"Joy"

I was watching the movie “The Bucket List” this evening on television, the two main characters were played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.  They decided to travel the world before their time was completely ended by terminal illness.  They traveled to Egypt where sitting on the top of a pyramid gazing at another pyramid in the distance, Morgan Freeman’s character explained to Jack Nicholson’s character the Egyptians had to answer two questions before entering the gates of Heaven.  The first question was….'what has brought joy into your life?'  …and the second, 'what joy did you bring into the lives of others?'

Upon pondering these thoughts I wonder what really brings joy into my life.  Who has been a joy in my life, what joy have I brought others and how do I want to live?  Life is incredibly too short. We must fulfill our dreams by living daringly and strive to achieve our goals.  We won’t be able to squeeze everything into a short time- frame, for this reason we have been given all these years to accomplish much.  I think about all the things I have accomplished in my life, my talents, abilities, desires and motives.  And knowing my abilities and potentialities and therefore accelerate forward brazenly with the intentional will to discover more of my life.

With these thoughts of rejuvenation, I am easily able to begin to recreate the list of goals from an earlier time in my life to achieve and reflect upon the example of John Goddard who had so many goals he wanted to accomplish and did. Like him, and inspiration from the bucket list, I set my sights on a broad variety of objectives.  I have held myself back for way too long, there is so much life to be experienced.

I have set a huge goal to be achieved this next July, it involves international travel, physical strength, mental stamina, requires achieving many other small and some not so small goals to prepare for this life event. The accomplishment of this goal will bring about a new enlightenment into my conscious experience, and it will be so meaningful there will be a personal transformation in my thoughts, persona, and life force.  It will create a new personal awareness of my being and definitely bring joy into my life and allow me to bring joy and inspiration into the lives of others.

God has great plans for me; to understand His plans requires a perception of which many times we do not want to accept.  Where I plan to go there is danger, but there is also love.  The people there upon seeing you will spontaneously hug, no reservations or societal restraint as we have here.  Ironically, this goal I have set was earlier in this month and watching this movie was reinforcement of my motives.

My spiritual mission statement is Proverbs 21:21, if I can love as God, truly as He, then I will be so much a different person.  To love as God means sometimes giving people money you do not know, helping a stranger, bringing a laugh to a cashier, a needed smile to someone in the distance, a tight embrace to a friend or to hold their hand.  And of course, to forgive and forgive!  To you, my dear friend, let God be the judge, not the world! 

I want to take a moment to digress.  Live as you want to live, write more notes, give more hugs, kiss if you decide, stop letting the pressure of what seems socially acceptable prevent you from living a transformed life.  God wants you to love, He is purely love and when you also live as pure love, you will begin to understand what I am saying.  God is way beyond our societal dos and don’ts and yet we possess this perceived notion that He is so staunch.  This perception is derived through hundreds of years of the Catholic influence upon our Christian faith and even though the charismatics won’t admit it.  If you and I were to be living on an island in the South Pacific our mannerisms and outlook on life would be so much different than if we were to be living on Manhattan Island.  How do you want to live?    Stop living scared rather live a sacred life as a blessing revering others treating them as Holy.  My vision of Jesus is that He will hug and kiss me, my perception of Holy is that if you do the same to others your life will be lived on a whole new higher and more evolved plane.  How do you want to live?

What joys are you experiencing in life?

What joy are you bringing to the lives of others?

Is your life all about yourself?  Or is it about what you can give to others in your life, not just your family members, but your co-workers, your extended family, your clients, neighbors, special friends, and acquaintances.  Do you really treat others as hallowed?  What blessings do you shower?  And what are you capable of?   

Remember there may not be a tomorrow….

I hope the expression of my thoughts found here bring you some semblance of joy.  Maybe a cause for personal introspection for you is not so bad.  I write so you will know me.  And I write so you will think and help you learn to know you and discover a little more of who you are.

I know who I am, a very strong person unafraid to express my sensitivities, tears, sadness, anger, laughter, happiness and unrestrained joy.  I am real!  Some may not always like real, rather choosing a false sense of identity.  I always forgive, sometimes slowly, I am passionate and I do not apologize for being so.  And when I truly love and give my whole heart away, it is with total and complete abandon, there is no restraint.  I am real, absolutely real, and I sincerely hope you choose to be real with me. 

I love you!