On Wednesday night, I told a friend I would be gone for the weekend. I told him I would be in a building from Thursday until Sunday with 40 or more other men, no cell phone, no watches or clocks, and no television or internet. Then I told him we would be told when to eat, go to bed, and wake up. He replied to me and asked, "man, what did you do to go to jail?"
Thursday evening came around and dinner was the first meal served for the extended weekend. After we were fed and then told to remain in silence until the morning, I thought, "man, what did I do to go to jail?!"
I was nervous and apprehensive going into my Emmaus Walk and the night in meditative silence certainly didn't help ease my anxieties. We all know how much I enjoy talking so to remain silent for an entire night and morning was pretty much the equivalent to a slap in the face. But little did I know, I was in for the greatest weekend of my life.
I am not going to get into too many details about the actual events in the Walk itself in case anybody who reads this is considering making the commitment themselves, but I am going to give you a short rundown.
A group of men were brought together from different physical places, different generations, different places in their spirituality, and different walks with Christ. A building full of men who have faced and are facing different obstacles through the darkness in their search for Christ. Men from different occupations and denominations, but one common denominator bonded us as brothers before weekend's end: our love for Jesus. We prayed a lot, laughed, smiled, talked, listened, cried a WHOLE lot, learned, and shared. The overall outcome from all of those combined... we GREW. We grew in different ways from one another, but also through shared ways that nobody who has an Emmaus experience could argue. We grew physically through our love for the snack table haha. In all seriousness, we grew SPIRITUALLY through Christ's unconditional and unending love for us.
This weekend, through much prayer, meditation, conversation, singing, and fellowship, I grew closer to Christ than I ever even DREAMT I would. The love that was shown from hundreds of strangers from all over the world in putting this experience together reconfirmed that although we may be in what I believe to be a postmodern and post-Christianity world, there is still MUCH love to be given and light to be shed.
This weekend, I had a moment. As it was named during the ending ceremony, I had an "ah-HA" moment. A moment where I felt the absolute presence of a God I love so much, but whom loves me infinitely more! Covered in goosebumps, drenched in my own tears, and brought to my knees, this weekend, I rededicated my life to Christ. I refuse to live another day without learning the word of God and incorporating my faith in all the decisions I make.
So, jail? Not close. As a matter of fact, it was the contrary; this weekend was the most LIBERATING weekend I have ever experienced. It was the most important, challenging, and insightful times I have ever had. As a fellow brother worded it, "I can tell you one things ladies and gentlemen, I AM FREE!" This weekend has changed my life forever.
Decolores.
And until next time...
Check me out on twitter! @PrallyD
Monday, November 11, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Capitalism and (Un)Happiness
1 John 2:15-17 - Do not
love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--
the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in
possessions-- is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the
world is passing along with its desires...
The ultimate goal of capitalism is
profit, 100% profit. Basically, you give
up nothing and get something in return, or, you give up something of lesser
value in exchange for something more valuable.
Capitalism is designed around profit and then more profit. As if “profit” is some abstract, immeasurable,
infinite thing everyone can get. That’s where
there is a problem though; profit of any kind is always very finite, whether
that is some kind of material, object, or currency. You don’t “create” profit; it’s there for the
taking. Capitalism is based around the
fallacious idea that anybody can be rich if they work hard enough. In order to become rich, one must take
money/resources from someone else first by means of selling a product, a
service, taxation, etc… The rich cannot
exist without the poor and vice versa.
It’s all about the balance of resources (or imbalance, if you will). That isn’t the issue at hand here, though, because
I am no economy guru. In fact, the
concepts I (think I) understand in the business context are very basic at
best. Most importantly, I question, how
does this fundamental model of capitalism reflect in western society’s lifestyle? Is it good?
Is it bad? How has it affected
our psyche?
The business model of capitalism is
“more, more, more... never-ending more,” and the psychological model matches that
exactly. This capitalistic train of thought
has infected our minds, producing a very negative affect on our psyche. More clothes, more
technology, more money, plainly stated… more STUFF. I see
so many people who always want more “things” and, quite frankly, that’s where
the main focus of their life resides.
