God Babble
24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Mat 23:)
In order to use a glass for a drink of water you must first clean it out. Whatever remains in the glass limits the amount of fresh water you can put in that glass.
If that glass has held any other substance such as milk or juice, every bit of the old substance must be removed or it will contaminate your fresh water. And if that substance has been around for very long, it has turned poison and will harm your health.
Each of us was born an empty vessel. Whether we are born in a jungle in darkest Africa, or in a penthouse on Madison Avenue, we are totally helpless and subject to every form of input that happens our way.
Society strives to fill every vessel with its own brand of thinking and attitudes. Society expects and demands that everyone in a particular society be just the same as everyone else in that society.
We think of a Society as a country, or at least as a large gathering of people. This is not necessarily so. For instance, your family is the first society you experience upon entering this world. And that society of parents expends a great deal of time and effort toward conditioning you to think and behave as they do. And along with this effort, your family does all in its power to prevent you from thinking and behaving as other societies that it disapproves of.
The sandbox presents our next society that tries to influence us; then to preschool; then to K-12.
In most countries, especially Third World countries, as this one once was before the Horseless Carriage and the Boob Tube, learning to be a part of one's society was a simple matter. With but few exceptions, life patterns and expectations were simple and easily followed. A child, from the moment of his or her first awareness of being human and a part of society, could easily see the road ahead of them. Girls learned to be women, housewives and mothers. Boys learned an occupation by which to support his wife and family.
Under usual circumstances a boy's choice of careers was a simple one: he either learned his father's trade, or became an apprentice; and if fortunate enough, he went off to college and learned a skill directed toward a particular career.
This is no longer the case in "Civilized" countries. There are a thousand different options bombarding a person from every direction from the moment a child opens his or her eyes for the first time. Instead of a child learning from her mother to be a homemaker, or a boy learning to be a farmer or whatever, a child is informed that they should not partake of gender roles, but "do your own thing." And, I ask you, what sort of "thing" do you suppose a small child will decide upon?
TV, movies, the news, and every other form of media cries out for full attention and complience of every segment of society in its effort to drag people toward their product and their way of thinking. Groups of all sorts called "Subcultures" try to rope unaware and undirected youth into them and indoctrinate them with their particular venom.
Institutions of learning work diligently to fill every vessel that comes its way with programs of underachievement, moral decay and illogical Logic under the title of "Modernism."
And the list goes on.
In times gone by it was customary that, in spite of the unsettled nature of the world at large, especially when wars and cold wars raged throughout the world, there was one place a person could go to find some form of stability and soul-satisfaction. They could attend their local church. And at that time, although there may have been different banners hanging over the various churches, they were basically the same, and had the same goal in mind.
Times have changed. The World has infiltrated the churches and they are just as much diluted and confused (and confusing) as is the World they are trying to attract.
When presented with one choice, choices are easy to make. When a society has one expectation of its citizenry, it takes little effort to be a part of that society. And as a functioning member of any society, peace and contentment follows.
As choices increase, stress, unrest, and uncertainty follow proportionately. A person who is undecided and not committed to a given purpose or direction will feel as if they are in the middle of the desert without food or water, and viewing a road sign with a hundred warnings and promises pointing in every direction. The chances of taking the right path to fulfillment is nil to none, and remaining where one stands is certain death.
"Empty" is a word that generates feelings of despair and fear. Empty is the last thing we want to be, and something we fear most.
But empty is the beginning of being filled.
Empty is not the problem it is imagined to be. Nor is empty that which it is feared to be. Empty is a state of readiness toward that which is to become full.
Because of the exaggerated fear of emptiness, we, each of us, strive to stay just as far removed from that state as we possibly can. We surround ourselves with what society says we should have. We become whatever society says we should be. We strive to "fit in."
Fit in? Fit into what?
Since there is no such thing as fitting in, especially in this point of history when society's mores, morals and direction is in a constant state of flux, many people grasp on to some bandwagon that flies a banner of temporal or spiritual promise. This promise might be extended from a movement, or a cult, or a church of some kind. But in each case, fulfillment is promised, as long as its adherents abide by certain expectations or rules.
And the promised fulfilment is soon in coming - and lasts until the expectations change or the humanity of the leadership of said organization becomes apparent through their facade of respectability.
When we stand as an empty vessel we are not in a lost state as we imagine, but rather we are at the vortex (turbulent cleansing) of self-discovery. Our nature tells us, as does every other source, to fill our selves as quickly as possible. It matters little with what we are to be filled, but fill and be full.
