Tag: experience

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Exile

Have you ever felt exiled? Sent away to be by yourself as an outcast? Or maybe shunned for some reason?

It’s a terrible feeling.

Fortunately, I’ve only experienced this for brief periods of time, but certainly long enough to feel compassion for those who encounter it as part of their normal day to day existence.

How does this happen? Who gets to say whether someone is allowed to be a part of a group or needs to be ignored or worse yet, forcibly removed?

Who gets to decide which language is correct, which skin color is acceptable, which spiritual or religious beliefs are permitted, which set of skills or abilities makes one useful or worthwhile?

When I tried to answer this question for myself, it was plain to see, that it’s me. I am part of the decision, either because I agree with it, or because I don’t object to it. Perhaps the same applies to you. Maybe you have your own set of beliefs that create restrictions and establish boundaries, like I do.

I think it’s an easy thing to slip into, so much so that we even do it to ourselves. We act in certain ways and feel guilt or shame or unworthiness. One part of us shuns another part of us. It blames our ‘bad’ behavior on our parents, our teachers, leaders, anyone but us, if it can.

I search for something existing below the surface of all of this. I want to find where this began and maybe fix it or heal it. Something, anything, to shift away from these feelings of pain and suffering.

In my exploration, I discovered that the sense of being exiled or shunned existed at a fundamental level and represented one of my biggest mistakes of understanding.

I was brought up to believe there was a right way and a wrong way to do things. My training was similar to others in that I accepted what the leaders in my community told me. They were the experts and were not to be questioned. I was coached to be respectful of them, which included not asking deep questions and that it was not my place to probe like this.

What I later learned was that it made them uncomfortable, and I noticed that they had no real expertise that would shed light on things for me, so I exiled myself from them and went my own way.

It was then that I recognized I’d been living a life of ‘separation’. My mistake was to see myself as separate from god, not a part of god. I’d been told this view was blasphemous, true heresy.

But I came to realize it was the truth for me, so I sought out a personal relationship with god. One based on honesty and integrity and love.

I asked god if we could talk, one to one, about anything, everything. And god responded that it was god’s fondest desire to spend time with me and with anyone who wanted god in their life. God told me that no matter what I asked, what mood I was in, what questions I had, god would answer me.

God healed my separation, restored our relationship, made me feel whole, holy, divine. I’ve spent the last twenty-six years having intimate conversations with god, asking questions, and receiving answers. The only ‘requirement’ is that I be quiet enough in order to listen and hear what god has to tell me. Once told, it is still my decision what to do. If I want to, I can run off completely ignoring god’s insight and counsel or I can pay attention, release my cultural training, tune in to what god shares with me and reclaim my sense of wholeness. To me, the decision is easy.

I know what I want to feel and what I want to experience in my life, and I know how to bring this about. I know casting off any sense of separation is the first step, then inviting god to join me in conversation and listening to what god has to share. When I do this, everything falls into place. It does for me, and it can for you, if that is what you ask for.

NOTE: should you be interested in beginning your own personal relationship I’ve shared my story, along with other’s insights in my book, talking with (god), available on Amazon in print or eBook formats. Open Amazon, enter Rob H. Geyer books in the search bar and all of my books will appear.

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Try Something New

Here’s an idea for you, an invitation, now that we’re about to change seasons. Maybe the folks that manage the calendar don’t agree, but it always seems to me that as soon as the leaves start turning and kids go back to school, it’s a season change.

Anyway, here’s my idea.

Try something new. Maybe even several new things.

It’s one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself. It sparks your sense of wonder, offers intellectual stimulation, creates interest, tests your powers, and invites exploration and excitement.

It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it catches your fancy. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming or require lots of planning. It can be spur of the moment or a new ritual that attracts your interest.

My wife and I just returned from three days in Boston, Massachusetts. It was a fabulous spot to engage our sense of adventure and try new things.

We went for a harbor cruise and learned a lot of interesting facts about Boston, especially about the development of the city as an important seaport. We walked a lot and had dinner in the North End at a couple of nice Italian restaurants.

