"Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies
for the big, worthwhile things. It isn't the mountain ahead that wears
you out - it's the grain of sand in your shoe." - Robert Service
How many times have we heard it said that we lose sight of
the forest for the trees. It seems so easy in this image conscious
world to lose sight of what is really important. We are constantly
inundated with the superficial and the shallow, and if we are not
careful, life ends up becoming less about purpose and more of a pursuit
of the trivial. Somewhere along the way we must obtain the ‘purpose’
or sense of direction of our lives. We must forge out the answer to the
question ‘what are we here for’? Yet, it seems, we are so easily
distracted by little nuances and the mirages life’s petty lures. In the
‘to and fro’ of our swaying, we lose track of the true intent of life
itself and fall under the manipulating barrage of societies impulses
and tendencies. We turn mole hills into mountains and mountains into
mole hills. We major in minors and minor in majors. Life is consumed
with the he said and the she said's and valuable time slips away into
eternity never to be had again.
Think about it. Before we are hardly out of bed and have
awakened from a peaceful sleep, we are pounced upon by outside forces.
Each force vying for our attention. Each entity telling us what is
important and what is not important. The shout from the outside
immediately steps into our morning stretch and demands our full
attention. From the weather to apparel, food to money, buy here and go
there, the voices cry out for our touch. If we are not careful the
multitude of distractions can easily beguile us into losing our sense
of direction. The scripture says in Proverbs that a man who is given to
appetite might as well put a knife to his throat. Why? Because when
our appetites rule us they lead us to places we never intended to go.
When we are given to appetite we are more easily manipulated into doing
things we would never do if we were more assured of our purpose. In
the end we become enslaved by the very things we sought to possess!
In our haste to ‘find’ happiness we give over to momentary
indulgences only to be left even more empty than before we caved in to
the justification of it all. Our life is far more than appetites and
true liberty comes with this understanding. We must be honest with
ourselves! How many times, after the chase, do we have to end up with
empty hands and hurting hearts? How many distractions do we have to
fall for before we wake up and see the whimsical ways of our appetites?
How many times do we have to get off the beaten path of true purpose
and die the death of many regrets? How many times must we be lied to
before we are finally compelled to restrain our own appetites of
deception? How many times do we have to empty our shoes before we truly
climb with a sense of purpose?
Then again, maybe here in lies the real problem. Without meaning in life, life has no meaning! Seneca said, “Our
plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what
harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” So now begs
the question. What harbor are you sailing for? What is or are your
goals? What IS important to you? When you are healed, in body and mind,
what is YOUR purpose? Today, stop the noise from without and seek some
answers from within. Silence the critics and voices of manipulation
with a firm resolve to empty your shoes and turn aside for a higher
look up the mountain, you may be surprise what you see up there!
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