Mistakenly Mistaken

There's a phenomenon that's been troubling me for weeks, months and even years, and it has to do with all of us. I observe in every person I've ever gotten to know, including myself, how this phenomenon continuously torments and strangles its hosts. It holds us back, holds us down, depresses us, angers us, causes us to hate, resent and despise, not only others, but ourselves. I know all of us will come to this realization eventually, but maybe, just maybe I can speed up the process for even just a few of us. What I'm talking about is this terrible notion of mistakes, and its nasty bedfellow, guilt. Well here's the truth about mistakes: They don't exist. You've never made a single mistake; not in your entire life.

I know that sounds ridiculous and my ego is having a hard time accepting it too, but it's the absolute Truth. You, me, them, all of us; we've never made a single mistake. That time you cheated on your lover? Not a mistake. When you lied to your parents about going to a party, got plastered and ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning? Absolutely not a mistake. The decision you and your partner made to have an abortion for your own selfish reasons...When you pulled out in front of the 18-Wheeler with your family in the car with you...none of these are mistakes.

The things in our lives that we've said or done or thought which we refer to as 'mistakes' - that which we should not have said, done or thought - are not mistakes; they are opportunities. We should get rid of that term, 'mistake,' altogether because it is an erroneous term that holds no truth in it at all. It's a fallacy. It's a mythical term based on a mythical belief that there is such a thing as right and wrong. To call something a mistake is to grossly misinterpret reality. Life is endless opportunity and there is no right way to experience these endless opportunities.

Well, one may counter that the misinterpretation of these opportunities as mistakes, is a mistake. To that I would reply: 1. You're begging the question, and 2. Realizing the misinterpretation transforms it into an opportunity; thus we have corrected the misinterpretation and are now interpreting correctly.

Our egos, conditioned in duality and the precept of right and wrong, are now screaming at us: "If I do or say something that harms another or myself then that action or word cannot be good; therefore, I made the wrong decision - it is a mistake! It would have been better for me to have chosen differently!" Poor, poor egos; how dare we challenge your need for black and white control? I know, I know, this is challenging, but bear with me and I'll try to explain the best I can.

Without going into why it is never beneficial to judge a situation or act as good or bad, right or wrong (as I have done this in a past post), I will attempt to explain by simply asking why you think you made the choice you perceive as incorrect, in the first place? Why were you not naturally inclined to make the other 'correct' choice? The simple and obvious answer to this question is that there is an apparent need for growth in the area concerning the choice. Can we agree? You wouldn't have made the choice if you weren't somehow, deep down, inclined to do so, no? Yes, on the surface it seems it may have been more beneficial, immediately, to you or another if you had made the other choice; however, concerning your personal growth/evolution of your soul (which is ultimately our only concern, is it not?), making the 'incorrect' or 'harmful' choice, 1. cannot be avoided because our choices are a reflection of our inner state of being, and 2. is necessary to evolve our state of being. How else are we to know where we stand? It's a check point of sorts. It's an opportunity for self-assessment and, therefore, growth.

What about the other, whom we so obviously harmed by making the choice we made? Why do they need to suffer in order for us to grow? Well, this is where the brilliance of human existence and interaction makes itself known and, quite frankly, astonishes and excites me to no end. It's fantastic, really, when you think about it. The other is not harmed at all, and in fact gains just as much as you do from the choice you made. But only if they're in the right frame of mind; if they're perceiving reality as endless opportunity for evolution of their soul. If they are looking through the lens of love, compassion, non-judgment and understanding they will see that you made the choice based on a lack of understanding, or consciousness, and that in so doing, you have given them a wonderful opportunity to gauge how they will respond to experiencing such an act against them. Will they react in hurt, resentment and disdain, and cast blame on you? Will they become vengeful and attempt to hurt you back? And if they do, will they recognize it and do the soul work needed in that area to alleviate such reactions? Or will they immediately see what is, and seize the opportunity to react in kindness and understanding? If they choose the latter, what an incredible opportunity this is for you! You've just made a choice that hurts or harms another and they have responded with love. This is one of the greatest gifts we can give another: to respond to aggression, fear and doubt with kindness; challenge the other's paradigm and give them an enormous opportunity to assess and change their perception. And so the trade-off of opportunities endlessly continues!