Can one ever be TRULY happy if he/she always wants more? I would answer no, absolutely not. Happiness via materials/resources is only a very superficial and shallow form of happiness. I say that because in order for a person to
be truly happy, there needs to be some level of complacency. All caps and bold letters may help get one
message across that should be taken from this not-so-well-organized rant: IF YOU
ALWAYS WANT MORE, YOU’LL CONTINUE TO WANT MORE UNTIL YOUR LAST BREATH. Is that how you picture happiness to be? Wanting more never yields true happiness.
As materialism and the capitalistic mindset thrive,
depression rates are also at an all-time high.
Nearly 10% of the American adult population has been diagnosed with clinical depression. Now, I see a lot
of luxury vehicles and an abundance of people that have a considerable amount of “things.” The fact that 1 out of every 10 adults has been diagnosed with depression (not
to mention an X amount of adults who haven’t pursued professional help) shows
me that “more, more, more” isn’t the real pursuit of happiness. Also, one of the main causes of depression is
stress and nearly 75% of adults who report experiencing extreme stress say it is due to financial woes and worries. Do you see the correlation here? I’d
argue that to genuinely achieve happiness, one must redirect his/her VALUES
away from VALUABLES.
Simply put, appreciate the small things or, as
I’ve blogged previously, the little miracles.
Love, family, friends, food, water, this wonderful day, the very
breath you take, and the simple necessities the Lord has given us to survive. Be grateful for the many things you often take for granted. Then, my friends, you’ll find true happiness
and an honorably profitable state of mind.
Until next time…
Check me out on twitter:
@PrallyD
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Intricately Designed
A popular question I'm sure many of you have contemplated for yourself is "chance or design?" Are we here by random chance or was our planet/universe designed by a creator? Both sides of this argument, at their core, boil down to theory. There isn't any "evidence" that exists which points to an answer about our creation. It simply comes down to one's preference of science or faith.
For me, that choice seems fairly easy. As I look at the world around me, I see a world full of things that have been designed. An engine, watch, cell phone, computer, television, houses, works of art... the list could go on forever. Each of these named things have been carefully designed and given a purpose by a designer; man. I use that same form of logic when I look around at the world and how it works. Our planet is like a carefully designed machine: different parts of all sizes working together with specific purposes in order to keep the whole part running. To me, that doesn't seem to be something that is likely to happen merely by chance, but only by our Creator's hand. Let's look at a few examples of how our world operates together to enhance our chance of survival (I am no scientist, these are VERY basic examples):
Honeybees: the honey bee is very under-appreciated by us. Honeybees pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops (1/3 of everything we eat). Without these bees, our diet would be very limited at best. Not only are crops such as soybeans, broccoli, celery, nuts, and many fruits dependent on bees, but they also pollinate the majority of alfalfa, which is crucial to our cattle's diet. The honeybee is one of the most important factors in our food supply. What would we do without them? Probably eat grains and drink water.
Marine Algae: many of us have been brought to believe that rainforests are the main producer of the oxygen we desperately need to survive, but that isn't the case (although they are important, producing roughly 1/3 of the oxygen). Marine algae, yes that nasty looking green stuff, produces 70 percent of the oxygen we breathe daily. The plants produce the gas as a byproduct photosynthesis. We literally would not survive without single celled, photosynthetic algae. Crazy thought, huh?
Termites and Cockroaches: as I read those bold letters, my first thought is, "ew." Not so much when you realize what these little critters do for us though. Termites recycle tons of cellulose-containing materials (such as dead trees and plants), returning them to the soil as nutrient-rich mulch. For those of you who have been doing your landscaping this spring, you understand the importance of good mulch. Cockroaches are even more important to humans than termites. These roaches, like termites, also break down dead plant and animal material. Without the existence of the cockroach through time (about 250 million years), scientists suggest that our rainforests would be smothered in decaying material.
It seems to me that our world is analogous to an intricately designed machine; gears turning, notch in notch, helping the next one turn respectively. Earth's ecosystem is full of checks and balances that work together to keep it operating efficiently. Is this all by chance? Sure, it could be, but that's not what I choose to believe and choice is exactly what answers this question for each of us.
(A precursor to my next blog: People with a Purpose) Behind everything designed, there's a purpose. Even things we don't fully understand (yet) have purpose. I'll leave you with one hypothetical situation:
Imagine something so tiny that we can only view it through a microscope. We don't understand its purpose, but we notice the even smaller parts of it kind of bouncing back and forth in interaction with one another. Do you think it could have purpose? If you answered "no," do you also think we have no purpose? To put it into perspective, that's exactly what we are. In the scale of the universe, we are merely a microscopic spec of dust... if that.