I am one of the least adventurous eaters around. Plain is the name of my game, but I challenge myself to try new foods while on vacation. This time it was artichoke hearts and cannoli. And no, I don’t mean together. I consider myself one for two, since the cannoli was good.

We also visited two art museums, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Palace, and the Museum of Fine Arts. The first museum had an interior courtyard that rose from the ground floor to a glass ceiling six stories straight up. The flowers in the courtyard were gorgeous and the overlooking windows provided great views from each of the three floors we checked out. The MFA had art from many different periods, including one contemporary exhibit where the canvases were made from various grasses. Yes, actual grass grew on the canvas, covering a photo of a person’s face. Pretty cool.

I’m offering these as examples, but feel free to choose your own ideas to pursue. That’s how this whole thing works.

Besides eating new foods, seeing new sites, and learning interesting facts, there are lots of ways to try something new.

If you’re looking for some suggestions, I came prepared.

Is there a skill you’ve been thinking about but haven’t gotten around to trying, like pickle ball, painting, gardening, building with Legos or photography?

Is now the right time for exploring a new interest, perhaps yoga, meditation, Pilates, or starting a collection, maybe stamps or coins?

And just maybe, now is the time to make a change in the way you’re managing your life.

Could it be simpler? Could you release some tension in your life? What would happen if you started a smiling practice, where instead of allowing frustrating moments to rule your life, you chose to smile.

Would your life be more interesting if you stopped once in a while to count your blessings and offer gratitude for all that you do have. That one appeals to me because I know what a difference it makes in my life when I shift my focus.

What kind of a change would happen inside you if the new thing you tried was to give yourself and others love every chance you could? When the car in front of you is moving at a snail’s pace or you pick the wrong check-out lane again could you step back, let go and think of a wonderful memory in your life to fill the open space.

Whatever you choose, I wish you well and I hope it rewards you in many ways.

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Wall of Fame

An interesting thought came to me in the form of a question. If I chose people from my life to place on a ‘wall of fame’, so that I could honor them and their place in my life, who would they be?

I imagined this as a tribute to acknowledge their supportive or encouraging or inspiring connection to me. And I discovered that a deep sense of gratitude grew inside me as soon as I began making my choices.

I imagined a large outdoor wall with plenty of room for me to create using whatever materials I wanted.

If you joined me in this project and had your own wall of fame to build and decorate, who would appear there for you?

I decided to look outside my family for the names of those I would place on my wall, even though they were my first choices. I think I wanted to explore what outside influences have served to shape my life and so I allowed my mind to drift, inviting memories to flood in.

At first, some traditional groups came forward, starting with my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Hosey. I knew from the moment I met her that she would be one of my all-time favorites. There was something extra to her and I could tell she really liked me. This had to have been true because seventeen years after I left fourth grade, she made a special trip to open an account at a branch of a bank I worked for, just to see me. What a treasure!

Curiously, no other teacher made my list until I got to college. Elementary, Junior High (yes, I’m that old) and Senior High teachers are all a kind of blur in my mind.

College produced several ‘inductees’, Dr Keiter and Dr Setzer, both religion professors, and Dr Bocher, a science professor offered me freedom and form and demonstrated their belief in me as a student and as a person. In fact, I believe Dr Keiter saved my life, because had it not been for his courses, I probably would have failed out, been drafted and gone to Vietnam.

A solid string of others entered my mind, Mrs. Ruling, who gave me a job at Central Stores at college (where professors got their supplies) and referred me for my first job after graduating. And Bill Stropes, my supervisor at Holiday Inn, for promoting me to maintenance from my janitor position. What separated him from so many others though was that he treated me fairly, despite my incredibly long hair and goatee. He looked beyond his first impression and saw me for who I was. He was a very special man.

Others who I raised up onto my wall came from the ministry. They answered as many of my questions as they could, then watched over me as I steered my own course, even though it veered away from them. Later Jim and Crystal entered my life and enriched it beyond what I thought possible.

