So Clearly Muddled

There are choices in life that make you happy and choices that don't. We all know this. We all wonder why we can't make more of the happy ones. I think I have found the answer. Its because nobody wants to sacrifice. Making the right choice, the one that will make us happy, always involves some sort of sacrifice. Perhaps you don't see it, but you always give something up when you make a choice. When you choose to go to bed early, you are sacrificing all that happens late at night. When you choose not to drink, you are sacrificing the experience of being drunk. You get the idea....

Many people find themselves at a point in life that they don't like, and they have no idea how they got there. Sometimes, these people turn everything around and become happy people. But, as we all know, more often than not they turn to the easy path. Some sacrifices are easier than others. In some cases, all it takes to make the sacrifice is to do nothing. This path of choice is called the easy road. It is easy to take no action. But this will never bring happiness.

There is no way to discuss this without bringing religion into it. If a person is trying to improve, he or she must make sacrifices of action. He cannot choose inaction and expect to see results. And in order to take action one must choose to sacrifice a negative aspect of his life and replace it with something better. In my own life, I had to choose to give up metal. I sacrificed all the perceived happiness I got from metal for the sake of a better life. I say perceived happiness because it is just that: perceived. It is not a true happiness, but a substitute. Now, you may be inclined to argue with me. I do not want to argue. I would simply ask you to look honestly into your heart and tell me if this behavior, be it metal or marijuana, actually brings you happiness. More often than not it is simply a distraction. A distraction from life and the things about it that displease you. It seems like happiness because it keeps you from focusing on the negative of your life, but it fades quickly, leaving you where you began.

But all this ranting gets no one anywhere good. All it does is start arguments. Instead, let me pose a question: What can I do, to help people see this? What can I do to help people make sacrifices? That's really the question I am asking with all this psycho-babble. How can I make a difference? Honestly, I don't know. The best I can figure is to just continue to love, regardless of people's choices.

In The Eye Of The Beholder

We look at life through lenses. Each lens is crafted of certain beliefs, ideas, experiences....they can be formed from anything. For many years of my life I used the lens of cynicism. Looking at life through this lens, I found myself becoming hateful and aggressive. Luckily I realized that wasn't the best way to go through life, so I changed to the lens of Taoism. Accepting things as they came, and experiencing life without fighting it, I certainly did not find myself so hateful. Neither did I find myself completely fulfilled. So, for a while I tried the lens of realism. Its a lot like the cynical lens, but without all the pessimism.

I am going to stop rambling now and get to my point. I realized the other day why I see people differently than many of my friends. I have found that when I look at people, or when I think about them, I imagine them not so much as they are, but as they would be if they were totally committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am not deluding myself into thinking these people are different than reality. I am simply trying very hard to see their potential. To see their best qualities, rather than noticing the negative. Seeing people in this light, or looking through this lens, it becomes very easy to love people. Forgiveness comes easier. Kindness is instinctive. Criticism is more sincere and less hurtful. Now, I don't mean to say that I am a perfect person, or that this is how I always see people. Or course not. I am imperfect. But more and more I find my efforts to reach perfection encourage this view more and more frequently. And I find it improves my life.