I know some people that would probably be declared alive by doctors in the context of a hospital, but they surely ain't living!
There is a big difference between being alive and really living your life........
Some of us are just alive. We're existing. We see a revolving door of dawn and dusk. Days, months and years come and go. They may be filled with activities, but they do not add depth and meaning to our lives.
I see many people making a living, some with great effort and even pain! They provide the means to support their existence: Accommodation, transport, clothes, food, etc. -But no inspiration! They are paying the bills and calling it life!
Someone one once said that there is more to life than increasing it's speed. Yet in many ways that is what we are pushed to. The way we live and expect to live, drives us to a picture pretend, "made in Hollywood" lifestyle that for many of us, leads to burnout and regret. Many of those wrecked and burned by racing, spend their days just existing.......
If living faster and "higher" is the ultimate highway lane to success, then why do we find so many people unhappy and unfulfilled, disillusioned, negative and bitter about their lives, wanting out?? Why do people sometimes fantasize about living a "slow" life somewhere in the countryside? Living honestly and real.
We all have the ability to live our life to the full, and most of the time that fullness is not equal to a certain standard of living in monetary terms! Really living your life has a lot to do with three P's. [Ya, eating more than three peas now and then will also help....] Really living your life has a lot to do with:
Purpose: Finding the reason for your existence, why you were called into being -and striving to fulfil it.
Passion: Finding your own (not someone else's) and following it.
Pace: Setting a sustainable pace to make sure that you can do what you want and have to do and keep on enjoying it over the full span of your life.
I believe that when we finish the "race" of life, we should arrive at the finish line with our loved ones, our health, our sanity and our faith intact....
May you LIVE until you die!
[May you never spend a single day just existing...]
Tuesday 14 August 2012
Thursday 2 August 2012
Serenity
[I've been on holiday & thus also took a break from blogging.]
Our recent holiday was a road trip of nearly two weeks. It took us through different biospheres and parts of our beautiful country. We experienced cold, rain and stormy conditions, as well as glorious sunshine days and landscape scenes of serene tranquillity and beauty!
In reflecting on this trip and on what is left over, or stays on in my mind about it, I have found that even though holidays come and go and work prevails, you can find and hold on to a piece of peace that surpasses circumstances and understanding. It is possible to go through your fast moving busy day, with a sense of immovable, solid peace intact. In fact, that peace can be a source of strength and stability.
One can lead from a place of inner peace, or a place of inner unrest. All leaders experience times where they are providing leadership, while at the same time a storm is raging in their mind and emotions. Many times this storm in your inner being has very little, or even nothing to do with the people or situation that you are addressing at that moment. Unfortunately they (normally) still suffer the consequences!
To be leading from a place of constant inner turmoil and unrest will have dire consequences in the long run.It is a source of major distress and a variety of health problems in the lives of many leaders!
No one should live in a storm for ever. No one should live life in a constant state of inner turmoil. We should all frequently go to a place of peace. Physical and Spiritual. A Place where you can experience and absorb serenity. Serenity that you can keep in your heart and hold on to in turbulent days! Much like the words of a song we used to sing as students: "Catch a falling star and put in in your pocket, save it for a rainy day......-Then you'll have a pocket full of starlight!"
That is why David in the well known Psalm 23 said: "The Lord....lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water."
There is two things that we need to do: 1. Identify the origin and content of the storms in our lives and try to eliminate and prevent, or avoid that as much as possible. 2. Identify where and what it is that brings peace into your life and do that more often! -Lead from a inner place of serenity!!
Our recent holiday was a road trip of nearly two weeks. It took us through different biospheres and parts of our beautiful country. We experienced cold, rain and stormy conditions, as well as glorious sunshine days and landscape scenes of serene tranquillity and beauty!
In reflecting on this trip and on what is left over, or stays on in my mind about it, I have found that even though holidays come and go and work prevails, you can find and hold on to a piece of peace that surpasses circumstances and understanding. It is possible to go through your fast moving busy day, with a sense of immovable, solid peace intact. In fact, that peace can be a source of strength and stability.
One can lead from a place of inner peace, or a place of inner unrest. All leaders experience times where they are providing leadership, while at the same time a storm is raging in their mind and emotions. Many times this storm in your inner being has very little, or even nothing to do with the people or situation that you are addressing at that moment. Unfortunately they (normally) still suffer the consequences!
To be leading from a place of constant inner turmoil and unrest will have dire consequences in the long run.It is a source of major distress and a variety of health problems in the lives of many leaders!
No one should live in a storm for ever. No one should live life in a constant state of inner turmoil. We should all frequently go to a place of peace. Physical and Spiritual. A Place where you can experience and absorb serenity. Serenity that you can keep in your heart and hold on to in turbulent days! Much like the words of a song we used to sing as students: "Catch a falling star and put in in your pocket, save it for a rainy day......-Then you'll have a pocket full of starlight!"
That is why David in the well known Psalm 23 said: "The Lord....lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water."
There is two things that we need to do: 1. Identify the origin and content of the storms in our lives and try to eliminate and prevent, or avoid that as much as possible. 2. Identify where and what it is that brings peace into your life and do that more often! -Lead from a inner place of serenity!!
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| At Golden Gate near Clarens in the Eastern Free State. |
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| On the outskirts of Montagu in the Western Cape. |
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