And there was a host of coworkers, bosses and customers who made my list. To have folks who love and support you, who challenge and engage you, who push and pull you, makes all of the difference. Several coworkers became my best friends: Doug, Dan, and Marty. Others endeared themselves to me through their efforts and deep connections: Sue, JoAnn, Cindy, Amy, Lyne, Carla, Lynn and San. And a few of my bosses opened their arms and hearts to me and treated me with respect and admiration; Gary, Margaret, Rita.

I’ve found over my life that special people can come from anywhere and appear at any time. They may be there for one special moment or stay throughout my life.

Name after name came to me from my present life, especially folks from Unity Church, Kripalu, and my spirit families. My wall filled up so quickly that I had to add more space. So many have walked next to me and touched my heart. More than I can name here.

I wonder, who would make it onto your wall? What criteria would you use? What sort of designs or decorations would you place next to their names?

I marvel at the wonderful sense of gratitude this created in me and I hope it does the same for you.

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Blame

Okay, so here’s a topic I’m intimately acquainted with both as a receiver and, sad to say, as a giver…blame.

I wish it weren’t so, but it is.

I wonder if you can identify with this too.

Clearly, I understand what blame means and certainly how it feels, but I thought I’d start my post by laying a firmer foundation.

The Merriam Webster dictionary offers three meanings; (1) to find fault with, (2) to hold responsible and (3) to place responsibility for. It seems to me the three are very close in meaning. Each appears necessary to have two positions, one, the individual who has done someone wrong and two, another person to point it out to them.

How often are you blamed for doing something that someone else finds unacceptable? Are others quick to choose you to blame? How does it make you feel?

And because we have all received our share of blame, has it seeped into you far enough that you end up often blaming others for their mistakes or omissions? It is certainly an easy thing to do.

I encouraged myself to move deeper into this sensitive topic because I knew there was hidden value waiting for me. I sensed no enjoyment present though, since the sting of blame lives pretty close to my surface.

Throughout my life I’ve been blamed for many things, some of which I have to admit are legitimate, but many are not. The blame I’ve received does not belong to me. In some cases, the ‘blamer’ is the responsible party, but won’t admit it, so is quick to point their finger at me first.

I don’t know about you, but I find it extremely difficult to accept someone else’s blame. I would much rather they share with me how something I said or did made them feel and ask me to change the way(s) I approach them. When they move immediately to blame, I become defensive.

Of course, when I have the presence of mind to realize what I’m saying or doing, I recognize the same tendencies in me I find so hard to accept in others. This makes me wonder, is there a better path? Can I find a truer, more open way of living?

Perhaps an answer lies further below the surface.

To me, blame is a ‘separation’ word. Someone is either right or wrong, good or bad and there is a need for accountability. Blame divides people.

What if we could exchange the idea of blame for something else? What if we substituted the word ‘mistake’. Would this make a difference in the world? Rather than there being a need to force one person into submission, maybe we could work toward fixing what went astray. We could view the mistake as a learning tool for everyone involved. We could explore other ways a situation could be handled and choose one that elevates all instead of having one person bear the blame.

Personally, I like the sounds of that. I think I’ll spend some time giving it a try, realizing that I’ll need to be aware of what I’m thinking, feeling, and doing when situations arise.

One other curious thing about blame came into view for me.

I wondered when and where the word came into existence. As with so many words, one source indicated it arose from the Greek culture, estimating its arrival around 1200 AD. I have no idea about the authenticity of this, but what I found interesting was the question it prompted for me…did people blame each other before there was a word for it? Probably.

For me, there are a handful of words I’d like to eliminate from my vocabulary. Here’s three I know for sure…should, shame, and blame. Maybe you’d like to join me in eliminating them from yours too.

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Completion

A while ago I mentioned to you that I had chosen a task which would significantly challenge me. My son, Tommy, had told me about something called a Misogi.

Research informed me that it is an ancient Japanese Shinto practice where monks and their student would embark on a long journey high up into the mountains in search of a waterfall. The students, wearing thin short robes, would stand under the cold streaming water performing a ritual intended to purify their bodies and their minds.

An updated version is practiced by folks desiring to challenge and perhaps in some way, purify themselves. Those interested must choose something which they believe has a fifty percent or better chance of failure, and which will not harm themself or others.

