Contentment with Godliness is Great Gain

WHEN THE WORLD HAS THE WAY, WAR HORSES ARE RETIRED TO TILL THE FIELDS.

What if the whole planet walked in alignment with God? Perhaps, nations would turn their weapons into farming tools. There would be no one wanting to take what belongs to others.  Everyone would be willing to do their part and share what they have. Maybe it would be like the first century church. The members shared their wealth with each other.  (see Acts of the Apostles)

No one would feel the need to force other people to conform to their image of how life is supposed to be. That’s exactly what gives birth to wars, desires, wants, lusts, perceived needs and inequalities.

WHEN THE WORLD LACKS THE WAY, WAR HORSES ARE BRED IN THE COUNTRYSIDES.

Perhaps Jesus said it best, “The love of money (power, control over others, resources and circumstances) is the root of all evil.” It is this greed that causes nations’ leaders to invade other nations. Sometimes, greed leads to police states. Because some leaders have the ingrained belief that they need to be in control, to exalt themselves above the Way and manage to flow of the universe.

This loss of the Way happens on a global scale, but it also happens on a personal scale. In fact, if it didn’t happen on a personal scale first, it would never occur on a global scale. Everyone would follow Solomon’s advice in Proverbs, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

If you trust in the Lord with all your heart, your desires are not going to go against the Way.

THERE IS NO GREATER LOSS THAN LOSING THE TAO (the Way)….

In the New Testament those who have lost the way are referred to as “the lost,” which means they’ve gotten out of alignment with God’s will, the Way, and are living their lives in a state of resistance to it.

Jesus said, “I am the Way…” he was always in alignment with his Father’s will. Therefore, he was always walking in the way. The rest of us, not so much. The book of Romans says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Put into modern day English, “All of us get out of alignment with God’s will at times. We all err. We all get off the path.”

There is ONLY ONE STEP BACK

Maybe we get off for a second, maybe an hour, or a day or a week or a year or five years or even eighty-five years, but as soon as we realize we have strayed from the Way, it only takes a split second to get back to the Way.

Just as the father in the parable of the prodigal son saw him coming a long way off and ran to meet him, the second you realize you’re off your path and determine in your heart to get back on it, all the help of Heaven comes to meet you.

…AND THERE IS NO GREATER CURSE (avenue of destruction) THAN COVETOUSNESS.

I find these words to echo other words of wisdom, words God once wrote on the tablets of stone that Moses carried down from a mountain.

“Thou shalt not covet (the Hebrew word is chamad which means to desire, want, long for, take pleasure in, delight in, or find delectable) thy neighbor’s (another person’s) wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox (livestock), nor his ass (donkey), nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s (that legally belongs to or is attached to another person.)

After all these years, I finally understand why God said this to the Israelites. God wanted them to be free from the bondage of constantly striving to get more in this life. Always wanting what someone else has is a curse upon a person’s life in that traps you.

THERE IS NO GREATER TRAGEDY THAN DISCONTENTMENT.

I remember reading that old poem, “Two men looked out of prison bars, one saw mud. The other saw stars.”

I imagine both men went to bed in the same cell that night. One went to bed joyous that even though he was in prison, he had been given the gift of a window with which to see the stars and he was happy that he had been given the gift of the stars themselves. He may have been physically behind bars but when he stared at the sky, his spirit soared.

The other man went to bed angry and bitter because he had been cursed with a window out of which he could only see mud. He was both physically and mentally imprisoned. What made the difference? The way each chose to see.

There is no outside circumstance that can bring lasting contentment. No human relationship can fulfill the missing pieces in a person’s life. No amount of money can give you enough freedom to escape your fears of mortality. The curse of discontentment is that it is a bottomless pit that causes you to spend your whole life in pursuit of an elusive state of idealized perfection.

CONTENTMENT WITH GODLINESS

I’ve read that contentment with Godliness is great gain.

Well, what is Godliness anyway? I have come to believe that Godliness means choosing to do things God’s way.

And what is contentment? Does it mean to sit down and do nothing? No. It means that you let go of the need to control people’s choices, outcomes, and events and you learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit or as some people say, divine inspiration.

Following this divine inspiration may lead you down a career path or to an invention. It may lead to an investment or a relationship. Perhaps, it will lead you on a quest or the adventure of a lifetime. The possibilities are as endless as the universe itself.

WHERE THE WAY NEVER LEADS

However, the Way will NEVER lead you contrary to God’s nature. It will never lead you to trick, manipulate, coerce, lie, steal, cheat or commit violence. Nor will it lead you to do things for the purpose of impressing others or proving yourself smarter or more important than them. Why? Because these things are contrary to the Way.

Wayne Dyer says in his book, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life, that the experience of inner peace is the true gauge of accomplishment. I am learning to follow the gentle, internal nudging of the Spirit, of the Way. This nudge, peaceful inclination, is to act on inspired impulses rather than societal coercion or familial guilt-tripping. I’m allowing spiritual discernment to guide me. I am learning to be still inside, as Isaiah said, “To wait upon the Lord,” and to see things from an eagle’s eye viewpoint. An eagle sees a bigger, more objective picture. I want to make every decision, for the rest of my life, looking through the eyes of eternity.