Our perceived mistakes are misinterpreted opportunities just waiting and begging to be seized. We seize these opportunities long past simply by recognizing them as such. Now our misinterpretations become tools for us to release judgment about our past actions and celebrate them instead for the knowledge they give us about ourselves - for the growth opportunity they present. No longer shall our past torment us in the present.

It is my deepest intent that all of us see that there is no use for guilt. Guilt does not and will not ever translate into growth. Non-judgment does. Compassion, especially for ourselves, does. When has guilt ever done anything for you besides make you feel terrible or prompt you to apologize for a perceived 'mistake' or to do the 'right' thing? It only keeps you in a lowly state of feeling like you're not good enough. Forgive yourself and others and release your guilt. Realize you never made a mistake in the first place. See what is. Guilt and apologies are unnecessary for those who understand the reality of Life. If I do not judge you, you have nothing to apologize for. If you have nothing to apologize for, you have nothing to feel guilty about. If you have no guilt, you have only opportunity. You are enough. I tell you with all of my heart and soul, and with the backing of the greatest Truth; All of You are enough, and you're doing wonderfully.

thank You and God bless

bryan

Morality from the Inside Out

i wrote an ethics paper and then revised it a bit so it's more...bloggy, i guess? okay so nothing i've written on this 'blog' is even remotely bloggy. and i'm okay with that. i promise not to say 'bloggy' anymore.

i'll just get on with it then.

Throughout the history of civilization the human race has found it necessary to impose some sort of moral code upon the people of its societies. The form of this moral code has varied from age to age, but its aim has more or less remained constant: to seek to create a flourishing society. In most cases, the moral code imposed upon the masses has been one that aims to control the baser desires and tendencies of so-called human nature in order to keep things orderly. It is thought that society must be controlled or it will disintegrate into immoral chaos. Such a claim presupposes, incorrectly, that humans are inherently evil or “sinful” by nature, and can only be motivated to morality by way of fear, guilt, and shame.

This moral system of negative reinforcement, which is the current system imposed on the majority of world citizens today, is much less effective in producing flourishing cultures than an Aristotelian system which builds morally developed citizens from the inside-out, driven solely by the individual’s intent to be morally developed. The modern system is so ineffective because it fails to understand not only human nature, but as well the process by which morality is cultivated in humans. Fear-based, negatively reinforced moral systems may keep a society from getting out of line for a time, generally speaking; however, as history has consistently shown, they cannot and will not develop flourishing societies. The entire Western world = case in point.

The main issue with such a system is in its implementation. Morality is imposed upon the populous as laws and rules to be adhered to. This puts power over the individual in the hands of those who are judging behavior according to the rules, and in so doing sets up a system of heteronomy, stifling free and autonomous thinking. In this breeding ground for superiority and inferiority mindsets, individuals must derive their self-worth from the approval and judgment of others. This is the system we have in place despite the fact that it is widely held that seeking self-fulfillment in anything outside of oneself is an emotionally unhealthy practice! I would argue that it is not only unhealthy, but an impossible and fruitless endeavor!

Instead of creating people of sound moral character, the system creates a society of fear-driven people who seek to commit morally good acts to avoid punishment, guilt and exclusion, or to gain approval, praise and reward. Citizens are constantly fraught with anxiety, worry, doubt and fear. Morality is not cultivated in this way, only guilt, resentment, dishonesty, destructive attachment, subservience, and blind obedience. Furthermore, as resentment grows, so does resistance to authority, eventually leading to widespread rebellion, chaos, and finally revolution (still crossing my fingers for that last one). Understanding how people are inspired to be moral is an essential consideration when developing moral theory. When we scrutinize this vital element we see that it has everything to do with the virtues.

So what are the virtues and how are they cultivated? Are they the root cause of truly moral acts? Leslie Stephen (a virtue ethicist) states that “morality is internal. The moral law…has to be expressed in the form, “be this,” not in the form, “do this."” Virtues are a way of being. Being begets a specific way of doing; it is not the other way around. What we do does not make us who we are; our actions do not describe our being, nor do they create our being. Our actions are created out of our state of being.

With this in mind we see that we cannot judge one’s morality by one’s acts, for according to Hume (another ethicist), “…the external performance has no merit…all virtuous actions derive their merit only from virtuous motives.” Our acts are a product and a reflection of our state of being; therefore, being, not doing, should be our focus. To correct our actions we must correct our state of being. But to whom does the realm of being belong? Can being be imposed upon an individual by an outside force (the state)? Certainly not! One cannot affect change in another's being. Like love, being cannot be compelled; it must be free.

