What if you woke up tomorrow and had a whole new life? There was nothing you had to do, nothing you were expected to do, no deadlines of any kind, no certain place you had to be, no specific job you were tied to, no one to report to – you were free to choose how to use every hour of your day? What would you do?
If you were free to make a life, how would it look, and how would you feel about living it? Does your heart get excited considering such a possibility? What do you envision?
Chances are you are thinking about things – what kind of house, what kind of job, what kind of activities, what kind of family or friends…..
And then it probably occurs to you: what about money? – many of the elements you may want in that ideal life could cost more money than you have, maybe more than you can even believe you might be able to have.
Once actual physical realities come into play, our life options quickly become radically more limited, and before we know it, we are confined to a life much more restricted and difficult than our vision. Recognizing that, some part of us gives up hope.
We either settle for less and learn to accept it, or we fight against it and become bitter and resentful that we cannot have what we would like to have and feel we deserve to have.
Look again at your ideal vision, and forget for a moment about the specific physical components of your vision (where you live, your job, how old you are, all of that) and look at who you are in your vision, how you feel about yourself, what kind of person are you to be in a relationship with, what kind of friend you are, and how you feel about life.
Being who you want to be, feeling the resultant sense of peace and freedom within yourself, being the kind of person others want to be with, being a loyal and true friend, being grateful to be alive and happy to have a life at all – none of these depend upon the temporary physical conditions of your life. You are free to be all of that now. Wherever you are. Rich or poor, young or old, success or failure, whatever the limitations in which you find yourself. You are free to be that “you” right now.
What you value, what you stand for, who you stand with, what you love and treasure, what principles you build your life around – those are up to you. You may or may not be able to change your physical life. You may or may not ever have your ideal life. But you can be the “you” that you envision. IF that is what you really want, IF that is who your heart is calling you to be. And chances are, someone besides you is hoping you will do that, too. I know I do.
Rev Steven McAfee, Fort Wyne, Indiana,
One by One Community
Contact Rev McAfee – onebyonecommunity@gmail.com