Posts Tagged: destination

The Journey Beyond — No Comments
1
Feb 10

Our Quirky Side

Wow!  It has been a month since I launched the blog.  Kinda cool, but in the bigger scheme of things not that big of a deal.  The bigger question is will I still be actively posting my mental meanderings a year from now?

Frankly I can’t and shouldn’t let myself worry about that.  All I have to do is to be willing to post an entry for today.  And then a couple of days from now be willing to post another.  For too long I put too much pressure on myself to accomplish lofty goals.

The majority of people I know are really motivated by goals.  They set personal and professional goals and then create a plan to accomplish them.  It becomes a strategy game that motivates, focuses, and the reward is attaining the goal.

What I am about to say is very strange.  Me… I’m different.  In fact I feel sort of embarrassed sharing this but I tend to be demotivated by goals.  Yes, I know… weird.

Now I’m going to sound weirder… I have destinations but not goals.  See I told you it would be weird.  I don’t know if I should be worried or not but the statement makes sense to me.

For years I was really bothered by this.  I self analyzed, examined and figuratively speaking, beat myself up.  I’ve got a pretty good handle on all of this now but I am curious what you may think.  Why do you think a person can be demotivated by goals?  Any thoughts?

That’s why movement and direction are so very important to me.  If I keep putting one foot in front of another then I’ll get there.

You may be wondering, what does this have to do with our journey up the mountain?  Everything!

All of us have quirky, weird, unique things that have made our own personal journeys more challenging.  Usually this stuff is more in our heads than reality.  Yet we empower the dumbest things.

The solution… start walking, keep walking, move forward… thus the journey.  I have found that there will always be clutter in and around that will continually compete for our time, energy and most importantly our resolve.  The resolve to place one foot in front of the other and decide not to entertain thinking that distracts.

I will work hard not to be redundant in this blog but there is something I wrote in entry # three “The Wall” worth repeating.  Usually the things that distract seem very rational.

My definition of RATIONALIZE:  Rational Lies

Ciao… Thursday.

The Journey Beyond — 2 Comments
21
Jan 10

The Big Confession

Hi!  If this is your first visit to my blog… welcome.

This blog is about a rather frightening journey that I have decided to take.  I’d love to have you walk along with me if you wish, but as I said in my first blog entry, this is a journey I must take whether anyone joins me or not.  If you want to know where it all started you probably need to take a look at the first couple of blog entries.

Also, you need to be forewarned.  My journey buddies and I have started walking up this high mountain to get a lay of the land to determine where we want to explore and identify what dragons we want to slay.  Along the way we’re just chatting.

In my last blog I mentioned that I had something to share that may cause some of you to stop walking along with me.

I can assure you of this… somewhere along the journey I will offend you.  Not intentionally, but it will happen.  The question once again, as it will always be, “Is the call (or for some the longing) you have to learn, grow, and explore greater than your immediate irritation or discomfort?”

Okay, here goes… my confession.

What I want to share with you about myself is that I am a Christ follower.  I can hear it now, some of you just said, “Oh SHIT”.

In two sentences I have successfully alienated those who do not follow Christ and most of the ones who do.   I don’t know much about blogs but this is not a great way to build readership.  But once again, this blog is not for you… it’s for me, and what I must do in response to this journey to which I am called.

But before you stop reading, please hear me out.

To the non-Christ follower: I needed to share that I am Christ follower so you will know where I am coming from because it shades my every idea, thought and belief.  If we are going to hang out with each other it must be a transparent relationship.

My agenda is not to make you believe what I believe, think what I think, or love Christ the way I love Christ.  If I have an agenda it is that my blog be a safe place for anyone to explore anything… without pressure.

Just so you know, my last statement really bothered a lot of my Christian friends.  It bothered them because many feel that I should take every opportunity to help you believe in and accept Christ.  Frankly I used to believe that way and most likely I turned more people off than helped.

The reality is, you will believe what you want to believe and no one can make you change.  I don’t know about you but I get really pretty hard headed when I feel pressured to think, believe or act a certain way.

Side Note: I believe in the depths of my being that if a person is a genuine seeker of Truth, they will find it.  The key word is genuine.

I have met many who say they want truth but only explore places they wanted and were not willing to openly look everywhere.  I continue to be a seeker of Truth and this means I have to be open to faulty beliefs I may have and be willing to take an honest look.