THE WORST OF FAULTS IS WANTING MORE–ALWAYS. 

Hear the parable of the Mexican Fisherman. 

Fishermen

Fishermen going about their day.

“An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tunas. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

“Only a little while,” the Mexican replied.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American asked.

“I got enough to support my family’s immediate needs,” the Mexican replied.

“But what do you do with the rest of your time?” the American asked.

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”

“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…

–CONTENTMENT ALONE IS ENOUGH.

Just Passing Through

I’m just visiting this place.

As the Apostle Paul once said, “Be content with such things as you have.” and as Lao Tzu said, “The bliss of all eternity can be found in your contentment.”

As I sit here this morning, I look around me. There’s a kitten curled up on a patio chair.  Flowers bloom beside the porch and a breeze stirs the walnut trees. The sky above is rich and blue with fluffy white clouds and there are birds singing, unaware of the world of man. I get to feel the warm sun on my face and smell the leftover scent of a skunk that wandered thru here last night. It’s all transitory.

I’m like that skunk, just passing thru, experiencing the nuances of this physical world, but I am a spirit being–content to follow my heavenly GPS and experience the life it leads me to. I pray, “Father, help me to remember that the greatest joy is found in being content, content to walk in the Way.”

 

Color an Ocean of Peace

“Art Teacher,” Bobby calls out, “Jimmy just hit me and said my picture is ugly.”

“Jimmy, why did you hit Bobby?” I ask.

“Because” Jimmy says, “he’s not coloring the ocean blue. The ocean is supposed to be blue. I told him to color his water blue and he won’t listen.”

“So, you got mad?” I say.

“Yes.”

“And you hit him to make him do what you wanted him to do?”

“No, it wasn’t like that. He’s not doing it RIGHT. The ocean is supposed to be blue.”

“So, Bobby is coloring his picture of his world differently than you think the world is supposed to look?” I say, “And you don’t like the way he sees the world because it doesn’t match the way you see it, so, you got mad at him and tried to make him do it the way you think it needs to be done. You hurt Bobby because you wanted him to make his world your way? Is that what happened?”

“Ugh,” Jimmy says, “Yes, I got mad because he ain’t doing right. And he won’t listen to me when I try to tell him the right way to do it.”

“And how is that hurting you?” the teacher asks.

“But it’s supposed to be blue!” Jimmy is clearly upset that anyone could see the ocean as green, black, and purple instead of blue.

“And how is that hurting you?” I ask again.

“But…oceans are blue.”

“Your ocean is blue,” I say. “Bobby’s ocean is multicolored. What if you color your world and Bobby colors his world and you don’t try to force Bobby’s world to look just like yours? Then you will both have a better day.”

“I want you to make him do it right,” Jimmy says sullenly.

“Do you want to be right or happy?” I ask.

Jimmy and Bobby both look at me, confusion etched across their little faces.

I explain. “I’m not going to force Bobby to color his ocean the way you want it to be. However, if you insist on being right, and hitting Bobby because he made a choice that’s different than yours, then you are going to find yourself in a very unhappy position,  or you can accept that Bobby is different than you and that it’s okay for other people to see the world differently, mind your own business, color your own ocean and have a peaceful, happy day. The choice is yours. So, do you want to be right or be happy?”

Jimmy thinks hard for a moment. Letting go of the need to be right is tough. Then he says, “I’d rather be happy.”

Bobby pipes up, “Me, too. I like to be happy.” He proceeds to draw a purple sun in the sky.

Jimmy visibly cringes, but he chooses to be happy, at least for now. He hasn’t seen Sophia’s spotted, flying unicorn fish yet.

………………………………………………………………………………………

The Secret of Peace

Jimmy’s teacher is trying to let him in on a secret. It’s the secret of peace. If we want peace in our lives, then we must stop trying to control the actions of others.

No wonder Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” That doesn’t mean we go around settling arguments but that we facilitate inner peace. Outer peace without inner peace is impossible.

The secret to having outer peace in the world is more people with inner peace!

As adults, we are not so different than Jimmy, concerned about what someone else is doing. Perhaps, it would be good if we could learn the lesson Jimmy’s teacher is trying to teach him. We don’t need to control others and the only actions we are ultimately responsible for are our own.

Ironically, we can see the tiniest faults in the behaviors of others yet neglect to see similar things in ourselves. Jesus once responded to some critics by saying they had the ability to see a speck of dust in someone else’s eyes but couldn’t see the giant beam sticking out of their own.

If I had a quarter for every time a child has come up to me and reported on the affairs of others in hopes that I would “punish” the other child, I think (maybe playfully) I would be as rich as Elon Musk! It seems to start early, this need to control others, even when those actions have nothing to do with us. Kids will often say things like, “Make them let me play with their toy.” Or, “Make them play with me.” Translation: “Do what I want YOU to do and MAKE THEM behave the way I want them to behave.”

Sadly, this desire to control and punish others often doesn’t end when childhood ends. It just graduates and grows bigger and instead of making someone give up their toy or play with them, the controllers want to dictate how others should live their lives. They want to invade neighboring countries, take over their resources and control their populations.

