A New Path
Habits can dull us to the real question many people ask at some time in their lives. When we stop and think, we ought to consider why we are here. Is there a reason for you to be here on this planet at this particular time? Have you thought about what it is you are here to do? Do you have a higher purpose? Is there a nagging suspicion in the back of your mind telling you there has to be more? Perhaps it is time to explore the unexplored part of ourselves.
A New Path
Habits can dull us to the real question many people ask at some time in their lives. When we stop and think, we ought to consider why we are here. Is there a reason for you to be here on this planet at this particular time? Have you thought about what it is you are here to do? Do you have a higher purpose? Is there a nagging suspicion in the back of your mind telling you there has to be more? Perhaps it is time to explore the unexplored part of ourselves.
Henry David Thoreau once said “When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived.” Reforming our lives is not an easy thing. Apparently, I am supposed to attend more wedding receptions, since twice in two days I have been reprimanded the chaotic forces of my life.
Yesterday, one of my former students again invited me to attend her wedding reception. On a campus of thousands of people, she and her sister found me in my car and reminded me about the wedding. She even turned to her sister and insisted I never attend receptions. It’s true. I am a little anti-social when it comes to keeping in touch with former students. I usually have so much to do with my current students that I tend to lose track of the old ones. I also have church responsibilities which would normally include attending an unusual number of wedding receptions. So let’s just say I have probably been avoiding one of my social duties.
When we talk of reforming ourselves, going to social functions may not be at the top of the list. But someone or something is trying to get me a message about honoring the norms of our society, and that includes celebrating the fact that people want to spend their lives together. People came to my wedding reception. Why am I so stubborn? Some of these social customs are the glue that hold our society together, and with so many disctractions in our lives, it’s easy to neglect the things that make us a society.
While I’m on the subject, I have been reading some of the writings of Eric Hoffer this week, and he believed we joined mass movements because of the emptiness we feel in life. In his book “The True Believer” he tried to help us understand why people would support Nazi policies, and he concluded most people would rather be told what to do, than use the freedom we have to find out what we really want to do. He also said that when people are left to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.
I hope you take this opportunity to really examine your life and see if you are doing something that makes a difference in your life and the lives of others. When we get outside our prejudices, hatreds and envy, we are really able to do those things we were meant to do. As Eric Hoffer, observed, people hate those who remind them of their inadaquacies, of their own shortcomings. We need to examine the causes we so vehemently support and wonder out loud just what that energy could be better spent doing. You know what it is. No one else can tell you what you need to be doing. You know what would be a better use of your time. The real question is whether or not you are going to get up off the couch and do it.
It doesn’t have to be a thermonuclear reaction. It may be you just need to attend more wedding receptions and affirm the urge of most in this world to try and make the world a better place for themselves, but also for someone else. We all sacrifice something to exist in this human sphere, and that might be paying more taxes than we want so the roads will be better. It might be getting paid less than we want for a more satisfying job. It may be using our millions to make the lives of others better.
There really is something about being excited about our own causes. We don’t need the direction of someone else, we don’t need marching orders. We won’t have to say someone gave us an order we were just following. We will be focused on what is right, and what is wrong, and we will be clear about what we can do about it. If what we think we need to do involves tearing down someone else, then we probably need to ponder our true purpose some more.
There’s today’s challenge. Can we find out what it is we really want to be doing, and not just be following someone else? Good luck. It’s harder than it sounds. But you should still invite me to your wedding reception.
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A New Path