Since being can only be affected internally by the individual, any attempts by outward forces to impose a state of being on an individual will invariably produce unsuccessful and even destructive results, just as they do in the state’s attempt to influence doing, described above. The question then becomes, what is society’s role in the development of moral character? According to Louis Pojman (yup...ethicist), “the state…should actively encourage citizens to inculcate the virtues, which in turn are the best guarantee of a flourishing political order.” Note the key word here is “encourage,” not “command.” The state should not impose the development of character upon its citizens if it desires any positive results.

When good acts and good habits form out of our individual intent to develop our moral character, we feel empowered instead of commanded. There is no cause for resentment because we have only ourselves to answer to. We cease seeking approval and avoiding guilt and instead begin to seek the Good for its own sake. This is the only way the cultivation of character, and consequently, morality, is realized.

Furthermore, taking this personal approach eradicates much of the deliberation and hair-splitting that takes place in duty ethics and consequentialism. There will be no need to figure out the “right” action to take. If we cultivate the virtues through practice, we will do the Good without having to analyze what is the best action. Our virtues will create in us a disposition to act morally. As Aristotle puts it in the Nicomachean Ethics, “If activities are…what determines the character of life, no blessed man can become miserable; for he will never do the acts that are hateful and mean.”

One may ask, “What about the just and compassionate man who neglects someone in need? Are we to say that this act makes him no longer just and compassionate? Doesn’t this negate the claim that virtuous character begets virtuous deeds?” The answer is yes and no for the first question, and no for the second. It is important to remember that by the very nature of ethics and morality (and life itself for that matter), nothing is black and white; every situation is made up of infinite shades of gray.

The man in question is still just and compassionate, but only to that extent which he expresses through his acts. We now know, for instance, from his act, that he is not completely just and compassionate. His neglect of the person in need does not negate his goodness, but it does make apparent the incompleteness of his virtue. We know from his act that, good as he is, there is still room for improvement in the state of his being, for were he not still lacking in virtue, he would not have neglected the person in need. In this way our acts negate neither our goodness nor the importance of virtue, but instead become a gauge of our progress in our development of the virtues (the soul). Acts we judge as "bad" become wonderful gifts of awareness! Since morality is not being imposed upon us, we are not judged for our acts, but are made self aware by them. The process of attaining high morality is completely self-evaluative as well as self-sustaining.

One may also ask, “If development of moral character falls on the individual, how do we ensure individuals will engage in this work?” The answer is that we do not and cannot and should not even attempt to ensure anything. Remember that our only concern, the only thing we have any power over, is our own development. What is important is that we see the big picture and realize that the current state of being of most people is not likely to change. A lifetime of backwards thinking is difficult to reverse. However, by encouraging new additions to our society from the day they are born to develop their moral character instead of imposing on them fear-based moral codes, we will begin to gradually change the state of consciousness and usher in a new perception of human nature as virtuous and Good-seeking. God-seeking. Humans will be like the bacteria that become immune to antibiotics after many generations of natural selection weed out the vulnerable. It is not the best analogy, but the point is clear. A shift in consciousness will occur, and without any destructive outward imposition.

A personal application of virtue ethics frees us of guilt, fear, and shame and ensures the development of right motive and pursuit of the Good for its intrinsic value. The modern principle and duty-based moral codes imposed on us now by religion, government and even our parents seek to control the acts of an individual without realizing that the acts of an individual are merely a reflection of the individual’s state of being. This is like expecting a child to perform well on an exam without ever giving her a text book to study from. As with all issues, the only sane approach to resolution is to address the issue’s root cause. In this case, the root cause of undesirable acts is undesirable character, state of being, or consciousness.

Morality (love, the Good, God) must be sought for its own sake—because it is in our best interest; because it enriches our experience and nurtures our soul. Morality must also be cultivated only by our own free will and only through the development of our personal character; because it cannot otherwise be realized. How do we make our societies virtuous and flourishing; free of hate, fear, guilt and deceit? By freeing ourselves of these things, not others—by making ourselves virtuous. We are the only ones who can do this work. We are in fact the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Shall we get started then?

I know this was an incredibly long read. So, as always, thank You and God bless.

bryan

off in Right field

This belief of refraining from claiming to be right underlies my world view. You might say it is the very foundation upon which all of my values are built. When I wander astray, as I often do, this thought process always brings me back to center. In this particular instance I delved much deeper into the logic behind the thought. And, as often is the case, it began with a question.

