Be a Seeker of Life

Lengthening Daylight

Be a Seeker of Life

I always look forward to the twenty-first of December.  It’s the shortest day of the year; if you’re like me, winter darkness begins to feel all encompassing by then and I start to lose hope.  But now that we’re a few days past this annual milestone I am filled with hope once more!

Lengthening days remind me that spring is on its way.  Expanding sunlight also reminds me that increase is always the result of active living; whatever lives must live more and more or it will die!  The cycle of the seasons is such a great reminder of this natural principle!  I hope you’ll make a commitment with me to apply this principle more fully this coming year.

Here is my principle statement for 2012:  My thoughts are determined by my faith, and the results of my life depend upon making personal application of my faith.

In other words, I will remember that I can have all the faith in the world, I can have only good thoughts, but if I don’t go out into the world and take action to make my thoughts and faith a reality then I am not truly living.  A person must express and externalize thought in their outward life by acting the same way that they think or they are not living by natural principle.

I’m looking out at my garden spot right now and I know that the seeds I’ve purchased and set aside will not grow in that garden if I don’t go out at the appropriate time and put them in the soil.  When I put them in the soil they become active, and at once begin to gather to themselves from the surrounding substance and build plants that will cause such increase that one seed head will produce perhaps hundreds of seeds, each having as much life as the first.  Life, by living, increases!

Increase your life by planning for abundance now and then acting on your plan every day.  Act on your fundamental impulse of life to live; go out and chase your dreams in the real world so you can see the results of the life your living.  Continuously advance into more life and keep progressing toward your vision of perfect life.  Be a seeker of life!

Any Person May Become Great

“It will make an immense difference with your faith and spirit whether you look upon civilization as a good thing which is becoming better or as a bad and evil thing which is decaying.  One viewpoint gives you a descending and decreasing mind.  One viewpoint will make you grow greater and the other will inevitably cause you to grow smaller.”

- Wallace D. Wattles

Any Person May Become Great

I don’t have the chance to have my whole family together very much anymore.  But, I have them around me right now, for a brief time, and it has shown me that we have followed the natural order of life.  My wife and I began a new family when we got married and we were lucky enough to have children.  I say lucky for two reasons.

The first reason is that having children has pushed us way beyond our individual abilities and the second is that it has shown us a path to achieving greatness that we would otherwise have never seen.

Something almost magical happens when an individual chooses to be responsible for the care and nurturing of another person.  It completely changes a person by forcing them to look past their own needs by focusing on the needs of another.  To focus means to place another person at the center of attention.

It is this shift of attention that is transforming.  It literally makes us into a new person.  I like to call this process, “the getting of new eyes.”  One sees the world in a new and different way; through the eyes of another.  It causes a person to see the world anew.  It opens the door to rediscovery and wonder.  It lets one see the “same old stuff” as something new and exciting.  It takes what has become mundane and routine and allows a new kind of joy enter the heart.  Perhaps more importantly it reveals the path of developing greatness.

This path is plain.  One must become great at doing small things or they will never be great at doing large things.  As a child takes her first steps we can see that she must take her fist steps before she can become a great runner, trekker or explorer.  One must learn to take care of herself before she can assist  others who may have missed a lesson or two in the art of living a great life.

The purpose of life is growth.  I hope you will embrace this purpose as your own and make the choice to focus on small things so you can become great at them.  As you do so, you will see that others will take note of your wisdom and will begin to come to you for counsel.  You will see that they will then ask you to perform larger and greater tasks.  When they do, make sure you do them in the same way as you performed the small tasks; the great way.  It is already within you.

Give From Your Heart

“Don’t lend your service; give your service.”

- Justin Miller Cole

Give From Your Heart

There were thousands of lights all around.  The air was cold so I was especially happy to have a daughter on each arm as we walked through the town square.  There were so many people.  Everywhere we turned there were faces; smiling faces.

Then, in an instant, I was face to face with one of the strangers.  Just before our noses were about to collide I saw the gleam of his smile and heard, “Merry Christmas!”

“Yes,” I thought.  “It’s still cold outside.  I can see the fog of my breath lofting up through the surrounding lights.  But, my heart is much warmer now.”  It was enjoyable to be with people who were not just trying to purchase a memorable holiday season.  They were giving a memorable holiday season from their heart.

My friend Justin Miller Cole once said, “Don’t lend your service; give your service.”

As soon as he said it, I tilted my head to the right and said, “That’s one of the most profound things I’ve ever heard!”

There is a difference between giving for the sole purpose of getting something in return and the act of giving a heart-felt gift.  There is a difference between giving because of a perceived obligation and giving freely from the heart.  The challenge for each one of us is to take a long, deep look into our heart and determine what our true motives are.

When we lend something we expect to get it back.  Giving a gift means we make an offering without any expectation; we have no desire to receive anything in return.  It is the most meaningful form of giving.  There is nothing more powerful than freedom of choice.

Freedom of choice also means freedom of external expectation.  A person who is truly free understands that all people are free to do as they will.  I learned this truth while sitting at the feet of a former prisoner of war.  He said, “My captors took everything from me; my clothes, food, friends, family, warmth, and communication, but they could never take my freedom to choose!  They could never take my will unless I chose to give it to them.”