Until next time...
Check me out on twitter: @PrallyD
For me, that choice seems fairly easy. As I look at the world around me, I see a world full of things that have been designed. An engine, watch, cell phone, computer, television, houses, works of art... the list could go on forever. Each of these named things have been carefully designed and given a purpose by a designer; man. I use that same form of logic when I look around at the world and how it works. Our planet is like a carefully designed machine: different parts of all sizes working together with specific purposes in order to keep the whole part running. To me, that doesn't seem to be something that is likely to happen merely by chance, but only by our Creator's hand. Let's look at a few examples of how our world operates together to enhance our chance of survival (I am no scientist, these are VERY basic examples):
Honeybees: the honey bee is very under-appreciated by us. Honeybees pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops (1/3 of everything we eat). Without these bees, our diet would be very limited at best. Not only are crops such as soybeans, broccoli, celery, nuts, and many fruits dependent on bees, but they also pollinate the majority of alfalfa, which is crucial to our cattle's diet. The honeybee is one of the most important factors in our food supply. What would we do without them? Probably eat grains and drink water.
Marine Algae: many of us have been brought to believe that rainforests are the main producer of the oxygen we desperately need to survive, but that isn't the case (although they are important, producing roughly 1/3 of the oxygen). Marine algae, yes that nasty looking green stuff, produces 70 percent of the oxygen we breathe daily. The plants produce the gas as a byproduct photosynthesis. We literally would not survive without single celled, photosynthetic algae. Crazy thought, huh?
Termites and Cockroaches: as I read those bold letters, my first thought is, "ew." Not so much when you realize what these little critters do for us though. Termites recycle tons of cellulose-containing materials (such as dead trees and plants), returning them to the soil as nutrient-rich mulch. For those of you who have been doing your landscaping this spring, you understand the importance of good mulch. Cockroaches are even more important to humans than termites. These roaches, like termites, also break down dead plant and animal material. Without the existence of the cockroach through time (about 250 million years), scientists suggest that our rainforests would be smothered in decaying material.
It seems to me that our world is analogous to an intricately designed machine; gears turning, notch in notch, helping the next one turn respectively. Earth's ecosystem is full of checks and balances that work together to keep it operating efficiently. Is this all by chance? Sure, it could be, but that's not what I choose to believe and choice is exactly what answers this question for each of us.
(A precursor to my next blog: People with a Purpose) Behind everything designed, there's a purpose. Even things we don't fully understand (yet) have purpose. I'll leave you with one hypothetical situation:
Imagine something so tiny that we can only view it through a microscope. We don't understand its purpose, but we notice the even smaller parts of it kind of bouncing back and forth in interaction with one another. Do you think it could have purpose? If you answered "no," do you also think we have no purpose? To put it into perspective, that's exactly what we are. In the scale of the universe, we are merely a microscopic spec of dust... if that.
Until next time...
Check me out on twitter: @PrallyD
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Little Miracles
Another Wednesday; therefore, time to follow Wednesday's protocol. I woke up at 9 AM and began to get ready for my morning commute to class. My thoughts seemed a bit more scattered than normal and were pulling me in another direction. Lately, I've been absolutely burning for God. It's been this unexplainable passion. I've just felt connected with Him through prayer and every aspect of my worship. I opened my Bible the night before and began reading the New Testament. On this very Wednesday morning, I felt compelled to skip class and continue my reading of Matthew. At about 9:30 AM, I decided that's exactly what I would do.
After breakfast and my daily dose of ESPN, I continued to read. Something that caught my eye the most was in Matthew 16:8, Jesus addresses his disciples, "You of little faith." How could these men have little faith after witnessing all of the miracles they had seen Jesus perform? How could they not have more faith than any man walking on Earth? At 11:22 AM, I sent my girlfriend a text message expressing my view on how surprising that was. I often question my faith, as I'm sure many do, but the disciples?! No way. Well, let me tell you about a little miracle that occurred less than 10 minutes after I sent that text message.
