In the last few weeks I have been having a strange feeling that most of my dreams will soon come to pass. Unlike HOPE our dreams are the point of contact or mental visualisation of our hopes or desires, in a dream you see yourself there already, you get a sense of the reality of that hope or desire, that thing you have always wanted to happen to your life to give you a sense of fulfilment. Of all the things that can keep you going and hoping, your dream is the most important.
Before we get carried away with the power of your dream, it is important to ask, do you have a dream? And if the answer is yes, have you been protecting that dream? If the answer is no, well you are in trouble already. For those with dreams, it is important you safe guard your dream because everyday life and on the spiritual side the enemy wants to destroy your dream, I cannot give you a reason for this because I will have to deal with a lot of things in order to explain it but believe me your dream is not sitting there looking pretty without an attack planned on it. When you first had the dream to become a doctor, to be the most charitable person ever, to be the best dancer ever, to have the best family home, to be loved like never before and so on, most of this dreams did not just flash past they were in your heart for a very long time sometimes form childhood and sometimes from the day you decided that you knew what you wanted. But something happens that changes all that and you settle for less, without any warning you are now living a life that you never saw for yourself, a life full of “ifs” and “buts” and that life my friends is not God’s plan for you. You are beautifully and wonderfully made to be happy, fulfilled and complete in all things that pertain to life and Godliness.
So what happened? Well, we gave up, we didn’t just believe it anymore and we felt we had run out of time. You must remember that a dream keeps popping up in your heart from time to time it’s not an emotional experience it’s a genuine call to become who you should be, it’s your inner man crying out for help. Hence once you start living a life that is not yours, you find that you are unhappy most times, you have become the most cynical friend a person could have and your perception of life is negative at best
Solution
First things first, you have to know what your dream is. So in keeping with the philosophy of this blog to draw from personal experiences and from that of my close friends (not very many I must add). I found out that whenever we seem to get closer to our dream comes the most challenging time of our lives. The push and pull of life, the distraction and the fear that you may not make it, for example at the time a young man’s wife had just been transferred to another town (she had to move to secure her job or lose it) she realises that she is pregnant. Another example at the time a young man was practically willing to travel back to Africa for a woman to marry he met his soul mate here but is now thrown into a family controversy, likes of which Shakespeare will be very grateful to write about.
In all of these situations these young men and women are close to their dreams and probably the happiest they have been in years, they didn’t have to have the added stress of having to deal with distance or decisions or like the second case to deal with family issues that they know nothing about. But this is exactly why you must know in your heart that what you are about to achieve is part of your dream, you must not let up or give up, there is no such thing as easy sailing life. There is no one that will not face challenges, the issue is not the challenges you face the issue is can you hold on to that dream. I have come to the conclusion that purpose of the challenges we face is to help purify our dreams, to put the dream to the text of fire so that just like gold it will be purified and come out pure and clearer for all to see.
Your dream is yours and no one can take it from you, not even the devil. You alone can destroy it or give up on it, so you must resolve at all cost ( without becoming a freak, being sure that it is your dream not emotion) to reach the end, to live a fulfilled life even if things don’t look good at the moment. Hold on to the little sparks of light; add some oxygen to that spark at the same time diminish the value of the challenges and hold on to your dream. This is the source of true happiness and if you are happy, others around you will be happy too.
Friday, 29 May 2009
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Am back!
Wow! Wow!
It’s been a crazy period in the past few weeks. I am really sorry for the delay and the follow up on the blogs, but I am back people….. not that I have much to say… The last topic was relationships, before I return to my run of topics, a lot has happened in my life and in the world that makes me wonder if the world is going crazy or it’s just me.
Check out the following
1. North Korea is going crazy while the world is playing politics with Russia and China
2. The British MPS are falling over themselves about revelations of misuse of tax payers money while we all know that most people in such positions have benefits even if we don’t agree with all of it. The press is making them run around like kids defending themselves over every penny
3. Man U lost a game because for some reason they froze and didn’t play as you have come to expect of them
4. The Catholic Church in Ireland is in big sh@* for the things their priest did which the Church has covered up with no regard for others.
5. Israel is refusing to listen to America wow!
With all this going on, you almost forget just 2 to 3 months ago everyone was talking about the recession. In all this though nothing is more important than your personal life and everything happening to you. This is why this blog is so relevant and important to everyone including me, I read my blogs again from time to time because I find things in it that encourage me and sometimes I actually wonder if I wrote it.
