LIFE, HOPE, FAITH.....EnLIGHTENMENT.....aND tHE deVIL!!

If I grew up Muslim would you like me? If my family were Buddhist priests would you hang with me? If I was adopted by a family of Scientologists would you allow me into your home?? Or would you just pray for me? Pray that I find and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior? The fact is I would probably be praying for you as well!!

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs lists Self-Actualization as the Number 1 need that all mankind seeks! And I believe this to be true. Where there's life we are all searching for that feeling of being...Of oneness! When I was a kid I used to love the movie "The Last Dragon." For those that don't remember or have never even seen the movie, the main character spends most of the movie searching for "THE MASTER"! For most of the movie he goes on what I would call a wild goose chase, and after having to take a lot of crap from outsiders as well as his own family, he finally finds that the "The Master," lies within himself! This movie came out in 1985. I was 10 years old and it meant so much to me. Still love it to this day! There were days even before this movie I would sit outside on our trampoline and watch the wind blowing the trees. I felt at one with life! Almost like I was apart of it...Which we all are! Everything moved as one and I,...was apart of that one!

If any of you have ever been in a competitive situation like sports, debates, hell a job, or anything else, someone has probably at least mentioned to you that 99% of success is Mental! You have to believe in who? Yourself! Just like in "The Last Dragon," we all have had people put us down us from family members to other random folks. We've had Girlfriends or boyfriends ditch us for whatever reason, and jobs fire us or lay us off for only God knows why. In the end, if we don't believe in ourselves who can you believe in? If you don't have true Faith that God, Allah, Buddha or whomever is watching over you and will lead you to your Path of Enlightenment then who will? I was told that Success is when Preparation meets opportunity and they both Shake hands! So basically we all have to PREPARE ourselves for that golden opportunity! What opportunity you ask? Why you asking that? It's your world too! As an athlete you train for that one track meet, swim event, football game etc. In our careers we prepare for that big presentation, inspection, or Interview. In Relationships.....well...this isn't a relationship blog so I'll let ya'll figure that one out! Basically we all want certain things in life...but are we Prepared to receive it when it's given to us or crosses our path. Many times the answer is NO!

The Old Testament describes the Devil(Satan) as a fallen angel that instigates tests upon humankind! All religions point to a higher power and some form of the opposite of good. Many forms of religion point to the Devil(Satan) as a Metaphor for Free Will. Basically saying we Screw ourselves! Overall the devil is anything that is in opposition of God's will. The problem lies in that very last statement, The opposition of God's will. God's Will is interpreted differently by many people. I had a conversation a couple days ago about how Mankind has misinterpreted many religious doctrine. In my conversation, I mentioned how the 10 commandments says outright...Thou Shall not Kill! I was told that it says Thou Shall not murder....Blank stare! Ok we are splitting hairs here, but my point is what is considered killing? We have religious fights over abortion every day! Isn't that Killing? And what about all the religious Wars that went on 100's of years ago and are still going on now? People used to kill in the name of the Lord. HMMMM....Doesn't the 10 commandments say Thou shall not kill? Ok...Kill what? What shouldn't you kill? I am from the country and I've killed my fair share of fish, Rabbits...etc...I think you get my point. The 10 Commandments also says to "remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." This doesn't say you must come to XYZ Church each Sunday and listen to the minister preach his interpretation of the WORD of GOD! It also doesn't say that I should hang on to every word the minister says or believe in them to be anything other than the teachings of a Human...in which we are all flawed and are sinners(I had a minister once who was found to be a snake and a drug user). Nor does it say I need to go to church every Sunday so I should look down on others. I think that's covered in the 10 commandments too...stop judging! The point I'm making is like my mom told me a couple days ago, that many religious folks are the most hypocritical. Number One on the list of commandments is "Thou shall not have other Gods before me." Buddhism was born almost 600 years BC...That's Before Christ for those that don't know what that means. Now before ya'll go crazy as some folks do, they also believe in God. However, God to them is within us. Point I'm trying to make is if we are all made in the vision of GOD. Each of us has a piece of God within us! Find it! If you don't choose to live your life, you truly haven't lived a life!

About a month ago I went to church for the first time since one of my best friends died and I must say I really felt the message spoke directly to me. The message was from the Book of Job. It talked about how He was one of the Lords most Humble servants. The devil wanted to test someone and the Lord offered Job to be tested. During this test, Job Lost it all! His wife left him, he lost his home, he lost all his riches, but he kept his faith! When it seemed as all Hope was lost, Job kept believing that there would be better days, and you know what...BETTER DAYS CAME! And not only came but it came double what he had. Job lived his LIFE with HOPE, FAITH, ENLIGHTENMENT...And the DEVIL! During the sermon they stressed how Job believed, and kept pushing to do the right thing and he prayed! He didn't have to pray in church every day or with a group! He could pray in a Barn, out in the fields, in the streets, But he prayed! He was Prepared! And when opportunity came Job was ready!

I can't sit here and say everyone should believe what I believe...nor do I care really, but I do know that my community of friends are some of the best ever. They say you should keep folks around you to keep your belief system strong. When I attended church I realized that I already do without even knowing it. That day one of my old college buddies was being baptized, many of my friends were there that day, and a whole slew of them attend other churches. My other friends choose to pray all by themselves! And that's OK with me. The others that don't are good with me as well no matter what religion or non religion. I truly feel blessed to be me! I thank God each day for giving my breath to breathe. My God...the one that lives inside of me, always has and always will.