I spent a bit of time wondering about this. It felt necessary. Important. Vital to me, especially because I wanted to perform it prior to my birthday.

I cast about for a difficult task and chose to walk from one end to the other and back on a Rail Trail close to my home. I speculated the distance would be somewhere between 18 and 19 miles.

The longest distance I’d ever walked in my life was a little over 16 miles and that was many years ago when I was in far better physical shape. Nothing much hurt in my body and I felt relatively fit.

I wondered, was it even possible for me to complete this journey?

Despite understanding how challenging it would be, I knew deep inside me that it was important. I could not have told you why, I just knew.

And so, I began to figure things out. I’d need to go on some ‘practice walks’, distances that would offer me a sense of what I might experience on my Misogi and prepare my body and my mind.

My first long walk was a little over 8 miles and my second just shy of 10 miles. Each of them provided keen insights I felt would ultimately benefit me.

Tommy asked if he could join me, which I immediately jumped at, knowing the shared experience would last a lifetime.

Today is my 71st birthday and I wanted to let you know that we completed the full distance (19.5 miles) last Saturday, August 19, 2023.

The significance of this adventure is still dawning on me.

We had a wonderful time catching up and sharing our lives, further bonding us. I am so grateful that we could do this together and know it would have been so much more difficult had I done this solo. We compared notes about our physical aches and pains and often checked our mileage to the finish line. When we made it, we celebrated with orange bubble gum cigars.

During the days that followed, I wondered whether there was anything in my life that was purified? Were some ‘contaminants’ removed? Did I feel cleansed in some way?

What was the purpose of my Misogi? Did I prove something to myself? Would I do it again?

If you thought about it, what Misogi would you choose for yourself? How demanding would it be? Can you tolerate the thought of failure? Are you driven by the allure of success?

In the end, I believe I wanted to test my sense of resolve. Could I, would I complete my chosen task, or would I give in? This task became less about success or failure and more about connecting to my inner strength. A strength that could overcome obstacles and challenges, regardless of the difficulties.

I freely admit I hit a physical pain wall at about 14 miles, and there was a moment of temptation to stop and give up. But something inside me refused to seriously consider the idea. I tapped into a reserve. I willed my body to continue moving for the next 5.5 miles, one stride at a time, knowing I could do it.

I think this is why I did this. To prove to myself that I could if I willed it.

I hope you can tap into your own inner reserve and accomplish whatever you set out to achieve in your life.

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Following Your Heart

Have you heard the expression, ‘follow your heart’?

What does it mean to you? How would you go about explaining it to someone else?

If you were asked whether you follow your heart or not, what would you say?

Since we can’t have a two-way dialogue at the moment, I’ll share what it means to me and then ask you another few questions.

A defining idea surfaces.

Is there a practical way to tell the difference between what your mind wants and what your heart wants? That feels like a tricky question for sure.

To me, the things that satisfy my mind bring me happiness, while those things that nourish my heart bring me joy. These two sensations feel entirely different. And while I like the ones that offer happiness, I love the ones that bring me joy.

Following my head (mind) prompts me to accomplish things by way of meeting or exceeding my objectives. I admit I have a tendency to grade or rate each of my experiences and I spend time evaluating them, wondering if I could have done better.

Unfortunately, when I don’t achieve what I set out to accomplish, I am often unhappy and can at times question my worth. While this is happening, I do recognize what a poor choice I’m making, so I try to create triggers within the experience. The triggers are sort of like check points, where I can shift away from my head and view things from my heart and my spirit.

But what does this mean and how can one shift?

A way that works for me is to stop once I recognize a trigger and observe how I am feeling. Is an experience making me angry, anxious, afraid, irritated? Is it providing me with a sense of temporary pleasure or a fleeting glimpse of happiness which I know will not last? If so, these signal me that I am focused on my mind and it’s time to adjust, to shift toward something more real.

When I follow my heart, I notice I set up aims, which are looser than goals. They flex and adapt, and I can experience life, finding what feels like open, free, flavorful experiences. Ones that I can savor and not lose. They last. They become ‘keepers’.

