All these things I've done...and a few I might've dreamed...
I thought I might take a few moments to reflect on some things I've noticed lately. it's strange to me how easily we often override the basic sense of who we are in a vain attempt to reach some imagined state that we, or at times someone else, believe we should be at. we waste more time on trying to figure out and attain some deluded social status and in the process forget to spend time finding out who we are.
But is it any wonder that we expend so much effort trying to "keep up with the Joneses" in the society we live in? we have built up these massive pedestals that we set our "celebrities" on and then engage in an almost masochistic endeavor trying to be just like them. we secretly, sometimes openly, enjoy watching them fall from the heights we've pushed them to. we love to watch the rise and gloat as they plummet back to earth...shattered marriages...failed parental relationships....any number of substance addictions.... their lives a broken mess....much like our own....and I have my own confession to make....I'm no different....I will turn on the E! channel and watch in utter fascination as the True Hollywood story scandalizes.....and occasionally redeems... the "star." Why do I do this...? Because I'm secretly wishing for their downfall?....not really...more or less because I, like everyone else, sometimes get caught up in the hype.
The truth of the matter is this....we are all the same. Now I'm not saying we don't each have some unique qualities and gifts and talents, because we do...but when we strip ourselves down to the core of human nature...we are the same....same feelings....same emotions....same basic needs....each and every human on this planet is the same at the deepest level. Life can be tough sometimes, and even moreso when the eyes of an entire nation or even the globe are watching your every move and breath. It's no surprise then when the little vices that once only tempted in secret become the words spilling from loose lips to hungry ears waiting for the newest juicy tidbit to feed the growing obsession. And when we've had our fill and there is no longer an interest...we leave them there...bruised and broken...looking for the answers to questions that were thought to be long gone. Sadly this doesn't just happen with "celebrities"...we do this to our friends..our neighbors...our family...Why??? Because it takes the focus off of ourselves...we don't like to look at ourselves...really look...because we know what we'll find scares the hell out of us. But perhaps we need to be scared. maybe...just maybe...we might look past our intial shocking inner appearance and realize that there's more....There is so much to each and every one of us that we don't even take the time to think about. We're too busy looking at everyone else to notice the beauty we have within us.
So what have I noticed about myself?....There's good and bad....much like in you....I'm too often unmotivated...sometimes downright lazy....I can be selfish and crude....and have a tendency to let myself wander into areas I should avoid.....but I've noticed compassion too...a will to make a difference...a desire to help and to listen....I have all these things...it's what makes me who I am....and I think that's the first step....recognizing who I am and being ok with that and yet having the willingness to explore what can be done to help me improve the things that drag me down....
I have learned this in my life....and whatever you may believe about God and Faith is your right....but in my life it rings true that I have been shown so much Grace....and I believe with the very essence of my being that God loved me enough to die for me to have that Grace......and it gives me Hope that I might someday see a lot more good than bad when I do my self evaluations....but even moreso that when God looks at me that Grace has already covered me....I even had those two words tattooed around my left wrist as a reminder....Hope that I have...Grace that I've been shown...you may think that's just too easy....but why should it be hard?
Just an observation.....if you have something to add or maybe just want to have your say...leave me a comment.....
see you where the sidewalk ends....
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