some parents accept that and encourage their children to discover for themselves their own way of doing things. But oft times the parents are heartsick over the rebellion and just can't come to terms with it. So in too many cases the child and the parent go their separate ways and can never fully comprehend what went wrong. The one point I am trying to make today is that I feel one must be careful before accepting something as "true" just because someone else says it is. Any time one reads another's writings they should be very aware that the author is only sharing his truths. And this does not necessarily make it true for you or for anyone else. Everything you read, everything you hear is only that persons truth. It can be very hard for one to accept that all he has been taught by others is not what they should adhere to. And in trying to learn one's truth can definitely take many turns along the way. I believe we should  strive to learn to think for ourselves even if this means we have to first forget what we have been told. And that in itself can cause trouble for us in our relationships with family and others. I'm sure most parents have only good intentions in teaching their offspring to accept what they say. But I sure don't think they should think any less of their kids when they do explore other avenues in their personal search for answers to life's questions. But in a lot of cases the parent cannot accept that they may be wrong and then blame themselves for their kids not believing in the same way. One thing I have noticed in this life is how someone who depends on another's interpretation for finding truth is this. When they find a path they think is the right one for them they then surround themselves with like-minded folks as they continue to search. This is all well and good but I have oft times seen someone get so infatuated with their group of people they seem to quit thinking that they may still be not on the path that will lead them to enlightenment. An example, someone searching for spiritual growth finds a church or denomination that they feel is the right one. And at that moment they think they have found the answers and then they stop thinking for themselves and just listen to what the others say is true. That is also how some cults became the sham they were. What I am saying is I feel one should keep on with an open mind even after they have supposedly found the truth. And instead of looking down on the ones that don't agree with them they should accept that even though they feel secure in their beliefs, that there is a chance that what they now feel so good about could one day change. Personally, I don't think any of us will reach our full potential until the day or night we draw our last breath. Teaching and learning is something all  of us do every moment.  Here's hoping we will continue our search with an open mind. Be good to yourself and even better to others. And may we all become a little less judgmental and more accepting of others whose beliefs may be different. I leave all of you with thoughts of perfect love, perfect peace, and perfect oneness.

GRATITUDE

I truly believe that being grateful for all the blessings in our lives is one of the most important things we can learn to be. A person who is truly grateful for the "small" things in life will quickly discover that Life will then bestow many of the "larger" blessings to them because they have shown gratefulness to the "Source" which supplies all things to us. I have found that it is quite easy to be grateful for those things we label as good. But at the same time it can be very difficult to express gratitude for those things that we label as bad. It does seem to be a paradox in that the things we label as bad, can in reality, be the greatest blessing we could receive at the time. And vice versa in that the good things we receive can actually be one of the worst things that could have happened to us. An example of this from my own personal experience is an event that many of us have experienced at one time or another. Years ago I was deeply in love with a woman and thought that we would always be together. When she decided to leave me for reasons that were valid, even though I didn't quite understand at the time, I thought that was the most horrible thing that could have happened to me. But after a few years of healing I was then led to find my soul mate and we have now been married for almost 20 years. So what I labeled as bad actually turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. And that is just one example of how oft times are amiss when we are too quick to label something as either good or bad. Going back to the time when I felt my life was ruined and I could not seem to get past the hurt I can now remember that I was anything but grateful for the event that had taken me by surprise. I am quite sure I felt every emotion except gratitude! But now of course as I look back at the entire episode, I see clearly that I should have been grateful from the start. That time period in my life was one were I was able to grow spiritually by leaps and bounds. I do admit that even now there are times when "bad" things happen and I quickly revert back to my "old ways" and feel everything except gratitude. But thankfully I now have learned to step back, take some time to really think, and can then realize that whatever is happening is something that I should immediately be thankful for. It is not always easy to do this but it is well worth it. At least that is the way I now feel about things. Show me someone who is thankful for all the small gifts of life and I will show you one who is destined for greater things. I truly believe that. So today my hope is that all of you find yourselves being grateful for everything in your life as it is. But if you are facing some difficult event or occurrence and cannot find a way to show gratitude yet, please be strong and have faith that your highest good is being worked out perfectly even though you may not yet be able to see it. May all of us quickly learn to not only be grateful for the good things that occur for us but also be grateful for the good things that happen to the entire human family. The paradox is a simple one yet oft times totally misunderstood. And that is this: All things are good, all things are bad, and all things will lead us to the path that leads back to ourselves. May your light shine brightly and may your days and nights be filled with wonder, with love, with joy, and with peace!

SHARING YOUR GIFTS

Most folks think of a gift as some kind of material assets being shared with another. I have even talked with some who have declared that they have nothing to give another as a gift. And to that I say horse feathers! All of us have plenty of gifts that we can share if we but take a moment to realize that our lives are full of gifts. Gifts that are given to us by the Universe with no strings attached. But the Universe, in It's infinite wisdom, will stop giving us those gifts unless we share them with others. I was looking at a book this evening titled The Art of Living by Wilferd A. Peterson and would like to share with you the following paragraphs from this work. I quote: In gratitude for God's gift of life to us we should share that gift with others. The art of giving encompasses many areas. It is an outgoing, overflowing way of life.
Basically we give what we are. "The thoughts you think," wrote Maeterlinck, "will irradiate you as though you are a transparent vase."
The gift of things are never as precious as the gifts of thought.
 Emerson said it well: "Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only true gift is a portion of thyself."
We give of ourselves when we give gifts of the heart; love, kindness, joy, understanding, sympathy, tolerance, forgiveness.....
We give of ourselves when we give gifts of the mind: ideas, dreams, purposes, ideals, principles,, plans, inventions, projects, poetry.......
We give of ourselves when we give gifts of the spirit: prayer, vision, beauty, aspiration, peace, faith...
We give of ourselves when we give the gifts of time; when we are minute builders of more abundant living for others......
We give of ourselves when we give the gift of words; encouragement, inspiration, guidance,......
We should give of ourselves with the radiant warmth of sunshine and the glow of an open fire.
We should give our community a good man(woman).
We should give our home a devoted husband(wife) and father(mother)
We should give our country a loyal citizen.
We should give our world a lift toward that one far-off divine event toward which all creation moves.
 The finest gift a man can give to his age and time is the gift of a constructive and creative life.

Personally I feel we all should strive to be the very best human being we possibly can. In this world of illusion and misunderstanding I truly believe that by realizing we are all in essence pure Divine love and that we are all connected to one another by this Divine Love that this is when our search for enlightenment has at last reached that One Path that leads us all back to the ONE. I would hope that each of you have already discovered all the gifts that you possess and that you are sharing them with all of us daily. May your light always shine brightly! Do a good deed today so you can be a little more free tomorrow!

DEATH AS A NEW BEGINNING

I am sure that lots if not most of us humans view death as an ending of something and surely not a start of something new. There are so many teachings as to what becomes of us at the point of "death" when the human body no longer functions. I am not one who professes to know for sure where we go, if anywhere at all. I do have my personal beliefs which are true for me only! So with that being said I would just like to share with you a paragraph from The Urantia Book which states the following:

Love of adventure, curiosity, and dread of monotony---these traits inherent in evolving human nature---were not put there just to aggravate and annoy you during your short sojourn on earth, but rather to suggest to you that death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery.

My wish is that each of you will just take a moment while on this earthly path to do something nice for someone and to express the Divine Love which resides in you right now. May your path be filled today with lots of love, peace, beauty, and joy.