At roughly 11:30 AM, there was a knock on my front door. "Odd for anybody to be knocking on my door at this time of the day," I thought, but I wasn't going to ignore it. I looked out of the peep hole in the door and saw nothing. So, I opened it up. Slightly to the right of my door stood a man, not very well dressed, hood up, and back facing toward me. Hands in his coat, he turned to me and stared into my eyes with what seemed to be a mixture of fear, anger, and hate. I'd estimate that about 10 seconds passed by, but it felt like an eternity before he uttered the words, "Is Mr. John around?" I was confused by his question and told him no. For another 10 seconds or so, he stared at me with the same look on his face as before and then walked away. I didn't think much of it other than, "Well, that was weird." Less than 10 minutes later, that same man went into the home of one of my neighbors and robbed him. Amazingly, nobody was hurt. In my opinion, the Lord was truly looking over us.
A little miracle. Looking back on the incident, the way the man was securing his hands, it seems likely he had some sort of weapon. Yet, for some reason after staring at me for a brief amount of time, he just walked away. Then, proceeded to rob a neighbor, but THANKFULLY nobody was hurt - another little miracle. I stayed home and that prevented somebody from breaking into our residence, a little miracle in itself. As a matter of fact, I can't even count how many little miracles I experience everyday. Can you?
Many of us focus on the negative occurrences in our lives as if nothing is going "right" for us at all. But is that the truth, or are we just focusing on all the wrong things? You woke up, you're healthy, you've got a roof over your head, transportation, internet, food to eat, people to love, clothes on your back... the list could go forever even if those particularly listed aren't cases for you. Those are all little miracles. Just because we expect things to happen, doesn't mean their happenings aren't special. You see, our world is full of miracles everyday, we just have to recognize them. So, now I ask MYSELF, "How can I have such little (or any question in) faith when Jesus performs these miracles in front of my eyes everyday?!"
Until next time...
Check me out on Twitter: @PrallyD
After breakfast and my daily dose of ESPN, I continued to read. Something that caught my eye the most was in Matthew 16:8, Jesus addresses his disciples, "You of little faith." How could these men have little faith after witnessing all of the miracles they had seen Jesus perform? How could they not have more faith than any man walking on Earth? At 11:22 AM, I sent my girlfriend a text message expressing my view on how surprising that was. I often question my faith, as I'm sure many do, but the disciples?! No way. Well, let me tell you about a little miracle that occurred less than 10 minutes after I sent that text message.
At roughly 11:30 AM, there was a knock on my front door. "Odd for anybody to be knocking on my door at this time of the day," I thought, but I wasn't going to ignore it. I looked out of the peep hole in the door and saw nothing. So, I opened it up. Slightly to the right of my door stood a man, not very well dressed, hood up, and back facing toward me. Hands in his coat, he turned to me and stared into my eyes with what seemed to be a mixture of fear, anger, and hate. I'd estimate that about 10 seconds passed by, but it felt like an eternity before he uttered the words, "Is Mr. John around?" I was confused by his question and told him no. For another 10 seconds or so, he stared at me with the same look on his face as before and then walked away. I didn't think much of it other than, "Well, that was weird." Less than 10 minutes later, that same man went into the home of one of my neighbors and robbed him. Amazingly, nobody was hurt. In my opinion, the Lord was truly looking over us.
A little miracle. Looking back on the incident, the way the man was securing his hands, it seems likely he had some sort of weapon. Yet, for some reason after staring at me for a brief amount of time, he just walked away. Then, proceeded to rob a neighbor, but THANKFULLY nobody was hurt - another little miracle. I stayed home and that prevented somebody from breaking into our residence, a little miracle in itself. As a matter of fact, I can't even count how many little miracles I experience everyday. Can you?
Many of us focus on the negative occurrences in our lives as if nothing is going "right" for us at all. But is that the truth, or are we just focusing on all the wrong things? You woke up, you're healthy, you've got a roof over your head, transportation, internet, food to eat, people to love, clothes on your back... the list could go forever even if those particularly listed aren't cases for you. Those are all little miracles. Just because we expect things to happen, doesn't mean their happenings aren't special. You see, our world is full of miracles everyday, we just have to recognize them. So, now I ask MYSELF, "How can I have such little (or any question in) faith when Jesus performs these miracles in front of my eyes everyday?!"
