Sunday, July 8, 2018

Danger: High Explosives




C.S. Lewis knew a woman who claimed to have seen a ghost.  Despite this, she did not believe in an afterlife.  Lewis said this just proves the point that seeing is not believing.  Many people believe that seeing is believing, that what you see is what you get.  We are going to blow that idea up right. . .now.  BOOM!  Are you ok?  Dust yourself off, and let’s proceed.
The Talmud tells us, “We do not see things the way they are; we see them the way we are.”[i]  In other words, our perception determines how we see the world and our place in it.  Seeing is not believing.  Believing is seeing.
Prentice Mulford writes that thoughts are things, and James Allen writes that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (King Solomon should actually get credit for the quote.  James Allen stole it from Solomon, and I am stealing it back).  What we think about, we bring about, so how we see the world and our place in it determines how we live.
I can remember going to visit my grandparents in Oklahoma during the summers when I was growing up.  They would greet me with a hug and then always say something like, “My, how big you are getting.  You have changed so much!”  I knew what they meant, but I soon realized that what they meant and what they said were not the same (seems like that goes on a lot in our world). 
Many believe that people change and that in order to be great one must change.  We are going to blow that idea up right. . .now.  BOOM!  Are you ok?  I promise that’s the last bombshell, for now.  Let’s keep going.
Did you know that you already possess everything you need within you to live the transformed life of your Dream?  Seriously, it’s true.  You don’t have to change.  You must simply become more of who you truly are.  Every one of us faces this choice:  Do I become more and more who people say I am, or do I become more and more who I truly am?  I want you to choose the second option.  You definitely need to change, but what you may have to change is your thinking.  Change the way you think, and you become more of who you truly are.  But, it is going to take work, and it will be a struggle at times.
I don’t want to burst your bubble or anything, but you need to know:  You are not special.  If it’s any consolation, I am not special either.  However, every one of us is significant, and that significance is what this book is all about!  We are meant to bring our significance to this world we inhabit.
Sign-ificant.  What does a sign do?  It points to something else, something greater than the sign itself.  An “exit” sign on the freeway points to your destination.  A billboard sign by the road points to an idea or product that will (hopefully) make a positive impact on your life.  You are the sign in significance.  When you live your Dream, your transformed life, you point to something greater than just you.  You are part of something greater, and this is a key to fulfillment.
So, first, believing is seeing, and secondly, everyone is significant.



[i] Talmud Berakhot, 55b.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home