How are we benefited by focusing on who is right or what is right? By even considering it to be something of any relevance? Alright so we've decided; we are right. Now what? Well, naturally, we go about proclaiming we are right (if not out loud, then quietly to ourselves in our minds), alienating those whom we now believe, by our decision to proclaim our own selves right, to be wrong. Through this alienation we may have consequently thrown away a potentially valuable source of new ideas, perspectives and knowledge. After all, who among us would be inclined to lend our thoughts to someone who deems us wrong? I'm sure we can all agree that we are guaranteed not to be right about everything (I would argue anything). That person we just alienated may have some great ideas about something we're struggling with; about how to save our marriage, get our kid to stop using, or help grandma recover from her stroke and remember who we are again. But there is much more to this than simply avoiding pushing away others who may have good ideas, or closing ourselves off to different perspectives. This 'not thinking we are right' business is more than just being open minded and reaping the benefits. What we are talking about here is the total inhibition of our ability to become what we were intended to be. Thinking we are right, about anything, keeps us from becoming fully human.

That's kind of heavy, so maybe we should shift down a gear and figure out what we're talking about. What on earth is fully human? How can we be more human than we are? We were born humans, not incomplete, half-humans; that would be absurd. This state we are in now, that's what a human is. We are what we are, are we not?

We certainly are. However, as a whole, we are mistaken about what it means to be human, about our inherent nature, and about the erroneous assumption about the state we are in now. It is widely held that human nature makes us inherently self-centered and prone to the lesser passions of pride, greed, hate, deception, revenge, etc. A simple experiment will show this to be absolutely false. First, let's start a terrible rumor about someone we don't like. Now, let's give this same person bus money on a day they didn't have enough change. Which of these acts makes us feel good? Therein lies our answer to what human nature really is; what being fully human really is. If it is our nature, then reason tells us it should make us feel good. Why would it be our nature to do things that, while maybe giving us a fleeting sense of satisfaction, ultimately make us feel bad? This perspective defies logic. We are not inherently 'evil' and self-serving. We are quite the opposite. Our natural inclination to feel empathy for one another is a glaring testament to this fact. But from a very young age we are taught by our society to forget this.

I am proposing here that life is a struggle to transform ourselves into what we were intended to be: pure love. We are obviously not there yet. Some may ask, "Why is it a struggle to be something that is supposedly in our nature?" Because we forgot our nature. We forgot how to be human. The struggle is in the remembering. Pride, arrogance, and the simple belief that our view is superior to another are road blocks to this cause. They are the experience and the perpetuation of the forgetting. Whether it is our intent or not, these thought processes put us on a perceived higher level than others, making it impossible to love. Can we agree that to love is to give oneself entirely to another? Is this a fair definition? If so, how can we possibly be able to love absolutely when we are lording something, anything, over the other? Even something as seemingly insignificant as believing our way of training the dog is the right way can put us over on another, and we will always see that person as slightly inferior. Love is not possible with this mindset. I'm giving all of myself to you...except for the dog training part, because you're wrong about that part. By the definition above, this is not love.

If our objective in this life is to become fully human and exemplify our natural and intended state of pure love, then wouldn't we be better served focusing not on who or what is right, but instead on what we're learning, who we can help along the way, and what is standing in our way? What is standing in our way?

On a macro level it is the very nature of our fallen state. Our fallen state is not our natural state; it is a state where we find it easier to be negative than positive, easier to judge than accept, easier to despise than to love. It is our forgetfulness of who we are meant to be. It is our separation from God, or Pure Love. We have forgotten how to love relentlessly without condition or discrimination. We are separated from Love Itself. It is not a permanent split, however, as we have been given all the tools we need for our salvation, for making our way back to Love: our thoughts, our feelings, and our free will.

