The Open Road
May 28, 2008
My friend, Kirk, from MySpace posed this question after yesterday's post:
Well, maybe i missed the point....if that road to success has all those hazards...i would take another road to success, yes roads to success have these things only if we create them. There are super highways in our own souls that can take us to new destinations ,,,,,,much faster just by feeling how it will feel when reach what we are looking for. Because once you can feel that emotion.....the road becomes shorter and not even a road at all.
Good question, Kirk!
No, you didn't miss the point, Kirk, but you made a good one which I neglected to emphasize. If the dream is visionary, clear, and compelling, it can make all of the obstacles that life brings seem lesser and the goal, greater. Potholes, bumps, and curves become part of the grand adventure and, at times, a genuine joy.
You are right to suggest that we must engage ourselves fully - including our emotions - in the process of moving along the super highways of our souls to a destination that is fulfilling and rewarding.
My objective yesterday was to encourage folks not to let the obstacles, difficulties, and necessary efforts become excuses for quitting or becoming discouraged.
Last Sunday I worked with two verses that introduce the Beatitudes out of Matthew 5 (1-2): "Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them ..." (NIV)
In Jesus' ministry, there were multitudes (thousands), crowds (hundreds), smaller crowds of followers (tens and scores), future apostles (12), and an inner circle of 3. When referring to "disciples (learners, followers), Matthew is probably talking about something more than the smaller crowds and less than the crowds. But it may have been an even smaller group.
You see, not everyone wants positive change badly enough to do what it takes to get it.
Matthew said that when it was time to get to the really meaty, life transforming teaching about the "upside-down kingdom" where radical thinking creates people who can rejoice in any circumstance and overcome any obstacle, that Jesus climbed a mountain, assumed the teaching position, and let folks climb to Him who really meant business and wanted the good stuff.
They were the folks who had a glimpse of the vision and imagined the possibilities so vividly that the effort was worth it - in fact, may have seemed like no effort at all. That mountain climb and the time spent listening and learning was an investment in a bright and limitless future.
You have to climb higher to go deeper.
You have to dig deeper to get higher.
Strange, but true.
That climb was one round of their road to success. It was worth it and, thankfully, some folks listened carefully enough to have preserved what was taught that day so that those of us who want it badly enough can climb high enough and put forth the effort to "get it."
Success is worth the extra effort for those who desire it. But for those who both desire and envision it, the effort seems far less troubling than for those who have only a foggy vision and passing desire for the destination.
That is true of every good thing in life.
- Tom Sims
(c) copyright, 2008, Tom Sims
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