Recently I’ve been struggling with a set of decisions regarding which projects from my list I want to move forward with. Every time I begin the process I’m faced with a series of obstacles. They block my path, and I cannot see over, around or beyond them.

Fortunately, a knowing part of me realizes that obstacles represent triggers too, so I allow myself to move deeper into my heart, knowing it is my mind that is having the problem.

As so often happens, I call out for help from Lia, a divine feminine voice that lives within me. She awaits me at all times and is ever present in my life. I believe she is awaiting each of us, ready to share once we ask for her assistance.

Although I ordinarily gain valuable insights quickly, I discovered that I needed a series of conversations over several days to reach far enough below the surface to unveil what I needed to hear. Lia is always patient with me, giving me time to uncover for myself what I so desperately feel I need. In this case, she led me forward until I could see with crystal clarity. She offered me an image I could hold on to and use whenever I felt at a crossroad.

It was a bracelet with two charms hanging from it. One was labeled, ‘fear’ and the other, ‘love’. She said that no matter what I encountered in my life, my experience would be guided by the choice I made between fear and love.

I wanted to know more. I wanted to feel what kind of difference this choice would make, particularly when I reimagined the projects I’d been considering. So, I found my list and asked myself what would be the outcome if in each case I chose to look at them with love.

I know this sounds simple. I also know simple things are often profound.

When I reviewed my list, everything fell into place. Rather than feeling confused, everything was clear to me, and I now know what to do.

So here are my follow up questions for you.

Is there a way for you to imagine wearing a bracelet with two charms, one ‘fear’ and the other ‘love’? Can you use love to find a way forward, no matter what the situation is? Can you use your heart (and your spirit) to lead your way forward?

I hope you can.

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Growth and Expansion

Here’s a post you might want to ignore because I’m going to challenge you.

The challenge is about growth and expansion. I want to see if right now is the time for you to take a look at your life and decide whether you want more.

I hope your answer is ‘yes’ because I believe in you and your capacity for change, especially in those areas you feel drawn toward.

Recently, I watched a movie and one of the main characters made a statement that he wanted his name to mean something. Can you identify with this? I know I can.

He wanted to amount to something, and I had the definite sense he’d been told by others that it would never happen. Has anyone ever said that to you or perhaps made you feel your life didn’t matter in some way?

What others say to us can have a profound effect on our lives, both positively and negatively. It’s important to remember that ultimately, we are in charge. We are the ones who get to decide what to accept and what to reject. So, it matters a great deal what we end up telling ourselves.

If you stopped reading for a moment right now and thought about it, what beliefs are you embracing about yourself? What gives your life meaning and purpose? How does what you believe find its way into your everyday choices and actions?

These questions make me wonder several things.

Were you brought up to believe in yourself? Did others affirm that you could or would be successful in life? Or were you told that you would never amount to anything? That you weren’t good enough or fast enough or smart enough? Did you let others convince you or did you seek your own path?

I’d like to offer you a fresh start, a new opportunity, and a new way of viewing your life.

Want in?

How about this.

The first moment you get a chance (you may not have a pen and notebook immediately available) begin by writing down a list of ten things (or more, if you like) that call to you. By ‘call to you’ I mean topics that feel personally important to you to explore. Brainstorm your list, which means you don’t evaluate, you just write. They could be related to physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual pursuits. Whatever they are, write them down.

Once they’re on the page, you can take a second look and spend some time sitting with each of them to see which have the loudest voice inside you. It’s also here you can evaluate and see which seem the most realistic to you to accomplish, but don’t shy away if your inner voice calls you back to one of them. That’s a sure sign of its importance in your life.

Okay, you have your list, you’ve selected the ones that raised their hands and you’re ready to go. Pick one that you feel most drawn to and energizes you.

Now it’s action time.

Tell yourself that you have the power to make progress on this item, that it has called to you because it wants to live through you. It wants to come alive in this world and you are the one to give it life. Jump in. Get excited. Think of one or two or three practical steps you can take and then take them. And as you act, give yourself credit for choosing to grow and expand your universe, no matter what size your actions take.

I know you can do it!