Until next time...
Check me out on Twitter: @PrallyD
Monday, April 1, 2013
Baptism Testimony
I was baptized yesterday and wanted to share the short testimony I gave in front of the church. I understand not all of my friends/followers are believers, but this isn't a place for religious debate. Just be happy that a peer of yours has found some peace in his life. Thank you.
"I'm 26 years old and I haven't always been a Christian. In fact, from the time I was 11 years old until I was 25, my life was.. I'll say, "lacking light." I say that because I don't believe that darkness exists. Darkness is only the lack of light because, when it's shed, light ALWAYS overcomes. Go strike a match in a room with no light and you'll witness the darkness cowardly flee. For 14 years, my life was plagued with drugs, alcohol, anger, resentment, and lust.
SO, what did it take me to finally let God into my life?... struggle. That's what brought me here today and led me to becoming a Christian. It was just about a year ago when my life changed forever.
On March 17th, 2012, around 2 PM, one of my best friends, Matt brady, and my cousin, Kenzie Rife, visited me at the fish farm. They brought me lunch and I gave them a tour of my workplace. I'll never forget the looks on their faces when checking out all the fish and alligator, they were like children in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart. It was time to go.. We exchanged hugs and they left. That same night, around 11PM, I received a phone call. Matt and Kenzie had been in an accident hours after leaving the farm, taking them both. I was confused and I felt destroyed. "How could this happen to those two," I kept asking myself. For the first time in my life, I began looking for God, but I didn't necessarily leave my heart open for Him. Why wasn't I getting any answers from God?! "Where IS He," I kept asking.
A few short weeks after, Carla Renee visited home from college while I was house sitting for her parents. We weren't dating at the time, just friends. Here, she told me the news that she was pregnant. At first, I paused in anger and confusion. My mind raced, I wanted to scream. She cried, but suddenly and seemlingly out of nowhere, my heart was overwhelmed with the light of God. This was the first time I ever felt His presence in my heart and that moment has forever changed me. "Everything will be alright," I could feel Him telling me. Within weeks of one another, I experienced the loss and the gain of life. Within weeks of each other, these events led me to walk with Christ and faith became the rock, the foundation of my life.
I battle temptation everyday, but battling that temptation and working to overcome it rather than succumbing to it.. to me, that's what being a Christian is about. It's a daily battle to take up our cross & make the right choices, yet also the realization and acceptance that we are imperfect. I'd like to thank my family, the Stoltzfus family, and every person here today for helping me along this journey. You are all truly great people. Here I am, ready to begin the rest of my life as part of the Christian community, faith, and as a follower of Christ."
Until next time....
Check me out on Twitter:@PrallyD
"I'm 26 years old and I haven't always been a Christian. In fact, from the time I was 11 years old until I was 25, my life was.. I'll say, "lacking light." I say that because I don't believe that darkness exists. Darkness is only the lack of light because, when it's shed, light ALWAYS overcomes. Go strike a match in a room with no light and you'll witness the darkness cowardly flee. For 14 years, my life was plagued with drugs, alcohol, anger, resentment, and lust.
SO, what did it take me to finally let God into my life?... struggle. That's what brought me here today and led me to becoming a Christian. It was just about a year ago when my life changed forever.
On March 17th, 2012, around 2 PM, one of my best friends, Matt brady, and my cousin, Kenzie Rife, visited me at the fish farm. They brought me lunch and I gave them a tour of my workplace. I'll never forget the looks on their faces when checking out all the fish and alligator, they were like children in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart. It was time to go.. We exchanged hugs and they left. That same night, around 11PM, I received a phone call. Matt and Kenzie had been in an accident hours after leaving the farm, taking them both. I was confused and I felt destroyed. "How could this happen to those two," I kept asking myself. For the first time in my life, I began looking for God, but I didn't necessarily leave my heart open for Him. Why wasn't I getting any answers from God?! "Where IS He," I kept asking.
A few short weeks after, Carla Renee visited home from college while I was house sitting for her parents. We weren't dating at the time, just friends. Here, she told me the news that she was pregnant. At first, I paused in anger and confusion. My mind raced, I wanted to scream. She cried, but suddenly and seemlingly out of nowhere, my heart was overwhelmed with the light of God. This was the first time I ever felt His presence in my heart and that moment has forever changed me. "Everything will be alright," I could feel Him telling me. Within weeks of one another, I experienced the loss and the gain of life. Within weeks of each other, these events led me to walk with Christ and faith became the rock, the foundation of my life.
