My Sunday Thought for 05152016: Your Personal Path

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, I wondered this when I saw these two similar quotes. The one above would seem to be from a gentler age, like before radical Islamic terrorism, whereas the one below would seem to be more in line with the world of today, especially in third world countries and areas of conflict.

No matter how good or bad you think life is, wake up each day and be thankful for life. Someone somewhere else is fighting to survive. 

-- Anonymous

No matter how bad I might think my day is, I always try to remember how great it is to live in a country where I don't have to fight for survival.  In most developed nations, fighting for survival is a choice, or a consequence of a choice, we have freely made.  Our destiny is what we make of it.  If we choose to live in poverty, we will remain poor.  If we choose to run with gangs we will be arrested or die.  If we choose to be homeless, we will be homeless.  All the consequences of our lives can be traced back to a decision we freely made that put us where we currently are.  Your misery is of your own making, and you have a choice to remain in misery, remain in misery and shift the blame onto someone else for your stupid decisions, or climb out of your pit of despair and find a meaningful path in life.

Nokuphiwa Phiwe, a new friend in South Africa, follows my posts and shared the anonymous quote, below, on her Facebook page; I feel the sentiment has much meaning:

I've seen better days, but I've also seen worse.  I don't have everything that I want, but I do have all I need.  I woke up with some aches and pains, but I woke up.  My life may not be perfect, but I am blessed.

If you are working and have everything you need, you are blessed on your path.  However, welfare is not a constructive path.  Welfare, for the great majority, is tantamount to taking money you haven't earned from those that have, simply because you can, because of your government encourages it.  It gives you an excuse not to work and not become a meaningful, productive, member of the society you bilk for a livelihood.  Taking money you haven't earned is, well... stealing.  Taking money as part of an endless, out of control, "leg up" program, and not working toward getting off the program is , well... like stealing, and usury.   For you to accept this program as your definition of "life path" is a waste of the life God gifted you and, unfortunately, not unexpected.   To teach your children that this is all society expects of them, is child abuse.  Some folks choose not to understand this which, unfortunately, is also not unexpected.

No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.

-- Buddha

I have had people ask me what they're supposed to do to end this cycle of welfare for themselves when there are no jobs available.  This is where you separate those that seriously want off the merry-go-round from those that look for an excuse to stay on the ride and abuse the system for life.  I tell them to pick up and move where the jobs are.  The answer usually starts out the same, and goes downhill rapidly, "Yeah, but...."  The sure indicator of someone that has no intent of giving up free money provided by others is the much overused, "Yeah, but..."  Reminding these folks of the depression era when fathers left families and found work to send money home, or when the entire family would hit the road and look for work on farms while living in tent cities, would fall on deaf ears.  We don't teach history in this country, and you don't have to wonder why - keep them fed, keep them stupid.  Our personal path is all about making choices and living with the consequences.

I don't know what my path is yet. I'm just walking on it.

-- Olivia Newton-John

I often talk about the League of the Perpetually Offended.  Perhaps the proper title for folks on perpetual welfare might better be the League of the Perpetually Dissatisfied.  This league is all inclusive of the intelligent and the ignorant, the dissatisfied and the offended, the entitled, the angry, the antagonistic, belligerent, etc., etc..

A man that attended one of my recent meetings had an unusual approach to life; he was a member of the League of the Perpetually Angry, Tempered by Antagonistic Belligerence; an uncomfortable personality combination for the rest of humanity to cope with, to be sure.

Anger, tempered by antagonistic belligerence, is not a constructive life path.  Nothing perpetually negative is good for the individual, those around them, or society as a whole.  God bless them, these folks are, unfortunately,  seen as the bothersome gnats of society, the "no-see-ums" in life that fill dead air time on our news networks to remind us of their less than useful existence in a world fraught with more important threats than they are offering.  We swat at them to little effect and try desperately to ignore them.

Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Your personal life path should be constructive.  Your life is fairly insignificant if it isn't constructive.  If you find you must criticize, make it constructive criticism.  If you find inequities, sit down and offer equitable solutions which don't include just disrespecting the other viewpoints.  You have the God given right to fart; we have the God given right to ostracize you for it.  If you think the singer on stage can't sing, get up there and show us how it's done, or... shut the hell up and sit your talentless ass down so the rest of us can enjoy the endless parade of life.  Be the moral compass, the voice of reason, and the "go to" person for the good sense that is so much less than "common" in society today.

“Sometimes God will place a wall on your path to force you to go in another direction.” 

-- Suzy Kassem 

A good personal path should be smooth and free of obstructions.  The rough path we experience is of our own making.  The obstructions we encounter, we ourselves put there.  Our path is all about the choices we make and the consequences we, then, have to deal with.  Better for us to make good choices and let the consequences be the constructive evidence of our passing.

“While you'll feel compelled to charge forward it's often a gentle step back that will reveal to you where you and what you truly seek.”

-- Rasheed Ogunlaru

So, what really is a positive life path, and have we been programmed by society to define our path in societal terms?  Does debt equal happiness? Some may feel being entitled to things they haven't earned is happiness while others may feel being filthy rich can buy that happiness.  The truth is, none of this may have diddly to do with a person's life path.  Your positive life path is what you do with what you have; the positive impact, impression, and effect you have on the lives of others in order to better their lot as well as your own.

Everyone has a path to walk, whether they know it or not.  You may not know what your own path is, yet.  A life path is that journey we take between when we are conceived and when we reach the end of our journey.  Our journey does not end at death, nor does our life path.  Our journey will continue until we reach the final destination.  You may not know what your own path is until you gather enough puzzle pieces and have that "Aha!" moment.  Your path in this life might just be to peacefully gather the pieces so you're prepared for what comes next.  Your path might be just being, which, in itself can be meaningful to those looking for what you don't know you have; what they see in you that you haven't discovered, or are to humble to admit.  Even this humility can be an unknown attribute you bring to your path.  Throughout our lives we learn, shape, and morph as we search for - something.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson  

God made the universe with only one constant that can be assured - change.  The gift of change is a double edged sword.  Change can be good or bad depending on variables.  For each of us those variables deal mostly with the choices we make and the ensuing consequences.  We can live with the consequences of bad choices or we can choose to step back and try again.  We have been given the ability to learn from our mistakes, to refine our skills, up our game, to keep trying, and to constantly strive for something better.  To sit down and give up, to surrender your pride and your integrity for rewards not earned is a disrespectful waste of God's gift.  I find the notion of disrespecting an omnipotent being a tad arrogant.  For most humans, sadly, arrogance is also not unexpected.

Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment.

-- Morihei Ueshiba

Perhaps we should all take a step back and look at our personal path.  You may not know what that path is... yet, but you can judge whether the path you are on is constructive or not.  You can determine if the current path is a suitable path to follow, or if you have to make adjustments in order to find happiness. "You are here to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment."  Or, you can always go back to pissing off God.  

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) once wrote, "L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés ou désirs" (Hell is full of good wishes or desires). But, it is also said, heaven is full of good works!  When does the wishing stop and the doing begin?

Ensure your path is headed in the right direction, and then... take the first step!

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.