Remember the contaminants that remains from what has been within the vessel from the past.
When we are empty is when we are the most in touch with ourselves, with who we truly are. It is a time when we can be the most honest with, and about ourselves. It is a time when we feel we have nothing to lose by exploring and exposing ourselves because we seem to have lost it all anyway.
I know this state well, because I have been thrust into it often.
There is a song we used to sing at church that contains this line: "I once was lost, and now am found: was blind but now I see."
Jesus told us that as long as we think we see, we are blind, and in order to see, we must first admit we are blind (John 9:39-41; Rev 3:17).
There is a similar expression used by the secular world that says: "The more I know, the more I know that the less I know."
The moral of both of these sayings is that as long as we have an idea that we are sure of, and the more sure of that idea we are, the less able we will be to recognize the Truth when it comes our way.
Like blindness that we desire to cover up with dark glasses, "lost" is a condition we try to hide, from ourselves, and from others. But in order to become found, we must first recognize and admit our lost state.
We have been loaded with contaminants since our birth. We have had so much confusing and contradictory information poured into us that there is no way possible for us to find the Truth in any of it. In order to free ourselves from the web of lies and disillusionment we have been placed under, there are just two avenues to take (that I am aware of). The first route is to totally abandon your soul and attach your confidence in some one who claims to have all the answers. This is the route almost the entire world takes. Some will attach themselves to a "Star," such as a movie or sports star, or they may follow the stars in a horoscope. Other people will follow the dictates of some cult, or church, or TV evangelist. Whatever their choice, they dogmatically affirm every word they are told, not allowing themselves to think a thought beyond what they are told. This gives them a form of peace that, although false and tenuous and only successful until their "Star" falls (consider Jim Jones and Jim Bakker), satisfies them for the moment.
The other direction that is possible take is to, not fill onself with more garbage, but to continue on the road to honest self-discovery, and completely empty out our vessel of every contaminated doctrine, adage, teaching and experience we have had dumped in us. Then, once this cleansing process has been completed, we can then fill our vessel with who we are, and not what others say and demand that we be.
Very few people are able to perform this cleansing process because it goes contrary to our nature, and it conflicts with all we have been taught throughout our life. But unless we follow through with the direction we have been blessed with, we will never find our self, nor will we feel complete and with purpose.
Mankind is not the only of God's creation to need the sterilization process applied. Nature uses a similar process with which to cleanse itself and begin afresh. Every year we have seasons during which everything dies, then comes a cleansing rain, and from this fresh, clean earth new growth springs forth.
Every so often nature cleanses the earth even farther, scrubbing behind the ears so-to-speak with a flood, or a forest fire that forces itself to begin afresh.
We, you and I, have these same catastrophic experiences that rid us of all our gathered junk and imitation trophies. For our physical cleansing we might experience a fire, flood, or a stock market crash. Whatever might be our disaster, it has afforded us a new beginning.
Being human, ego driven, and selfish - instead of starting afresh with new ideas, directions and purposes: we worry, fret and grow angry because of our circumstances, and make every effort possible to replace every stick of trash that had been "robbed" from us. Usually this process puts us even farther into debt than we had been as we fill life's dumpster using our overinflated credit card. The result: rather than having been cleansed and renewed, we are now more contaminated, stressed, and less content, than before the cleansing.
Life is always at a beginning stage, at least it should be.
It is easy to become lost in life. Since we are told that we must be like everyone else in the society in which we find ourself, we very often experience a condition known as "schizophrenia." In olden days life was simple, and we knew who we were. And if in some way we were different than the norm, then this difference was obvious, therefore easy to accept by others, and by ourselves.
In this world of masks and playacting, everyone trying to be just like someone who is themself acting a part, discovering who we are becomes an almost impossible task. Should we try to express our doubts and our lack of self-perception to others, we either receive a blank stare, or we are informed that we worry too much. All that is important is that we pretend to be some body, and that we seek to please our self in whatever way we can.
Not everyone is content to become lost in this muddled world of Halloween masks. There are those who recognize that there is something more to life then making it through one more day.These are the lucky ones. Although life is much harder for them than for the masses of lemmings herding to the cliffs of the sea, they are the ones who impact the world and those around them. It is the different, the weird, the ones who refuse to be influenced by the crowd that have moved this world forward, the ones who have been preserved in our history books. If our forefathers had been obedient to society, or wished to be seen as the same as the accepted norm, then we would not have the electric light, the automobile, the airplane, or even this country of ours. It was the go-it-aloners and the risk takers who have made life livable for us all.