How much pain and suffering in the world would be alleviated if world leaders didn’t try to make other countries conform to their wishes?  If they didn’t invade and seek control? What if everyone in the world were truly empathic? What if we realized our Connectedness?

Peace on Earth

When Jesus was born, the angels spoke to shepherds proclaiming peace on earth, but of course, the world hasn’t been at “peace” since that time, but in the biblical sense, peace doesn’t mean the absence of war. It means inner tranquility, staying calm regardless of what others are doing or saying. In other words, inner peace is only found when we let go of the need to control others.

Just as Jimmy isn’t justified in dictating how Bobby colors or one child isn’t justified in forcing others to play, we are never justified in wanting to control the feelings and thoughts of others.

It’s far too common and too easy to focus on the negative aspects of others, to talk bad about them and try to make them behave the way we want them to, but it’s a losing battle and in the end, we accomplish nothing but destroying our own peace of mind and happiness. I once heard a very young minister named Randy (who knows? Maybe he is reading this post right now!) say, “You can’t legislate morality.” He was right. Kindness, goodness, empathy, joy, love….those things must come from the inside out and be voluntary. If you force people into, it’s not real and sooner or later the sleeping demons of self-righteousness, greed and power will awaken.

LET IT GO!

Peter, an early follower of Jesus, wrote, “Do not repay injury for or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay injury with kindness, because to this you were invited so that you may obtain adulation. For whoever would take pleasure in, long for, and enjoy life (both physical and spiritual, present and future) and experience good days must restrain his language from injurious and their lips from treacherous (deceitful and harmful) speech. They must cease from doing injury and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.”

Likewise, Paul, also a student of Jesus once told a group of Thessalonians who were in The Way to aspire to live quiet and peaceful lives, to mind their own business and work with their own hands.

A passage from Psalms keeps going through my head:

46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The words “be still” there denote a “letting go” or “falling into.” In other words, as Elsa says in Frozen, “Let it Go!” The word “know” means to recognize, get it, or understand.

So, we could put it in the modern vernacular, “Let it go! Relax, and recognize…” What are we recognizing? We are recognizing that I Am God. Which God? The I AM. And what are we recognizing? The fact that I Am is God! And what ever you need I Am is. Nothing is impossible with I Am God. Nothing.

Peace comes when we let go and relax in the knowledge that the Almighty Source of all that is or has been or ever will be is in control. Peace comes when we realize that a person’s life-worth doesn’t consist of our possessions, or what color we paint our oceans.

Stillness and tranquility set things in order in the universe.

Dyer, Wayne W.. Living the Wisdom of the Tao (p. 93). Hay House. Kindle Edition.

 

But the muddiest water clears

                           as it is stilled.

And out of that stillness

life arises.

Dyer, Wayne W.. Living the Wisdom of the Tao (p. 33). Hay House. Kindle Edition.

 

 

There’s a Kink in my Garden Hose

Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com

I sat down hours ago to write a blog post but nothing I wrote felt right to publish.

I often refer to writing as me being a garden hose through which water flows. Water is energy and I like to feel energy flowing through me as I freely type what comes out or follow impulses to look up references. But tonight there seems to be a kink in the hose.

I started writing several times, I’d get so far and then the water would get cut off. I’d scratch that false start and try again. I tried and tried to come up with something profound to say and now I have come this conclusion—I have nothing profound to say, because I’m trying too hard. I’ve been trying to write on a schedule. All the articles I read about being a good blogger say to do that. Problem is, my inner being doesn’t work on a schedule! I just have to write when the notion hits me and the inspiration is there.

So, consider this post a testament to the power of just being and allowing. When we’re not being and allowing, when we’re struggling to “make it happen,” we may squeeze something out, but it won’t sing and zing. It may be grammatically perfect, but it will be lacking—something. In the same way, I suppose life is like that, too. So long as we are struggling to make things happen, to force all the pieces into place, there is a form of resistance that we become unaware of and instead of allowing elements to come together in their own time, we start yanking on them and trying to force them into place. We take on worrying, fretting, and trying to figure out how to “make” things happen like we want them to, instead of focusing on the kind of person we want to “be,” and working on our internal selves. After all, we are not called human “doings.” We are called human “beings.” A passage from the book of Matthew just popped into my head, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and all of these things will be added unto you.” Yes, work on the inner person, get the inner being aligned with I Am’s path, and the outer stuff will all fall into place.

My best writing is done when I’m NOT trying, when I’m just letting words flow out of me, letting concepts be born. You can’t force a creation out before it’s ready. You’ll have a premature baby on your hands if you do, or worse, an intellectual miscarriage.

I am going to allow myself not to have something deep and profound to share. I’m going to allow myself to babble about garden hoses and word babies and how I love the comforting sound of a refrigerator motor and the songs of crickets outside my window and random Bible scriptures or movie quotes or whatevers (we all need some whatevers sometimes.) And maybe next time I sit down I will have some astounding insight.

Now that I look back on it, I realize that this felt good and maybe there is a nugget of yumminess in this post after all, or at least a drink of water.