Now go prove to yourself that you can do it. And with every action you take, shift your perspective, and believe in yourself. Grow and expand. You deserve it.

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What’s Your Mission

Something happened the other day and it really shocked me.

I listened to what I was saying and heard it in an entirely new way, and it made me wonder whether you’ve ever heard these words coming out of your own mouth…”I’m not doing this for the money.”

Or perhaps you may have said, “I didn’t take this job to become rich.”

Or maybe, “Somebody has to do this, so it might as well be me.”

It made me very curious, and I wanted to know what perspective would account for any one of these statements.

I repeated, “I’m not doing this for the money,” again and couldn’t help asking myself, “then why are you doing it?”

This seemed like an important question for me to answer. After all, isn’t it essential to know why you and I do things? What value is there in making a statement about why you or I are NOT doing something?

Isn’t it much better to spend our time exploring the reasons for our actions?

So, I shifted my mindset, and embraced the idea of affirming my positive reason(s) for taking specific actions in my life.

My statement, “I’m not doing this for the money”, in this case referred to my writing. I just finished my seventh book (Little Buddha Book Five), a feat I never in my wildest imagination thought was possible and felt I needed to declare what my motives were for these acts of creation.

I thought about this and focused my attention on what I WAS trying to accomplish and answered the following: ‘writing brings me alive, and through this process I give birth to characters and situations that inspires readers and invites them to explore and transform their lives.’

So, I ask you, if you’ve allowed yourself to focus on any statements that center on the negative, like the ones that began this post, is there a way for you to reframe them? Can you find a way to shift and discover or reveal the affirmative reason(s) why you ARE doing them?

I believe there are clear benefits to doing this.

For me, I could instantly feel a sense of power and connection arrive inside of me.

I believe each of us have many purposes for being here on earth. I guess I could even call them ‘missions’. And I don’t mean SOME of us do, I mean ALL of us. I believe you have specific talents that make you and your contributions unique in this world. And from where I sit, the world needs you and all of what you have to offer.

Imagine for a moment what wonderful things could happen in your life if you spent even a small amount of time dedicated to unveiling the reason(s) why you are here. And once they’re uncovered, you embrace them and show them off to your family, friends, coworkers…to the world.

Imagine how much this one act of revelation could change the direction of your life. My hope is that you feel drawn to this exploration.

Need a little nudge?

If so, sit back and relax. Breathe in and out slowly, extending the length of each breath. Intentionally open your mind and heart and ask for some inner guidance to show you a direction to travel. Ask to have an image displayed that feels like a part of your mission here. And once something comes into view, accept it, and embrace it. It doesn’t have to be extraordinary; it could be one small step in an important direction. If it calls to you, give yourself permission to follow and see what happens. It may just be exactly why you came here.

May it be so.

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Closets

I believe this is the first post that I have written that forced itself out of me. The topic kept coming back and despite the fact that I resisted it, it would not be denied.

Why? What was I trying to avoid? I wasn’t sure but I knew I had to explore it.

Have there been times in your life when you knew something important was about to happen, but there was an element of concern in your mind? Maybe I ought to be clearer, I don’t mean ‘concern’, but straight up ‘fear’.

That’s the sense I had when the topic, ‘closets’, came into view.

The first thought I had was simple enough. After all we have lots of closets in our house, most of them pretty full. Some have clothes, shoes, boot, jackets, hats, and other articles of clothing. Others have towels, sheets, our vacuum, extra Kleenex and toilet paper, and a host of miscellaneous things.

Okay, no big deal there.

I did notice that closets are places to hide things you don’t want to see out in the open, because they would be too messy or take up too much space you need for other things.

This observation seemed to offer a clue, but the picture still wasn’t clear.

I remembered a saying about closets, that they are a place to store your skeletons. I checked out Wikipedia and discovered the saying came from 19th century England and was an idiom used to describe an undisclosed fact about someone which, if revealed, would damage perceptions of the person.

So, now I’m getting closer. Closets are an important hiding place for what you don’t want others to know about you. They house secrets and hide what we might describe as shameful things. I wondered; don’t we all have things we hope never see the light of day? Things we’ve thought or done that if others knew, would alter their opinions of us?