One of the reasons we keep going regardless of how crazy things look is simply because of HOPE, which is basically a general feeling that some of our desires will be fulfilled. This four letter word is one of the greatest pull on our subconscious inner man to continue and stay alive, to believe, to work, to get up and go. We all hope for the best, I have never heard of someone who hopes (desires) for the worst. So inside us there is a desire to make it, to get it right and to have the best we can. My friends I shall be back with more tomorrow, I only wanted to welcome you back to my blog as we continue on life’s journey of hope and us
It’s been a crazy period in the past few weeks. I am really sorry for the delay and the follow up on the blogs, but I am back people….. not that I have much to say… The last topic was relationships, before I return to my run of topics, a lot has happened in my life and in the world that makes me wonder if the world is going crazy or it’s just me.
Check out the following
1. North Korea is going crazy while the world is playing politics with Russia and China
2. The British MPS are falling over themselves about revelations of misuse of tax payers money while we all know that most people in such positions have benefits even if we don’t agree with all of it. The press is making them run around like kids defending themselves over every penny
3. Man U lost a game because for some reason they froze and didn’t play as you have come to expect of them
4. The Catholic Church in Ireland is in big sh@* for the things their priest did which the Church has covered up with no regard for others.
5. Israel is refusing to listen to America wow!
With all this going on, you almost forget just 2 to 3 months ago everyone was talking about the recession. In all this though nothing is more important than your personal life and everything happening to you. This is why this blog is so relevant and important to everyone including me, I read my blogs again from time to time because I find things in it that encourage me and sometimes I actually wonder if I wrote it.
One of the reasons we keep going regardless of how crazy things look is simply because of HOPE, which is basically a general feeling that some of our desires will be fulfilled. This four letter word is one of the greatest pull on our subconscious inner man to continue and stay alive, to believe, to work, to get up and go. We all hope for the best, I have never heard of someone who hopes (desires) for the worst. So inside us there is a desire to make it, to get it right and to have the best we can. My friends I shall be back with more tomorrow, I only wanted to welcome you back to my blog as we continue on life’s journey of hope and us
Monday, 4 May 2009
Continuation of looking for answers
Identity
The life we live is both spiritual and physical, accepting this will help you understand why most things happen and why what you do about it matters. Without accepting this, you are merely a wandering empty shell, because all you do is wake up, go to work or whatever you do, eat, sleep and wake up again. Repeating such aimless wander does not leave me with great excitement to be human. Having accepted that we are both spiritual and physical beings, it becomes necessary to consider which is more important.
Why should one be more important than the other? Because the important part of any human being determines how they react to things, it affects their perspective on everyday life. Based on my little life experience I would say it is greater to be more spiritual than physical. Having agreed to be a more spiritual being, I immediately have an identity of sort, a sense of where I belong, a sense of who I am and whose I am. Knowing who you are makes life a little easier, for example the fact that you know your name makes it easier to answer if someone calls you and when you have your name written on a property you can calm that property to be yours. Names help us identify ourselves and our properties. So it is spiritually, knowing who you are will help you resolve any issue that troubles you.
It’s also important to know which spiritual identity we need. For me that question is simple as I indentify with Christ. And this is the major difference from being religious and wanting to know Christ personally, not as a study of Christology but to have a personal relationship. So then, what is the problem you have that God cannot understand? God understands, because we know that Christ was in human flesh and had full understanding as a human being, feeling the pain, the gossip about you, the being broke, the lose, the anger of being let down, the desire not to forgive those who may have hurt you, a sense of weight on your shoulder, loneliness, jobless and many more issues that trouble us.
At this juncture, I would ask you let go of most religious preconceptions that you may have from your religious group and walk with me, believing that the spiritual life in Christ is greater than I the writer. For those that feel they know me, well let go of that little knowledge of Josh and to those who do not know me, your journey will be easier because you have no opinion at this stage (you may develop one later, hopefully a good one). I must also say that there is no desire from me to change your religious believes so if you are a Muslim, Hindu and many other religious groups out there, you are not being asked to run from your family or deny anyone. But I want you to understand that as a spiritual being, I personally have chosen Christ and my answers to any issue will finally be resolved from the perspective of what will Jesus Christ do?