On a micro level, or a personal level, what keeps us separate from love is our own pride--our own audacious belief that we could possibly be right and better and more worthy than anyone or anything. To be right is to make a judgement about someone or something. But who are we to judge? Does it not make sense that only a perfect, infallible being, incapable of being judged, is worthy of passing any judgement on anything and anyone? This is where our own audacity and arrogance is startling. We are so far from perfect, yet we pass judgement constantly, and act as if we are entitled to do so--as if there is nothing wrong with this equation. You show me my skinned knee; I'll show you your black eye. What have we accomplished here? Not a one of us is fit to judge even the tiniest of discrepancies when all of us have our own box o' discrepancies staring us in the face. Who are we to judge when we will not look in the mirror and promptly judge ourselves? This is what is meant by pointing out the speck in our brother's eye while saying nothing of the splinter in our own. The magnitude of the splinter or the speck is of no relevance. We are all fit to be judged, in other words, we all have our faults, our sins; and therefore we are all unfit to judge others.

We've posed the idea that it makes sense that only a perfect being is fit to judge anything, anyone, at anytime. Yet, even this statement is erroneous. Or rather, the implication that such a being would judge is erroneous. For if a being is perfect--pure indiscriminate love--then, by simple logic, this being would not pass judgment on anything. We can all agree now that judgment is not love; it is in fact completely contrary to love, yes? Is love not unconditional, eternal acceptance? So if a perfect being, God, is pure love (and He is), then God does not judge. God's 'judgment' is not judgment at all, but a personal decision we make followed by the natural consequences of that decision. We do not displease God.

Wait a tick, what was that again? That's huge. That statement can flip entire religions on their heads. Let's revisit that statement and let it really sink in.

We do not displease God...ever.

This means nothing we do displeases or angers or disappoints God in any way, shape or form. When we steal, hurt, lie, cheat, kill, rape, slaughter, blaspheme--God is not displeased. Well now wait a minute, those are pretty terrible things! How can they not displease God? Because God is Pure Love, and God is unchanging. He is, was and ever shall be. To be displeased or to disapprove is to cease to be pure love and to change; and God cannot not be pure love, or God would not be God. God does not judge because judgment is outside of love. Love always accepts. Always. Or it wouldn't be love at all.

So what's the point? We can do whatever we want and God will love us all the same? God will love the murderer the same as the priest? Absolutely. Well that's not fair! Isn't it though? Isn't it fair that every one of us is loved absolutely, with no exception? Fairness is a concern only to those who would pass judgment and declare that there is a right way. So yes, we can continue to do the things which make us feel bad, continue to judge and condemn, continue to separate ourselves from Love Itself and continue to live in suffering; and God will love us just the same. But the catch is that we will not experience that love as love. We will experience suffering instead because these things are contrary to love, contrary to God; and to be separated from Love Itself is to suffer greatly. It is in fact the cause of our current state. Life was not meant to be suffering. In fact there is no reason at all for any one of us to suffer. We need only to remember what we were meant to be and use our free will to deprogram ourselves back to our natural state. There is not a right way, but there is a way to Love and a way from Love. To Love will naturally bring happiness. Away will bring suffering.

Life was meant to be happy. So go make someone happy.

thank You and God bless

bryan

Fearfully Doubting...or Doubtingly Fearful

This is the first thing I've written (not including frivolous and irrelevant college papers) in a long time, so be gentle, or harsh; whichever you think will benefit me most.

I have been struggling with issues of motivation, confidence, and self worth lately. I put this fact out there only as a basis for this train of thought you, the reader, are about to take a ride on...this is not a pity party.

When things are bad, we naturally wonder why they are bad. This leads us to think of when things were good and to wonder why they can't just stay that way. In our current state of woe, we come to realize how infrequently we experience something truly wonderful, and how fleeting that something tends to be. We dig through our memories and find that this seems to be mostly true. But why is it true?

Grab hold of one of those seemingly rare gems, when everything was right and perfect. How did that moment feel? Amazing, of course. More importantly, why did that moment end? Why was it soured? Without really thinking about it we'll say, "Nothing lasts forever," or that something or someone changed, the situation wasn't sustainable, 'life' happened, etc. What if we take a closer look?

Maybe this moment is unexpectedly landing a great job, or being immersed in a once-in-a-lifetime relationship. Everything is going perfectly. The job is challenging and rewarding; our lover exemplifies our ideal in every way--everything is wonderful and natural and easy; it just feels right. We are beside ourselves and wonder, "How can this be happening? Why do I deserve this," and then, "What if I lose it?" Doubt. Fear. We've been trained our whole lives to think that good things do not come easily and are fleeting. Struggle is the norm, so hold on to the good things as long as you can because they won't last. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Think about that amazing relationship. It felt unreal didn't it? It felt freeing, liberating, joyous, and above all, it felt easy and natural. This is our natural state--without fear--and it's glorious. But then we start to feel uneasy. What if I'm not ready for this? What if I screw this up? We begin to doubt ourselves. What if he's not what he seems? What if she changes her feelings? Fear creeps its way in, undermining our natural state. We begin to give less; resentment and suspicion may take hold of us. Finally our fear roots itself deeply in our minds and what happens? We connect less, we disagree more, we distance ourselves and it all falls down. London Bridge, my fair lady.