That’s closer to my fear about not wanting to write this post, but not the end point yet.

It only took a second longer to realize that closets have a much more significant reference point…’coming out of the closet’, where an individual reveals their sexuality, rather than hiding it. For those brave people who take this extraordinary step in their lives, I want to say, bravo to you.

Allowing others in society to dictate who a person can or cannot be through the use of shame, denial, stigma, humiliation, or any other form of control, devalues all humanity, especially those who refuse to continue hiding who they really are.

Unfortunately, many feel a strong sense of need to adhere to a set of religious beliefs that have been taught to them. Beliefs that are fear based rather than love based.

I fully realize this is an emotionally charged topic and is often seen as divisive, with only polar views, so that any stand I voice may be both popular and unpopular.

Okay, now it’s obvious to me why I wanted to resist this post.

But I have to take a stand.

I believe in love. Love opens, expands, embraces, forgives, accepts, is compassionate, caring and, valuing. It is the foundation of everything.

I also believe that the only role that fear plays is to be a messenger, a guide, a redirection from itself back to a state of love. Fear is meant to be temporary. Love is meant to be permanent.

I stand with all those who believe in love and encourage all those who believe in fear to use it to return to love.

Everything is out in the open in love and nothing is hidden, nor does it need to be. I believe we all are meant to be who we are in this life. We have free will for this very purpose and it is not up to anyone to control another’s view of their life. I believe love offers us all a chance to embrace our lives in the ways we choose.

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What Is Valuable

I am constantly coming up with questions I feel are important for me to consider.

One consistent thing that others have told to me over the years, whether at work, home, church, or casual conversations, is that I ask good questions. I take from that, that there is some immediately perceived value they sense. It’s probably not so much about my question, as what it stirs inside them that they feel would be worth considering.

So, here’s my latest question…what makes anything valuable?

I played with it for a little while and realized it could be asked another way too…what make something valuable?

If you’re interested, you can play along too, coming up with your own answers. In fact, I encourage you to jump in and see what rises up in your consciousness.

For me, I sense a need to define ‘valuable’ before I can explore the question fully.

I think my temptation is to accept a worldview of the word as referring to an object worth a great deal of money, such as land, gold, houses, or jewelry.

Fortunately, that’s not the only meaning. It can just as easily mean having qualities worthy of respect, admiration, or esteem.

I think my tendency is to consider what a person, place or thing means to me personally. The closer my connection, the more valuable something becomes to me.

If I sit back for a moment, it occurs to me that nothing is inherently valuable. It only becomes valuable once we desire to own or experience it. I find there needs to be some personal connection, some investment I believe is worth my time or other resources to trade for what I want to possess.

So, what would I be willing to pursue that would be worth this trade?  What would you trade?

As I think about this, I realize my answers have changed a great deal over the years. As a child, it was all about toys and playing with friends and my family. Once I went to school, the toys changed, but playing with friends and family didn’t. Eventually, freedom become incredibly important to me. I wanted to be able to roam around on my bike and explore and then when I got my driver’s license, my world expanded further. In college, it was never so much about my studies, it was about my friends (especially my girlfriend- my eventual wife) and again, the freedom to explore the surrounding countryside.

Then of course more things changed. I had a job, a career, a family of our own, a car, a house. All of those things were valuable to me. And all of those things were worth the trade of my time and talents.

Now that I am retired, my wife’s and my ability to remain connected to our children and grandchildren is extremely valuable to us. Beyond that I treasure having the freedom to pursue my personal creativity, whether its writing or artwork.

I also greatly value my physical, emotional, and intellectual health. Most of all though, it is my spiritual health I value, and it guides my life. I yield to this desire easily because I know that above all else, I am made of spirit. I know I am a part of the divine essence. I came from there and return to there. Knowing this in my heart offers me a genuine sense of being valuable in this world.

So, my final answer to the question of ‘what makes anything valuable’ is that we are all from the same source, the same spirit essence. We are all inherently valuable. We don’t need to accomplish anything in our lives to be valuable. It is our very nature.

I hope you feel the power and truth of this.