Not everyone has it in them to be an Abe Lincoln or a Benjamin Franklin. Some of us merely find that we are a square peg in a round world. I, myself am certainly one of those square pegs.
When I tried to live a normal life (and I certainly tried), I found that nothing seemed to work out for me the way it should. There were many times I wondered why I was alive, what I should do, and what it was that is so different about me. I have two eyes, one nose, and the standard number of feet and hands. I am a giving person, ever ready to help or lend an ear. As far as I can see, I am an all around good fellow. And this I have been all my life. Yet, no matter how hard I tried, I just never seemed to fit in.
Although I have said this elsewhere in more detail, I will summerize a bit of my life here for this study.
As a child I was not wanted. My family, although poor, was by all appearances a normal family. But there was something about me that caused my parents (as well as the rest of my immediate family) to discount me. This began when I was in diapers. I knew I was different, and in the way, and unwanted. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't live up to what was expected of me, whatever that might have been.
Although I tried many times, I never had a friend. I had a few vague acquaintances, but never a friend. (I might add here that I have been single all my life, having rarely dated.)
I was thirty years old before any form of reason for living came into my life. And the reason I was accepted and even respected in some ways, was not because I found my niche into which I fit society; but instead it was my difference that caused me much happiness and fulfilment.
From that point on, regardless of what situation I was in, I found contentment and purpose - as long as I kept in mind my differences, and made use of them.
Even to this day, it is my differences that people appreciate about me, and that I appreciate about myself. When I try to be "normal," I am miserable, and no one is able to benefit from my unique qualities.
As a child I used to imagine that I was someone else. I believed that my dreams were real, and my life was all a dream. I did not want to accept that life as I was living it could possibly be real.
I wanted to believe I was adopted. This family who avoided me (they never abused me), who ignored me, I desperately needed to hear them say I was not truly a part of. Much to my disappointment, those words never were spoken.
I was suicidal. From the age of twelve until I was about twenty or so, I very seriously considered driving off a cliff or in some other way ending my torment. The only reason I never carried though with any such intent was because I was a coward, which added to my self-debasement.
Life turned around for me. Life is full and exciting. If I could live forever, I would chose to do so. Day by day life offers me new challenges and new opportunities for growth.
What made the difference? What caused a suicidal kid to become a happy and energetic old man? Is there a key to this mystery?
Yes, there is. Perhaps you might think it was my becoming a Christian that changed my life. You would be wrong if you thought so. I was baptized when I was 12. Is God an important element in my life? Absolutely. And as far as I am concerned, life would not have nearly the fulness nor the purpose it has without Him. But my Spiritual life didn't really begin until two years ago. And my efforts, that I consider my job given to me by God: that is speaking out against "God Babble" is also a recent occurrence.
I believe God has been orchestrating my life, certainly without my awareness, but regardless of this belief, my contentment and purpose for living seems to have been a separate item.
The change in my life began nearly 40 years ago. And it was 40 years ago that I released my effforts to live a "normal" life, and began just living a life as God had given it to me. Of course the process of discovering who I am was slow and almost imperceptible in its transition. I could only tell it had happened. Except for some rare and drastic occurrences, the only way I could tell changes had taken place was when I looked back on them. And that is still the case today. It seems to me that I have always been as I am, and that I haven't grown at all. But when I look back. I can see the mega miles I have traveled, and the great changes I have made.
My advise to anyone desiring to find themself (should I be asked) is to make the best of each and every day; and don't worry if every direction you take runs into a dead end. I have found that there are two things to keep in mind. The first is that we get nowhere if we do not move. And the second is that it is just important to know what is not as it is to know what is so. Without knowing the negatives, we can not be certain the positives are what we should be considering, or just some more opinions tossed at us from the unknowing.
And my advise for those who do not feel lost: stay buried in the World until you do.
As for my present status, I am creeping up on 70, an age when people are expected to be hobbling on a cane while tending a small garden, that is when they aren't in their rocking chair knitting doilies or reminiscing with neighbors about the "Good Old Days."
I ride a bicycle hard for 15 to 50 miles a day, work out with weights for a half hour, and do stomach crunches and limbering exercise on a daily basis. On my 70th birthday or thereabouts I intend to ride 100 miles in one day. I practice at least one of my musical instruments (that I didn't learn to play until I was 65) at least a half hour a day if at all possible. And I spend from 8 to 10 hours a day either writing, or researching for these blogs and websites.