A gift from the heart, given freely, is a powerful and wonderful tool.  I hope you’ll make a choice to be a giver from the heart.  The twinkling lights of this season and those who were admiring them with me reminded me of this.

Never a lender be; give from your heart without expectation.  It will change your life as well as the world.

“He said if they couldn’t solve the problem themselves then he would solve it for them.”

- Brent Nay

Accumulated Life

My friend Brent is always talking about becoming a farmer.  It has been his lifelong dream.  He was telling me about it a couple of days ago.  I listened intently wondering what was so appealing to him.  But as I listened to his enthusiastically delivered stories it soon became clear to me.

“My friend had to milk the family cow every morning and every night until he went away to college.” He said.

As Brent continued on I could see the sparkle in his eyes and his passion was radiating from his entire face.

“He had two younger sisters who took over the milking chore when he went away.  Once, when he came home for a visit, his sisters were arguing at the dinner table over whose turn it was to milk.”

 When their father had had enough of the squabbling he simply looked up and said, “If you two can’t solve the problem I’ll solve it for you!” 

When Brent had finished this part of the story, my mind began to run through scenarios of how this father was going to solve the problem.  I quickly came up with three or four options and then waited in silence to hear how this father fulfilled his promise.  

“He went out the next day and bought another milk cow!” Brent finished.

I broke out laughing.  What a perfect solution!  It was nothing like the solutions I came up with!  What a man!  It caused my mind to reflect on another beloved ranching.

A rancher’s daughter went away to college and married a biologist.  The ranch was near Yellowstone National Park so there are hot streams that flow into the river there.  The new son-in-law would come every summer with his family and spend the entire time out in the streams and river taking measurements.  After years and years the father, rancher finally asked his son-in-law what he had been doing all these years.

The young man sat up proudly and said, “I’ve been taking water samples and studying what happens when the warm water runs into the cold river.”

The rough-leather-faced man stared back with disbelief as he heard the words escape the boy’s mouth.  “You’ve spent all these years trying to find that answer?” he finally replied.

“It makes the river water warmer!  All you had to do is ask me.  I would have told you!” 

Then the older man got up and walked away from the table shaking his head.

Yes.  I understand my friend Brent’s desire to be a farmer or rancher!  Nothing is better that good old down-to-earth common sense.  I like to think of it as earned wisdom.  It’s a valuable trait that we can develop over time; perhaps it’s compensation to those of us who have dimming vision, evaporating hair and sagging skin.  

Now that I think about it, I have way too much wisdom in my life now.  But, you’re not as old and worn out as I am, so please use all the time you have left to give the rest of us all the best guidance and insight you have.  I know I could use it!

A Rare Species

“You need to know what you want and then create goals to get there.”

- Kilee Johnson

A Rare Species

It isn’t often that I get to spend time with at least two of my daughters at once.  So, it’s refreshing for my heart and mind to have them come and spend live time with me.

It’s also inspirational for me to listen to them as they talk.  Such was the case last night as I spent time with Kilee and Annie on a drive.  We spent the whole time talking about what they were doing with their lives and what they were planning for their futures.  They have an “I am going to go out and get what I want” frame of mind that has become quite rare in today’s world.  Her approach was stirring so I wanted to share it with you.

Take the time to determine what you want in life.  Kilee explains it this way, “If you don’t know what you want to do with your life you’ll never be able to find it.”  It’s important to develop a clear vision of what you want so you’ll be able to formulate a detailed plan to follow.  She‘s become very good at seeing her vision and then breaking it down into small achievable steps.  It’s a skill she’s expanded as she’s grown older and she’s been able to add another complimentary skill that has magnified her ability to succeed.

Hold your vision as if you’re a bull dog!  If there is one thing I’ve learned by watching Kilee it’s this:  Once you grab a hold of your vision keep a tight grip on it and let it permeate your whole life.  When you do this it becomes easy to see the progress you’re making on a daily basis because you’re actively chasing your desires.  Doing anything else is a kin to sitting in a field and waiting for everything you want to just come to you without effort.  That’s one of the biggest mistakes I see people make in their life; it always leads to confusion, envy and bitterness every time.  Holding on to your vision like a bull dog will lead to life invigorated. 

Ask others you’re in relationship with to help.  “I would never begin to pursue my vision unless I spoke with the people in my network about it first.” Kilee affirmed.  Working alone can yield great results, but adding multiple points of view, connections and experience will increase your abilities exponentially.  If you doubt this just take a look at the most powerful network the world has ever known, the Internet.  

I remember wanting to grow Kentucky Coffee Trees from seed once.  I didn’t know anything about it so I sent an email to a professor who is one of the world’s experts, a man I had never met, and he was kind enough to respond and help me!  How cool is that?

Never hesitate to ask experts for help.  As you have seen from the example above sometimes you need to go outside of your personal network to get specific help.  You know what?  Most people are willing to help you even when they don’t know you!  If you’ll simply ask you will be constantly amazed at how kind and helpful strangers can be.  You’ll also increase the capacity of your network along with theirs.  The universe is forever expanding; expand with it.

Expanding life along with the universe is a rare thing amongst humans.  My daughters have shown me that it can be done, even if it is rare.  I hope you’ll join them and become a rare species yourself.