Relationships
What is the answer to relationships? Why is it so difficult and complicated? Yet it is one of the most beautiful and fulfilling things a human being can ever be in because of our very nature as social being. The thing about relationships is, both of you have different upbringing and probably different perspective just by being of different genders, there is the man who in the past few years before you came was drinking and hanging out with the boys whenever he wanted to and there is the woman who dreamt of perfect love and met up with the girls whenever she wanted to. Already from my last sentence as you can see, the man did not think of love but the woman did and I am also of the opinion that women mature faster than men with regards to relationship. What I mean by this is that women are ready to settle and accept a man as a life partner faster than the man is.
Part of the problem for ladies is that the man did the chasing and convinced the lady of his good intentions and when she gives up and agrees suddenly the gentleman is not sure anymore (that is not necessarily true but it sometimes feels like that to the ladies). The man has simply become too comfortable in the relationship, so he appears nonchalant. On the other hand, sometimes a man could do everything to impress a lady and she agrees but after a while she comes out with “am no more in love with him” (this also is not necessarily true but when you say that to a man it becomes his nightmare). The lady could be facing new challenges that she feels this man can’t handle, hence her new desire to move on.
And of course the above may not be the problem with your relationships, it could simply be deceptions the fact that one of the partners never loved the other but has ascribed the word “love” to their desire of sexual pleasure. Or it could be that neither of the above example is an issue for you but you will certainly fall into the category of one partner cheating on you, either sexually, emotionally or financially. And if all the above does not fit you then you must be in a relationship of aggression either by physical or emotional. Now if none of the above defines your past or present relationships then I want to welcome you to the renewed life or to congratulate both of you on your disciple to abide in any situation.
The decision to abide in any situation (apart from physical abuse) and be renewed in your mind to understand and accept your partners short comings is the base of a good relationship and also the answer on how to have a good relationship. When you first met him/her your initial thought if genuine was good and of hope and probably a rush of some sort of excitement that made you sing the hallelujah chorus. So what happened?
Let’s assume this person is for real not the one who has conveniently ascribed “love” to lust ( and if you what to know ladies, just look into his eyes and hold out, don’t give in to that desire, we know how much you want to! We all want to...). As I was saying, if he/she is for real, then it is important that you let them know who you really are. Yes the real you that would even scare your mother! Yes that person! Not the nice person you present to everyone, but the real deal. Now if they walk away then they were not for you. Nothing will help you more than truth, and if the person chooses to lie to themselves, it will not last so you will not have to worry about getting rid of them.
The way you start your relationship is the way it’s going to be till the end, there may be a few bumpy rides but it will settle, hence my suggestion that the truth must be told. The problem sometimes of truth is that the person hearing it may not be able to handle it even if they have asked for the truth, so be prepared to lose out in your honesty. So to at least start well is important, for a good relationship you will need the real you, a goal for the relationship greater than both of you, faith based answers for the bumpy ride you will encounter all sealed in an envelope of genuine love for each.
I have often heard people say, love is not enough. I beg to differ, if they know the power of love, what it means to love someone without blame or moral high ground. Or if you try to understand the love of God for us, in that while we did not deserve it he sent his son to die for us. Now if you even have a tiny sense of that, then I must say love for your partner is definitely enough to hold that relationship together. Of cause, make sure to include the italic ingredients in the last paragraph.
more to come.....
The life we live is both spiritual and physical, accepting this will help you understand why most things happen and why what you do about it matters. Without accepting this, you are merely a wandering empty shell, because all you do is wake up, go to work or whatever you do, eat, sleep and wake up again. Repeating such aimless wander does not leave me with great excitement to be human. Having accepted that we are both spiritual and physical beings, it becomes necessary to consider which is more important.
Why should one be more important than the other? Because the important part of any human being determines how they react to things, it affects their perspective on everyday life. Based on my little life experience I would say it is greater to be more spiritual than physical. Having agreed to be a more spiritual being, I immediately have an identity of sort, a sense of where I belong, a sense of who I am and whose I am. Knowing who you are makes life a little easier, for example the fact that you know your name makes it easier to answer if someone calls you and when you have your name written on a property you can calm that property to be yours. Names help us identify ourselves and our properties. So it is spiritually, knowing who you are will help you resolve any issue that troubles you.
