Friday, February 8, 2008

A New Perspective on an Old Message

Several years ago, (around 2001/2002?) I had an email newsletter. While, sadly (for me), it seems that I no longer have copies of all of the issues, I was glad to see that there was one that I still did have. In re-reading it, I thought part of it would be appropriate to share here.

What follows is an excerpt. As with anything I write, it is my hope and desire that what is written will have the reader consider a perspective, perhaps never before considered. Maybe it's for you, and maybe it's not. The world is full of people's perceptions, and I truly believe that the best gift we can give ourselves is the one that empowers our own self the most, and you just never know when you may find one that gives you a reason to stop and consider a change in the way you look at things.

Here is the entry:
...I am compelled to speak to the power we have as human beings to manifest our lives and our world. I have been on an interesting journey in the last couple of years, and believe that whether or not I have known what I was creating, I've created it all.

Human beings create all of the time. Much of the creation is unconscious. Can you imagine if it was conscious? The difference between the two can be as simple as an awareness of the ability to create. But sometimes it just isn't enough. I read something recently that distinguished elements of manifestation for me. (Perhaps) you've heard the expression "what you think about, you bring about" well, many people create from a place of lack. They think about what they lack as they think about what they want, but because the primary focus is on the lack, guess what they get more of?

Now imagine you could change the way you look at your situation from a lack to an opportunity. It would mean, as an opportunity, it could be right around the corner. A lack, however, how would you know when it no longer exists? How do you begin to measure "enough"?

I have learned that the universe does not know the difference between something imagined and something so-called "real" (that which we, has human beings would call real) - to the universe it all has "reality". If what I just typed is true, consider for a moment what the repercussions are. Think about what your thoughts have been today, yesterday, in the last year, the ones you've had, like, forever - the ones you've had so many times you don't even know you're having them. Think about what they have created.

Next, consider that we do not exist in isolation. Consider that we are all connected (hmm, I think there is a slogan in there somewhere...but, anyway...). Consider that we, at our core, are energy. Energy knows no bounds. Because energy knows no bounds, consider what is possible when you have your thoughts. They just don't stay up in your gray matter. They work their way into the consciousness of the world, creating the world in which we live. Wow, didn't know you were that powerful, did you?

So...where am I going with this? Well, I have been thinking about how I want to make a difference for people, and what I had started with was giving information that people could use that could enhance their lives. I think I always thought there was more to it, but it wasn't until now that I get what that something more is...and that is that people's lives are not enhanced by the focus they put on themselves and their stuff, it is enhanced by a focus on those outside of themselves.

Now, I am not saying that your own life is unimportant. But what I am saying is that oftentimes people think that if their life gets better, their life is better. But what they don't realize is that the lives around them affect their lives. Think about it for a minute: people are growing more and more concerned for their safety. If they focus on their own home, and forget about the world beyond themselves, the world beyond themselves may come barging in.

This really hit home with me as I was reading a book recently. The book, written 30 years ago, was speaking to this exact thing. It was speaking about a different way of looking at the world, and our "family"...it took family out of the "usual", historical context, and brought it to a more universal stage.

We, as human beings, are family. We need to be making a difference for one another. We need to be looking out for one another. We need to be concerned about another's welfare. Our world needs to be more than just about us. If we are to survive, it will be by expanding ourselves, not by contracting.

The world has changed, and will continue to change - whether we like it or not, and whether we want it to or not. The great thing is that we have a say in the matter. It is my greatest desire to see humanity as a whole awaken to its power, and to use it to create a world of Love and rather than one of destruction.

I wonder if you might join me in this idea? As an alternative to random acts of kindness, consider making it a habit to ask people what you can do to make a difference for them, and then do it. If you do it once a day, watch what reaction you'll get, and then watch what happens. Each person has the ability to make a difference for themselves and others when they focus on others. Think about it, with yourself what do you have? One person, you, and it is limited. Focus on others outside of yourself, and what do you have? unlimited possibilities.

With all of this in mind, I am going to wrap this up with the Gettysburg Address, written by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It might seem to be an odd addition. However, when you read it, consider that the words in [ ] (which are my thoughts) could be what it is speaking about. This corresponds with the macro-vision that I have been speaking of.

Four score and seven years ago [Once upon a time] our fathers [God, Our Father, Higher Being] brought forth on this continent [earth] a new nation [life], conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men [all people, everywhere] are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war [man against man], testing whether that nation [life] or any nation [life] so conceived and so dedicated can long endure [can life as we know it continue?]. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field [anywhere on earth] as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live [that life as we know it can continue]. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground [it is already dedicated, consecrated, and hallowed]. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here [people throughout all time] have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, [human memory can be short-lived] but it [God, Our Father, Higher Being] can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work [the process of learning and growing for which life has been created] which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause [the pursuit of life and living] for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation [life] under God shall have a new birth of freedom [a renewed vision of life], and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth [that people - who are all One in humanity - will allow the cycle of human life to continue].

"Maybe life is about something you didn't expect." - Buddha
As always, thanks for journeying with me on this road.
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and there you have it (with a few edits from the original). I hope you found it as interesting as I did. Would love, as always, to know YOUR thoughts. Have a great idea day! with Love.

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