I battle temptation everyday, but battling that temptation and working to overcome it rather than succumbing to it.. to me, that's what being a Christian is about. It's a daily battle to take up our cross & make the right choices, yet also the realization and acceptance that we are imperfect. I'd like to thank my family, the Stoltzfus family, and every person here today for helping me along this journey. You are all truly great people. Here I am, ready to begin the rest of my life as part of the Christian community, faith, and as a follower of Christ."
Until next time....
Check me out on Twitter:
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The Key to a Happier Society
Utopia. If you’re not
exactly sure what that is, I’ll sum it up for you. It’s an impractical and imaginary ideal of a
perfect society. It’s something that
will never be accomplished because every person has contrasting views on what “perfection”
is. Plus, in my opinion, perfection is
something that is impossible to accomplish in our individual lives, let alone
on the broader scale of an entire society. Yet, we are all entitled to dream of our personal utopia, rational or
not. Perfection is impossible; a utopia will never exist for any man or
woman. So, what isn’t impossible? A
happier society.
You see, there
have been studies showing that approximately 1 in 10 Americans, 18 or older,
suffer from either occasional depression or major depression disorder. At a time in my life, I could account for
being part of that statistic. I believe
that many other issues stem from depression.
A depressed person does not always think with a rational mind and can negatively
affect many people around his or her life which could potentially start a snowball effect and lead to more serious issues.
What is done about this alarming rate of depression? Well, many people and doctors choose the route of medication. Antidepressants are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S. Upwards to more than 10 percent of Americans are on some type of antidepressant medication. These medications
pose very serious physical side effects, like shortness of breath, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite, nervousness, sleeping issues, and many more. Not only that, but they can also trigger worsened depression, causing suicidal thoughts and manic behavior. Why are we so quick to medicate these fairly natural issues with pills
and unnatural solutions? Ones that hold the potential to make the given problem even worse (possibly pharmaceutical company profit gains, but that's another topic). I understand that some people need these medication(s) to battle depression, but I believe more should try other avenues first. So, you might ask, “How can I fight depression without prescription medication(s)?”
Different things work for different people, but what worked
for me as a great alternative to antidepressants was giving back and helping others.
Helping and giving to others is shown in many studies to
correlate with a higher level of happiness.
Doing so gives us a sense of purpose and worthiness within our lives, as
I stated in my previous blog post. Not only did it help treat my depression without the use of drugs, but, more importantly, it left a positive impact on the people around me as well.
Imagine a society where everybody woke up to the very
thought of, “I’m going to help somebody today in some way, shape, or form. Large scale, small scale, or something in
between." Theoretically speaking,
everybody would help and be helped. Donating
to charity, lending a helping hand to someone in need, hosting a charity event,
welcoming strangers with a smile... I could go on forever. Imagine a place where people waited patiently
and opened doors for you regularly. A society
where people accepted you for who you were so you would never have to act any
differently from what was in your heart.
Imagine living on a sphere full of “pleases,” “thank yous” and “you’re
welcomes.” How much happier would it
make you to help somebody on a daily basis?
How happy would it make you to know that somebody would be there to help
you throughout your struggles? The
latter question is especially something many of us look for in our lives. Having somebody to talk to or that we can depend
on to help us through life's trials and tribulations is something almost all of
us long for. Imagine a world where
anybody and EVERYBODY were willing to help one another. Would that make you more comfortable? Would that make you happier?
I firmly believe that if more people were willing to help each other, we would face far less societal issues (violence, divorce rates, racism, drug abuse, bullying, etc...).
Other self-help methods that can be used to combat
depression include, but are not limited to, lifestyle changes such as: a healthy diet, regular exercise, and setting
short term goals to accomplish in any facet of life.
This is really just a rant on my part. To end it, I’ll leave you with a
challenge. Help somebody today. A friend, a foe, a family member, a stranger…
anybody. Just lend out your hand with
help on your mind. Good day, all.