The same happens with the job. We may hit a bump in the road and start to doubt our ability. The fear sets in--What if I do the wrong thing? What if I can't handle the responsibility? What if I fail? Soon there are more bumps in the road, more doubt, more fear, until it seems all our fears are coming true. Are we prophets? Are we so well versed in the ways of the world that we can see the downfall coming? I'd like to check 'no' to both.

Could it be that we are manifesting the downfall simply by giving into our thoughts of fear and doubt? Is the belief itself, that all good things cannot last, the very thing that causes the good things to not last? Are we not the same people we were when things were wonderful? So why shouldn't things still be wonderful? The situation did not begin to change until our thoughts began to change; until we began to doubt and be fearful. There is a correlation. We've gone from giving our all and realizing great things to giving less for fear of failure and so realizing failure or mediocrity. What if, instead of doubting whether we're ready for a joyous situation, we loudly proclaim that we are ready, and we are worthy, and it can last forever? Sure, Bryan, sounds like a good ole time in Fairy Land, tra la la!

Or is it just simple, observable logic? I've come to realize that the moment we begin to fear, precisely that which we fear is set in motion. You can chalk this up to some cosmic force, be it God or the Law of Attraction, or whatever you choose, but I think the mechanism at work is more personal than that. It's as if we are willing our own mind and body to make it happen. When we convince ourselves a good thing is too good, or won't last, our subconscious makes absolutely sure that it is and it doesn't. We hold back, retreat, distract ourselves, or quit, to protect ourselves from the pain of failure or loss and then we look and say, "See, I told you it wouldn't work out." Instead of retreating in an effort to avoid a painful break further down the road, what if we stick with it, love relentlessly, and work on our faults and shortcomings within the positive, affirming and natural atmosphere we've managed to create (or stumble into)? Sounds like the logical choice, n'est-ce pas?

To most of us it still sounds like a fairy tale. Just like obtaining your dream job and keeping it is a fairy tale. Just like lasting passionate love is a fairy tale. But the fact that it is a fairy tale to us only illustrates the point further. We're trapped in this self-fulfilling prophetic belief that nothing good can last. That seems pretty grim doesn't it? So it's at least worth a shot to test the fairy tale, is it not? The next time something amazing comes along, grab it, claim it, and know that it's ours. We wouldn't have it if we didn't deserve it. when we hit a bump, see it for what it is; just a bump. Reject our doubts and try, love, give, receive, that much more fearlessly. See if we don't immediately recover and continue in the good times unscathed. If we look at our bag of memories from this angle we can see that all those little mere flashes of joy followed by disappointment had the potential to become sustained, truly wonderful times, if we had only let them. My apologies for the downer.

I know this all sounds like a bunch of self-help fluff--think positively and everything will be gee golly swell--and if you've read this far, I commend you, but I think it's more than that. It's a fundamental determining factor of our quality of life. What could possibly be more pressing? What underlies all of our negative experiences is fear. Test that statement. There's no question about it. Depression keeps hundreds of millions of people from reaching their potential and from being content, much less genuinely happy. What if we could eradicate depression simply by eradicating fearful thoughts? And I'm not talking about primal fear so let's keep the 'fear is essential for survival' discussion out of this.

Taking control of our own thoughts is not an easy task by any means, but it's also not insurmountable. I've been trying to 'walk the talk' so to speak for the past several weeks and have been met with both triumph and despair. When I've been able to hold my focus and sustain my resolve to live free of fear it's been spectacular, indescribable, easy and free. By the same token, when bumps in the road appear to me like towering mountains and I give into fear, the fall that follows is long and hard. It's very apparent to me that this is what causes the descent. I can recognize the point when my thoughts turn fearful and immediately afterward things do indeed start slipping.

It's a lot to take on, and it will be discouraging and hopeless at times, but it's worth it. So live fearlessly. Love fearlessly. Be fearless. And when it's wonderful, by God, let it be wonderful.

thank You and God bless

bryan