It’s also important to know which spiritual identity we need. For me that question is simple as I indentify with Christ. And this is the major difference from being religious and wanting to know Christ personally, not as a study of Christology but to have a personal relationship. So then, what is the problem you have that God cannot understand? God understands, because we know that Christ was in human flesh and had full understanding as a human being, feeling the pain, the gossip about you, the being broke, the lose, the anger of being let down, the desire not to forgive those who may have hurt you, a sense of weight on your shoulder, loneliness, jobless and many more issues that trouble us.
At this juncture, I would ask you let go of most religious preconceptions that you may have from your religious group and walk with me, believing that the spiritual life in Christ is greater than I the writer. For those that feel they know me, well let go of that little knowledge of Josh and to those who do not know me, your journey will be easier because you have no opinion at this stage (you may develop one later, hopefully a good one). I must also say that there is no desire from me to change your religious believes so if you are a Muslim, Hindu and many other religious groups out there, you are not being asked to run from your family or deny anyone. But I want you to understand that as a spiritual being, I personally have chosen Christ and my answers to any issue will finally be resolved from the perspective of what will Jesus Christ do?
Relationships
What is the answer to relationships? Why is it so difficult and complicated? Yet it is one of the most beautiful and fulfilling things a human being can ever be in because of our very nature as social being. The thing about relationships is, both of you have different upbringing and probably different perspective just by being of different genders, there is the man who in the past few years before you came was drinking and hanging out with the boys whenever he wanted to and there is the woman who dreamt of perfect love and met up with the girls whenever she wanted to. Already from my last sentence as you can see, the man did not think of love but the woman did and I am also of the opinion that women mature faster than men with regards to relationship. What I mean by this is that women are ready to settle and accept a man as a life partner faster than the man is.
Part of the problem for ladies is that the man did the chasing and convinced the lady of his good intentions and when she gives up and agrees suddenly the gentleman is not sure anymore (that is not necessarily true but it sometimes feels like that to the ladies). The man has simply become too comfortable in the relationship, so he appears nonchalant. On the other hand, sometimes a man could do everything to impress a lady and she agrees but after a while she comes out with “am no more in love with him” (this also is not necessarily true but when you say that to a man it becomes his nightmare). The lady could be facing new challenges that she feels this man can’t handle, hence her new desire to move on.
And of course the above may not be the problem with your relationships, it could simply be deceptions the fact that one of the partners never loved the other but has ascribed the word “love” to their desire of sexual pleasure. Or it could be that neither of the above example is an issue for you but you will certainly fall into the category of one partner cheating on you, either sexually, emotionally or financially. And if all the above does not fit you then you must be in a relationship of aggression either by physical or emotional. Now if none of the above defines your past or present relationships then I want to welcome you to the renewed life or to congratulate both of you on your disciple to abide in any situation.
The decision to abide in any situation (apart from physical abuse) and be renewed in your mind to understand and accept your partners short comings is the base of a good relationship and also the answer on how to have a good relationship. When you first met him/her your initial thought if genuine was good and of hope and probably a rush of some sort of excitement that made you sing the hallelujah chorus. So what happened?
Let’s assume this person is for real not the one who has conveniently ascribed “love” to lust ( and if you what to know ladies, just look into his eyes and hold out, don’t give in to that desire, we know how much you want to! We all want to...). As I was saying, if he/she is for real, then it is important that you let them know who you really are. Yes the real you that would even scare your mother! Yes that person! Not the nice person you present to everyone, but the real deal. Now if they walk away then they were not for you. Nothing will help you more than truth, and if the person chooses to lie to themselves, it will not last so you will not have to worry about getting rid of them.
The way you start your relationship is the way it’s going to be till the end, there may be a few bumpy rides but it will settle, hence my suggestion that the truth must be told. The problem sometimes of truth is that the person hearing it may not be able to handle it even if they have asked for the truth, so be prepared to lose out in your honesty. So to at least start well is important, for a good relationship you will need the real you, a goal for the relationship greater than both of you, faith based answers for the bumpy ride you will encounter all sealed in an envelope of genuine love for each.
I have often heard people say, love is not enough. I beg to differ, if they know the power of love, what it means to love someone without blame or moral high ground. Or if you try to understand the love of God for us, in that while we did not deserve it he sent his son to die for us. Now if you even have a tiny sense of that, then I must say love for your partner is definitely enough to hold that relationship together. Of cause, make sure to include the italic ingredients in the last paragraph.
more to come.....
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