I am not here to preach to you.  I promise I will never do that… or make judgments.

Hopefully, I offer an insight or say something that is meaningful to you on your journey in this life.  And if  our journey together helps you see Christ in a new and different way… sweet.

Whether you realize it or not, I believe our paths have crossed for a reason and not by accident.

To the Christ follower: Get the hell over my saying ”Shit”.  Sorry… I just had to say it again.

It may be hard to believe but I am not a curser.  And I really understand why most of you might be offended.  I too would have been very bothered by it a few years ago.

The point I want to make is this…  for me (I am not putting this on you) …for me I love my Lord with all my heart, but was caged by the rules which kept me from a fuller and deeper relationship with Him.  Now I don’t believe that gives me a license to curse like a sailor but I also believe God is bigger than my using the “S” word.

In my time of devotions I pray for sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.  If I felt in the slightest that writing the “S” word was not pleasing to my Lord – I wouldn’t.

I believe that many Christians are trapped in religious thinking and don’t even know it.  This is much too deep of a conversation for now but somewhere on our journey I’m sure it will surface.

But I promise the same thing to you that I promised my non-Christ following friends, I am not here to put anything on you.  I promise I will never do that… or make judgments.

If I offer an insight or say something that is meaningful to you on your journey in this life… wonderful.  And who knows, maybe something will be said that causes both of us to experience Christ in a new way.

And as I said earlier, whether you realize it or not, I believe our paths have crossed for a reason and not by accident.

Hopefully I didn’t scare any of my non-Christ follower friends or scar my Christ follower friends.  Maybe I will see you on Monday.

Ciao

The Journey Beyond — No Comments
14
Jan 10

The Voice

Good morning (well… its morning somewhere)

You ready to go?  You’re probably saying, “About time!”  Yep, I agree.  It’s kinda like going on vacation, there’s a lot of prep.  Did you bring your toothbrush?

No it’s not that kind to journey.  It is the kind you do from the comfort of your home.  Pretty cool huh?  Go on an adventure without getting off your butt.   But… (no pun intended) because you are in the safety of your home, this does not mean this journey won’t be challenging, fun, difficult, and hopefully entertaining.

Anyway, my wife wouldn’t want me to go gallivanting off with a bunch of strangers to who knows where (at least without her).

OK… we are now outside the wall that has kept us trapped much too long, the big question is, where to now?  Not back… that’s for certain.

As I sit and type I am literally tilting my head back with my eyes closed.  I feel like someone who is standing outside on a cool morning drinking in the fresh smells and sounds and feeling the soft brush of the wind on the face.

“Where to now?”    Shhhhh….  I am listening for the voice.

Side Note: While I’m enjoying the pause listening, I can almost read your mind….

“What kind of kook is this?  It’s probably some out-of-shape guy sitting in front of the TV in his underwear eating cheese curls and scratching.”  (Sorry for the visual)

Just in case you are wondering…. I’m not eating cheese curls.

But does it matter if I were the fellow I just described?   What does matter is this… if something has been stirring in your core and for some reason you are intrigued about this journey thing…. Will you take the step?   Just small ones will do.  Movement is the key… NOT speed.

OK, back to the voice.

I know… I know… you’re thinking the right medication will help those voices in the head.  But these are voices of the heart and not the head.  If you want to get rid of the voices in your heart all you need to do is ignore them.  They will evaporate pretty quickly… and so does the joy of life.

After listening for a while I still don’t hear anything.  But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get going.

Let me ask, does getting started without a clear direction or plan bother you?  Is it too loose and open ended for your liking?  When traveling I really like to have a map detailing the course to my destination.  But this is different.

Side Note: There are two types of journeys in life.

There are journeys with a destination and there are journeys of exploration.  You will have both types of journeys but it is imperative that you are clear as to the identity of each because success on either journey requires exactly the opposite process and mindset.

Destination: Has a clear end, defined path, checkpoints and usually a timeline.  The joy is reaching the goal.

Exploration: No clear path or timeline.  Instincts and circumstances determine the path and discovery the end.  The joy is the journey and discovery.

So off we go, I’m not worried going in the wrong direction.  If we should happen to explore the wrong path we’ll know.  We’ll turn around and look elsewhere for the prize.  Cool huh?

Ciao for now.

See you Monday