"If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change." -Mahatma Gandhi
Until next time…
Check me out on twitter:
@PrallyD
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
10 Lessons I've Learned in (Slightly Over) a Quarter-Century
I was reflecting a bit the other night and I just wanted to share the things that came to my mind. Here we go, some lessons that I have learned so far during my short stay on this planet...
1. Santa Claus isn’t real: I don’t care what anybody says, the physics ARE NOT possible. No man of that weight, with that large of a beard, could possibly travel at a speed sufficient enough to cover the entire world in one night. Plus, Second Amendment advocates would probably shoot a large man wearing a funny outfit if he entered their home without invite. Okay… now that’s out of the way, I can move onto actual lessons haha.
2. Differences are GOOD: A negative connotation often comes with the idea that people may be different than oneself. Dress differently, worship differently (or not at all), speak differently, have contrasting interests, etc… Many people are simply scared of differences because they are so comfortable with their own beliefs and ways. To me, life is all about progress. I don’t see a conceivable way for myself to progress as an individual nor any way we could progress as a species without having contrasting views and beliefs. Embrace the differences, open your mind to new concepts if only to hear them out, and be unique!
3. Our lives can be completely changed in just an instant: The phone call that you’ve lost somebody you love dearly, the message notifying you that you’ve received your dream job or been accepted into the college you’ve ALWAYS wanted to attend, the very moment you realize you’ve accomplished a dream of yours, seeing the “positive” on a pregnancy test, etc… There are many examples, positive and negative, but when it all comes down to it, there are many things that can change our lives quickly and forever.
4. Giving to others yields happiness: Studies everywhere indicate this principle. When giving to others, we find happiness, worthiness, and purpose within our own lives. Three things every human being has a right to feel and if anybody tells you that you deserve differently, you shouldn’t involve them in your life. I believe that depression and anxiety are so abundant in our society because we live in an individualistic world. Many people worry about themselves before others. Those material things that I always see people showing off aren’t the cause of real happiness, but only momentary happiness. Real happiness doesn’t fade. So, give and keep giving.
5. Time is relentless: It never stops. And, if it does, you better fix your damn clock. The longer we wait, the more opportunity we miss out on. Procrastination never leads us to anything good. It only leads to more stress in the future. If you’ve got a dream, go chase it. If your health is lacking due to no discipline in your diet or exercise, start making that change now before it’s too late. If you love somebody, tell them. If your grades are low because you always wait until the last second, STOP waiting. I could go on forever, but I’m sure you all get the general idea.
6. Christianity is a lifestyle: I believe that many people identify as a Christian… and that’s it. Maybe they’ll go to church from time to time or something to that effect, but they’ll leave it at that. In my eyes, it’s about much more than only identifying and attending church. To be a Christian, in my opinion, is a lifestyle and a very challenging one because, first, we must admit that we are only human and we do make mistakes. The lifestyle extends much further outside of the doors of the church and we must involve our faith in decisions we make in every facet of life. Many nonreligious people often tell me that being a Christian is “for the confused,” or “an easy way out.” Well, quite honestly, there’s a large bit of responsibility and vulnerability that comes with living a Christian lifestyle and this faith has challenged me more than anything else I’ve faced in my lifetime.
7. History only repeats because we refuse to learn from our mistakes: That’s pretty self-explanatory. I’m not going to dig too deep into any specifics because I’m sure we can all see these things in our personal lives, locally, and globally. It seems like we, as individuals and a whole, make the same mistakes over and over again.
8. Failure is the key ingredient to success: Don’t live in fear of failure, it’s an indicator you’re on the track to success. You need to learn from those failures (as suggested in lesson 7) and apply whatever it is that you learned. There are few people, if any, that don’t experience failure on the road to success. Failure should be a lesson and a motivator, not a discouragement.
9. Compromise: One of the most important factors to sustain a healthy relationship of any type is compromise. Give a little, get a little. Do things with your loved one that you may not enjoy but he or she does. Then, although you may not like the specific activity, just be appreciative that you can experience it with him or her. Love is about more than only yourself, it’s about a partnership.
10. I’ve still got a lot to learn: And so do we all. If I know one thing, it’s that I really don’t know a thing at all. Life is abundant with lessons for us to learn every single day. I look forward to the new lessons of tomorrow and to reflect on the ones yesterday.
Until next time....
Check me out on Twitter: @PrallyD
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