I have more energy, drive, joy and purpose in my "Old Age" than I had in my 20's.
Does this sound like I am bragging? Of course it does. Now, let me put my bragging into its proper perspective.
Many years ago I met a man who was 72 years old. A year later I received a newspaper clipping with his picture and an article that told of his riding 200 miles in one day. I recently looked him up on the web. He is over a hundred and still winning uphill bicycle races against 90 year old's.
I met a man on the beach a couple years ago as he was taking pictures of the ocean. As we walked, I noticed he was holding his side and limping a little. I asked about his ailments and was informed that he had always wanted to go sky diving, and did so on his 90th birthday and he fell a little wrong. As for his limp, his son (probably about my age) was running in a triathlon. As this 90 year old ran along side his son, he slipped and hurt his hip. These are but a very few of the stories about "Over The Hill" people who are still climbing that hill they are supposedly over.
Life ends when you give it up. And it begins when you decide to start living.
There have been many times during my life when I have had the bridge I was walking over crumble into the ravine, spilling me with it into the unknown. My life has taken many twists and turns, leading me onto roads that are beyond my understanding, and certainly far afield of my desired direction. But although I resisted each change, each cleansing process, I learned and grew from each and every one of them. At the time of these life tribulations I was in despair, even suicidal on occasion. But one way or another I have managed to muddle through those "Valleys of Trouble" and come out the other side one step more mature and confident than when I entered.
I think of this maturing process as a training ground, a Basic Training camp the soldiers must go through. Each of us have these strengthening trials during our life. But almost all of us hide from them, refuse to enter them, and feel we are being mistreated by life when we are confronted with them.
A soldier in training: the harder he hits an obstacle courses and the farther he marches, the stronger and more confident soldier he will become. A student who studies hard and tries to learn more than is required of her is going to be that much more prepared for her chosen career. A boxer who hires the toughest and most capable training partner is going to have his lights knocked out a few times, but he will become a more proficient boxer because of the beating he takes.
The soldier who plays sick during maneuvers; the student who cheats his way through school; the boxer who hires a pansy for a sparing partner: are all going to find their avoidance of life's training disastrous when their times of trial comes upon them.
There are two ways in which to live this life we have been given. The first is the route most of us take, and are taught to take. We seek to coast through life, merely survive from day to day providing whatever pleasure that day might afford us. I have no doubt you have seen such people in your time: perhaps when you look into a mirror.
This first way is a lonely, stressful and despairing way to await the Grim Reaper. It is also a life difficult to justify regardless of your beliefs. If you have no religion but Hedonism, then when you have set this mortal tabernacle aside there will be much rejoicing as others with similar goals as you find they now have that much more with which to satisfy their own lusts.
If you believe in reincarnation, then when you awaken from your period of rest and find yourself in another body, you might just discover your head in a milking stall eating mash and alfalfa. And if you are a Christian, as you stand before that Great White Throne, it might be a good idea to have a suitcase full of sunburn lotion by your side.
The second way that a person can live this life, is to attack it. Make every day count. Learn all you can about yourself and others. You have seen people who welcome each day with a smile and a hallelujah. All they may be doing is pushing grocery carts around at the local market, or digging ditches for sewer pipes. But whatever has been set before them, they perform the task with a fervor that seems unrealistic to those who witness the event.
We have many choices that we must (although most avoid them) make each day. One of those choices is our attitude with which we approach the new day and each situation that confronts us. If at the end of the day, all we can say for it is that it is one more day behind us, and one day closer to our weekend: then it is a day that has been literally thrown away. On the other hand, if it has been a day that can be looked upon as a productive time where you have added to this world in some way, whether it be the lawn mowed, or a smile of a stranger or having lent an ear to the downhearted: then it has been one more day added to your life.
You can either survive each day as if it were a living death.
Or you can decide to live life to its fullest until it has to be surrendered.
Tumbleweed
Notice:
Please keep in mind that I am no psychologist. I don't claim to have any answers. All I am doing here or on any other of my web pages is express my uneducated opinion on a matter, and telling of my own experiences regarding that matter. Should you decide to accept anything I have said as a fact of life, then you must claim that decision as your own, and thereby take full responsibility for it. And, as you hopefully have seen from the above article, taking responsibility for one's life is the heart of what I am trying to persuade the world to do.
Although no advise was sought from me, I hope this helps.
Cogito ergo sum
( I think, therefore I am)
René Descartes (1596-1650)
