Personal Meditation no. 199

“No one’s death can set you free.”

Embrace the Within.

We live in such a violent society and that is nothing new. Violence against man starts in Genesis and moves on to this present day and into the future. Folks have some of the worst qualities that they can choose to embrace. This preoccupation with death and violence and murder and suicide and abortion and war and rioting and revolution is just the basest way that people can act. And it is everywhere.

Public schools running recruitment campaigns for soldiers with youth programs and recruiters, news coverage of the worst actions of people taking center stage, the internet posting click bait about the worst people doing the worst things, television programming recreating the horrible actions of people in prime time, and so much more. There is a never ending parade of violence and death and destruction out there in the world. It is almost as if the entertainment of society is at the maturity of an adolescent struggling to control the emotional and physical thunderstorm swirling and twisting inside it.

And most days I see a lot of parallels between adolescent behavior and the maturity of society. I see a lot of destruction and violence created by folks that can only see to the tip of their nose. I see folks that would rather kick something you dropped than stoop to help you pick it up. I see folks racing to get around in life with no real sense of what to do when they get there. I see folks fighting to be seen and loved. I see folks that are empty and broken and damaged and hurt and suffering and taking that pain out on everything and everyone around them.

And I know that there is hope on the other side of all that. I know that hurting others is never going to bring me peace. I know that being nasty and horrible is not going to bring me peace. I know that destroying something beautiful is never going to bring me peace. BUT I still see folks out there destroying the world, destroying each other, and destroying themselves. And it isn’t going to set you free. You are never going to get yourself free through violence. You are only going to enslave your spirit.

There is always a lot of talk about people dying for your freedom. Folks die far away and long ago to set you free. Their sacrifice is there to set you free. And I hate to break the news to you but no one died to set you free. You can’t outsource your freedom. Your freedom is something you have to work on personally. You have to invest in your own freedom. And every day we get to choose to enslave ourselves to the violence and destruction around us or adopt the spirit of service and joy. We get to choose. No one’s death gets you free. You have to take the responsibility to get yourself free.

No death can ever set you free BUT a resurrection can.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin

Personal Meditation no. 198

"Everyone chooses their level of involvement. We might share the same place BUT that does not mean we share the same space. Not everyone in the congregation is Christian."

Embrace the Within.

It has been a fun fourteen days and it appears, despite the media’s incessant attempts, folks are starting to come back around to finding something new to fear. And that’s natural. The flow of society is from one fear to the next. And I let them have that lifestyle.

I am not getting involved in those things because those are not the things that are of concern to me and my journey. A lot of folks label it as apathy or uncaring to not have the same concerns as the crowd. I just call it healthy. I used to be really concerned about the news and about politics and about what new fear was being piped into my story. I mean fear is the main reason for starting my journey fourteen days ago. I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to feed my family.

And that fear was a powerful motivator over the last fourteen days BUT it didn’t end with fear. The journey got me past fear and worry and to a place where I am hopeful, joyful, and optimistic about my journey. I hear about the news and I hear about the fear BUT I am untouched by its power. I used to have the smell of fear all about me. I used to live on the new talking points in the media. I used to thrive on that distraction. BUT now I have a purpose. Now, I have a solid foundation in principle.

It’s nice to not wake up feeling like shit. It’s nice to wake up and have a purpose that makes you smile. It’s nice to find freedom and peace despite the background noise. It’s nice to have a refuge against the ways of the world. And we all can build that change into our lives. Over the past fourteen days I have shown that path to get where I am. I think we all can get there if we choose to take control of our lives and stop enslaving ourselves to masters that do not serve our best interest. I think we can all decide to make a change in how we treat our body and mind. I think we can all decide to do things better. I think we all can decide to embrace the spirit within each of us that wants to live abundantly, live peacefully, live joyfully, and live free of the shackles the world wants to put on our spirit. The spirit we possess is limitless if we only allow ourselves to embrace the possibility.

The great thing and the terrible thing about life is choice. We get to choose our level of involvement in our own lives. We get to choose our level of freedom. We get to make those choices each day. We can be enslaved to our situation, our environment, our past, our friends, our government, our jobs, our world or we can choose to get ourselves free. And freedom, as I have spoken and shown over the past fourteen days, is not the easy path. Freedom takes work. We can choose to be free to be selfish and childish, however, that is only enslaving ourselves to our own worst parts. Or we can choose to be free as stewards and neighbors helping others to get free as well. I prefer to lend a hand where I can.

I hope you take some time as we move away from the past fourteen days and move into whatever fear cycle that comes down the tube to consider how you feel about your life. I hope you consider what can be from you. I hope you consider making a change if you feel so inclined. I look forward to the continuing story of my change and the journey yet to come of your change.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin