 
IF YOU WERE GOD, WHAT WOULD YOU DO

Exploring Your Full Potential

Book Three

Copyright: 2003

By: K. C. Boone, MSFE

Publisher: The Scribed Light

ISBN: 978-1-939634-21-4

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in any form, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 - What would you do differently today?

Chapter 2 - How would you see things?

Chapter 3 - How would you handle life's crisis?

Chapter 4 - How would you affect the future now?

Chapter 5 - How would you deal with mean spirited people?

Chapter 6 - How would you deal with hard headed people?

Chapter 7 - How would you teach?

Chapter 8 - What would you teach?

Chapter 9 - Would you just get sick of all the mistakes that people make?

Chapter 10 - Would you turn and walk away?

Chapter 11 - Would you simply solve all problems?

Chapter 12 - How would you demonstrate love most effectively?

Chapter 13 - What fun would you have?

Chapter 14 - How would you draw your children near?

Chapter 15 - What would you do?

Bibliography

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the giver of it, God, and to All of His creations in whom He has planted His creativity.

Acknowledgments

To all of those who have so graciously given of themselves for the fulfillment of my soul's purpose. The lessons contained in the following pages were given to me by those who have crossed my path during this lifetime and have left their indelible mark upon my soul. Realizing that there are no accidents or coincidences, I find that I have been extremely fortunate to have been given so much by so many.

Introduction

In our never ending quest to know God, it may be easier if we "walk a mile in His shoes." Sometimes, we learn much about a person if we imagine ourselves in his/her place. Ancient American Indians coined this concept as a means of relating to the other person. Of course, the Indians called shoes moccasins, but the point is still very much valid. Seeing ourselves in the place of another does offer us a better insight into the other person's perspective. Think about all of those who came from broken homes. If we see things through their eyes, we may see things very differently than we would see them through our own eyes.

God is much the same way. Surely, imagining things from God's perspective is more complex, but if you put love as the basis for everything, then it becomes almost possible. Just as we jump to conclusions in our short-sightedness, we must take the time to imagine that God would not do such a thing. Of course, in our own defense, we don't have God's wisdom. But, this becomes less plausible with every step that we progress in our knowing God. With each step of progression, we lose more and more excuses for not behaving more like God.

Surely, if we knew what God knows, then we would make better decisions. A person's history greatly influences his/her perspective with only God and the person knowing the history. But God is different. He is not tainted by history as we are. He has quite a different perspective. Imagine that you knew everything and everyone – you made everything, so you have quite a unique perspective. If your basis for everything is love, then your actions will demonstrate love and only love. You won't punish or judge. You will see things from the perspective of a perfect parent looking at your children whom you love dearly.

So, strap on your God hat and let the games begin.

Chapter 1 - What would you do differently today?

Walking in the light of God really gives a unique perspective on how to handle the day and all that comes your way. You are without fault and cannot fail. There are no rights or wrongs, so you are free to behave lovingly in all actions. The best way to see the beauty of this is to simply use some "for instance" scenarios.

Let's say that you wake up feeling full of love and joy. You spring into action, not choosing to waste one minute of this glorious day. You shower and dress and kiss your family goodbye. You are off to do great things knowing that you can do no wrong. Your car runs perfectly and traffic is nothing but a breeze. You arrive at work lifted by the festive spirit inside. The spring in your step shows that you are walking in the light.

You bump into Charlie, your first negative soul of the day. You greet him with your usual morning cheer. He grumbles and tries desperately to avoid your cheerfulness. Knowing that you can't force happiness on anyone, you greet him lovingly and move on. Charlie thinks to himself that you are such a dingle-head that you don't realize all the pressure you should be feeling. He knows that the pressures of the day are overwhelming and will surely consume his last ounce of energy. He takes his job seriously, not like you who just glosses through the day without a care in the world. Why can't you be more like him – he is just a better employee and cares more than you do. He would never be so simple minded as to not show the proper amount of stress. What would the boss think if he were to be so unstressed? The boss might just assume that he isn't doing his job. Everyone knows that those who are happy, don't really do a good job. We don't work to have fun – we work to make money for the boss. What kind of employee takes his job so lightly?

You priss on down the hall and see Susie. Susie is going through a bitter divorce, so she is always in a funk. You understand that she isn't very happy, but you drop a smile on her and ask how she is doing with genuine concern. You let her know that you will help her in any way that you can. You don't force help on her, because you know that you can't. You offer your assistance and move on down the hall.

You run into John, your boss, and greet him with the enthusiasm representative of your pleasure working for his company. You ask about the family and kids, ask if he needs anything special and don't waste any more of his valuable time. You know that he is very busy as he is responsible for the livelihoods of all employees. You move on to the business at hand.

You arrive in your office and begin immediately to deal with the tasks at hand. You take care of any unfinished business first knowing that the job isn't done until it's finished. You look at the day's schedule of to-dos and make your plan for the day. You begin by asking your subordinates for their plans, so that you all have a cohesive work plan. You realize that your employees are your assets and that you alone cannot get the job done. You realize that your life is not your job, just as employee's lives are not their jobs. You inquire of them and offer any assistance that you can provide. The team is set for the day and you are happy with the forecast.

The problems start immediately. One angry customer calls and wants to speak with the boss. Your department didn't handle the shipment as you promised. One of your managers calls to say that he is sick and is going home. Another employee gets notification that a relative has died and will be out for a week. Another employee needs time off to go to her child's school as little Joey has bitten another child. Soon, you see that you have to work around the lives of all of your employees. Instead of being overwhelmed, you revise your plan accordingly. You decide to handle second, those tasks which can be handled by the remaining employees, after you deal with the angry customer first.

Ahhh, lunch break - your favorite time of the day. Your chance to relax and take a mental vacation. You want to make the most of it, so you decide to have lunch outside in the fresh air. On the way to pick up lunch, you run into Marge who is crying. You instinctively stop to help her by listening. You know that your blessed lunch break is lost, but your concern for Marge takes over. Marge just really needed someone to listen, so you help her over her crisis and return to your office.

The battle rages on till quitting time. At the last minute, you get a call from the boss who desperately needs a report for the directors at once. You fight your first instinct to not answer the phone at quitting time and you leap into action to give your boss what he needs. You get the report done within a couple of hours and pass it on to the boss. The boss smiles and you can finally get home to the family. You are pleased with your day and have made the most of the opportunities at hand.

On your way out, you pass Charlie who is looking overwhelmed. He has a million deadlines and can't even begin to see getting all the work done – ever. The look of despair brings you sorrow, so you stop to ask if he could use some help. You look at all the deadlines, help him develop a plan and suddenly he is uplifted (as much as he can be.) Charlie never looks on the bright side – he prefers the dark side. If he isn't miserable, then he is just not ok.

You proceed to the parking lot and drive home. You are feeling good about the day, but are saddened that you have lost time with your family. They will understand, as they know you are helping others. You will make it up to them as you always do.

You are greeted warmly at home by spouse and kids. You change out of your work clothes and spend a wonderful evening with the family. You take the time to ask about their day and relish in every detail. Little Bert and Fay tell you about all what happened to them and you are fascinated by their perspective. You advise as appropriate and give them clever ways to deal with uncomfortable situations. You realize that these events are but small instances in the paths of their lives, so you don't get rattled by the small stuff. You teach your kids to behave with kindness in all instances, but tell them that it is ok to make mistakes. You know how they feel, as you were once in their shoes.

You take time to give special attention to your spouse. You are all ears and nothing but assistance. You treat your spouse with the respect that you would give to your most prized possession, realizing that a spouse is not a possession but a wonderful gift. You go to sleep feeling nothing but goodness about the day past and only hope for the next day. You don't waste your time reliving the past as you know that tomorrow is almost at hand. You sleep as if it were the most wonderful thing you ever did.

You wake refreshed and the cycle continues. Your walk in the light, shines light on all who come in contact with you. Doesn't this all sound like it is too good to be true? If anything sounds too good to be true, it usually is. You can just as easily approach life in this manner or in the manner of Charlie. You can choose to enjoy life or let life get the better of you. We've all heard about the power of positive thinking, but have we ever actually given it a try? If we were God, we would have no choice but to always think positively. Is it really possible? You be the judge and give it a whirl.

As I said before, I have given it a try and it does work up to the point of our choosing. After we get a few pellets of bad news, our positive thinking usually wanes quickly. We can't seem to hold onto positive thinking for very long. We fall back into our old habits and before you know it – we are Charlie again. Choosing constantly is the power that we have internally to make our life what we want it to be. It seems sometimes, that we choose to be miserable as if being miserable will offer us a respite from any more misery. There have actually been times in my life when I dreaded good things happening, because I always knew that something bad would follow. As sure as the sun is shining, the bad did follow closely behind. Did I unconsciously will the bad to happen or is there something in life that always follows good with bad?

We've all heard that bad news comes in threes. Haven't you always suspected that this is true? I have so many times experienced the bad news threes. Only after you hear the final three, can you relax and know that good is just in sight. Do we expect bad, so we get it? I have always found that it is all God's fault and I have no trouble blaming Him. Have you ever considered that if you were God, you would take a more self righteous approach? An eye for an eye kind of legal system would be your motes operandi. You would sit as a court judge and pass down just punishments on the wrong-doers. Perhaps this is our view of God as we see Him in a more Biblically inspired light. "Vengeance is mine," sayeth the Lord. Now that's the kind of God that we can relate to. We have no trouble understanding the God of Judgment. Yeah, now we can put a more Biblically inspired spin on a day in the life.

You get up feeling all full of yourself, knowing that you are ready to judge all who do wrong. You know that your employees are your servants and have to succumb to your will. You lose no time in putting people in their places. You immediately call a scare meeting to let your employees know that you are watching their every move. You know what they are doing and you won't waste a minute in processing disciplinary action. You know what losers they are and how lazy they are. Their productivity is laughable and you won't stand for poor performance. You pass Charlie in the hall and ask if he ever intends meeting his deadlines. You add insult to injury and cause Charlie to make a medical appointment, because he can't cope with the stress. Soon Charlie is out on FMLA for stress related ailments, but you are glad, because he is just a weak link in the chain.

You walk around the work areas of your employees and give them the old scowl of a knowing person seeing poor quality work. Soon, you have them with knots in their stomachs – a scared employee is a motivated employee. You think that your high staff turnover rate is a good indication that you are culling out the non-performers. Only the good employees remain. You are handling business just as God Himself would. Employees get their just desserts.

One day, in the not so distant future, your boss calls you in for a meeting and wants to know why productivity is down and your employees are bailing. He's heard complaints about your lack of effective people skills and employees are complaining to the human resources department. In your own defense, as you have perfect organizational skills, you state that employees are just trying to make you look bad because they really don't want to work. You explain how lazy they are and that they really don't fit in with the needs of your working style. You are certain that the culprits are the employees and certainly not you. You know that you are an excellent representative of your company and work diligently to provide maximum productivity and profit for the company.

You can't believe the boss had the nerve to question your skills and are glad that you got him straightened out. He was led astray by those whiners and you were able to set him straight. Now, you seek to ferret out the complainers and make them suffer the consequences of their actions. Anyone who isn't loyal must go. You call in your trusty narc and pump them for information. Fearing their own job loss, they tell on Sally who is just a trouble maker. Sally starts all sorts of gossip and spreads it like wild fire. She can't be trusted, but her file doesn't have enough paper to justify her termination. You spring into action finding fault with her every move. Five minutes late back from lunch; left her desk and spent thirty minutes doing God knows what; failed to respond promptly to your requests; etc. Within no time at all, she is out the door and deservedly so. Another loser hits the streets. You are so glad that you got rid of the trouble maker.

Sally files suit and costs your company a wad of money for her wrongful termination. Your boss isn't exactly all smiles at this point. He calls you in for another session of self defense and you assure him that her performance had never been up to standard, but someone (other than yourself) dropped the ball in reporting it. You would never have missed such obvious poor performance, so Sally's manager gets a big write up. You are shocked at the thought that someone would question you over such an obviously correct set of actions. Sally was not good for the company and had to go. You've actually saved the company money in the long run. You are satisfied that you have done the right thing.

Your employees finally realize that their only safety is in numbers. They all proceed to the human resources department to complain. Surely you can't fire all of them? They are stressed beyond belief and can't take it any more. The human resources department, fearing more lawsuits, finally takes action. They call you in to answer for your actions. You are undaunted and tell that you are perfectly justified in your actions and that those people have an axe to grind because of poor Sally. It will all blow over in no time. We must keep the employees under control or we will not be able to operate effectively. You feel confident that your views are shared by all and return to your work.

You feel betrayed by your employees and will see that they pay. You start to employ nuisance tactics just to keep them off guard. You change their schedules and have them work odd hours. That'll show them who's boss. They'll know that they can't mess with you.

You find yourself in receipt of disciplinary action. What, John must be kidding? He can't do this to me, while I'm doing my best for the company. You aren't going to stand for it, so you march up to John and let him have it. You let him know that you don't appreciate his turning his back on you when the chips are down. You see that his loyalty is to all the whiners and not to the really good employees. You know that he doesn't deserve you and you turn in your resignation, knowing that he will beg you to stay.

Surprise – John thanks you for your resignation and accepts it. You can't believe that he is so simple minded, but you can't work for someone who doesn't back you up. You'll have to take your amazing talents elsewhere.

Which version reflects the God that you would rather be? Which version reflects the God of love? We all operate with our own set of principles and beliefs. The second version is as justified as the first given the perspective of each. Instinctively, we know that version one is by far the more preferred, as we know the kind of boss that we would like to have. Why on earth would anyone choose to work for a dictator? Why do we suppose that God is a dictator as described in the second version? Are God's children best served by the first or second version? What serves the better purpose? Which would you choose?

If you stop to realize that every action produces a reaction, then you know that every interaction with every person has an effect on them. Look at the above scenarios and imagine how many people are really affected by the personal interactions. Know that each person has a family and many friends and coworkers. If I yell at Steve, then he will probably yell at Wanda and she will in turn yell at Bart who will pass on the fun. When Steve gets home, the wife and kids get a good dose of the fun and they continue the cycle and on and on. Literally, hundreds of people can be affected by one inconsiderate act on our part. The negative cycle is started and rolls almost unceasingly, causing havoc in its wake.

If we had chosen a more diplomatic approach, how could things have been different? A smile in the morning can last all day. Why not smile? You know a smile makes us feel good, so why not spread them around? Why do we get lost in the sea of life's details and fail to see the error of our ways? We're only human and we can always find a reason to be unhappy. Can we ever find a reason to be happy?

Chapter 2 - How would you see things?

If only you could put on a set of glasses that would let you see things from God's perspective. Now that would be fun. If it got too overwhelming, you could just take off the glasses and return to your normal view. But the intrigue of seeing God's view would certainly make you yearn for more. So, let's put on the God glasses and have a look at things.

You are a simple person who has chosen to make the best of your meager life. You valiantly go about your days with an open mind and a longing to be the best that you can. You know somewhere deep inside, that you are a great person just dying to escape. Your reality keeps you humble, as you know that you are just a simple person with a simple life. You pop on your God glasses and suddenly, you see that your circumstance is merely an illusion. You instantly know that whatever you dream, you can achieve. You see all the possibilities that have previously escaped your view. You see the wonder that with God all things are possible.

Never having even taken the time to dream, you now are filled with nothing but dreams. You can't wait to get started realizing your dreams as you instinctively know that God's will for you is your will. You know that you and God are one and you have nothing standing in your way except your will. Wow, that's a shift from the old you. You have never even dared to think of such things that you are now able to see so clearly. Why didn't you catch on to this before? Why have you wasted some much time thinking that your lot in life is changeless? That's a downer, but you don't want to lose any more valuable time. You set out on your dream fulfillment quest at once.

You've never really liked your job, but you always felt obligated to do your best. Realizing the lack of advancement potential, you are satisfied to remain in your meager employment, as you are certain that more can never be obtained. You go to work diligently and are always accepting of your honorable income. Be it ever so humble, it does pay the bills. You make the most of what you have and settle for a life of modesty. Having seen that you can change your life, the first step is choosing to change your life. You feel instantly refreshed and ready for action.

You sit down and think about what your truest desires really are. You've always thought that a cool car and a fancy house are nice, but you never imagined owning them. You decide that you will have these things. Why not? God knows that it is possible and if you don't ask, you won't get. So, you ask away. You dream of the wonderful life that you will live and the great things that you will provide to those around you. You are amazed that you never knew this before. You'd read the Bible and knew about the asking and receiving stuff. Frankly, your attempts in the past have left you empty handed, as you just knew that God just didn't have those things in mind for you. Now you know that God has all things in mind for you and you want it all.

You dream of the material things that you want, but do stop yourself before you get greedy. Now, God's view shows that all that glitters isn't gold and we should look a little more deeply than our surface desires. Ok, so you think further about your choices with a more spiritual view. You realize that happiness is not in a house or a car. You realize that happiness is only found inside of yourself; that material goods only provide us with certain surface fulfillments. We don't want to waste our dreams on things that fade and don't provide us happiness. Ok, so a modest house with a good car will do the trick. Who has time to clean a 14 room mansion anyway?

You realize that having everything is nothing if not filled with love. A great house is just a lonely shell without a loving family inside. A great car is only as fulfilling as the people with whom you can share the experience. A deeper insight shows you that you are nothing without others, so your dreams have to start there. If there is no love in your life, you have nothing, even if you have everything else. God's perspective cuts to the chase. Something tells you that you can have love if you have money, but you have seen enough unhappy rich people to know that this isn't necessarily true.

You start at the basics of love. You are happy with the loved ones in your life, so you wish to share your dreams with your current family and friends. You have always suspected that you should just dump your old life and run, but you somehow know that changing the people in your life won't offer you anything different, except the opportunity to do worse. You picked those around you once, why then are they not the ones for you? Many times we think that by choosing different spouses that we can solve all of our problems, but the repeat divorce rate suggests otherwise. God's perspective lets you see that your unhappiness comes from within, not without.

So, if all of your dreams are to come true, you must start with your inside. All these years you have imagined that happiness comes from the outside, now you know that it comes from the inside. That's a shift in focus from the past. You just knew that you were destined to have what you get; now you realize that you make what you choose. You now choose happiness first above all else. Oh, but aren't you forgetting the one main ingredient in happiness? Haven't you overlooked something that is crucial to happiness?

Duh? You forget to dream of love first. Without love you can't ever be happy. What a simple thing but such a huge oversight. Ok, you choose love first. At this point, you can stop dreaming. But you fear that love isn't enough. What if you have love and are still poor? That would be ok, but it wouldn't make you happy and content. Now you think that you are just being greedy and selfish. You seem to want everything. You just can't be satisfied. You take another look on the inside and realize that what you need with love is the trappings of your happiness. You are simple, so you don't require much. You do need a fulfilling and fun job which pays you a good salary. You don't need to be the richest, just be financially secure. You need to have your needs met in order to be happy. Now you can stop dreaming.

Now, you have dreamed of love and happiness and all that it entails. What more could you possibly want? You have this little gnawing inside that tells you there is more, but you just can't put your finger on it. What could it be? You open the door to internal happiness and suddenly realize that in order to be truly happy, you have to bring happiness to others. How happy can you be if you only have it for yourself? You are not a selfish person and want to share happiness with all. You know that all is relative, so you will let the details be sorted out later. You just know that you'll burst if you don't share your happiness with others. Does this mean that you will buy new houses for everyone and they will be happy? If only it were so easy. Remember, happiness does not come from without, but from within. But how can you bring happiness to others?

Think about your own happiness and how you found it. By sharing this knowledge, will you not also share your happiness and bring happiness to others? Imagine George down the street. He could really use some happiness. George comes over one day to sit and chat. He is absolutely amazed that you have suddenly found happiness. "What's your secret?" He asks. You can't wait to tell. You tell him your secret and he is skeptical. You let him borrow your God glasses and suddenly he sees what you see. Suddenly, he is magically transformed by the experience and begins to dream of his own happiness.

We all know that God does not give us glasses with which to see from His perspective. How can we learn to see through God's eyes? We can start with something as simple as imagining what God would do in our place. This sparks the love inside that guides our entire perspective. God's perspective is one of love, so if we start with this premise, then the rest will fall into place. Seeing things from the vantage point of love does take away selfishness, which is the true root of our problems.

If you thought that money was the root of all evil, check out someone who seeks only to serve self. Greed is merely a symptom of the problem. An egocentric perspective makes us unpopular and for very good reason. Who really wants to serve you as you wish to serve yourself? Why are you so important and everyone else is so unimportant? If God held an egocentric viewpoint, then we would be hard pressed to ever come close to him. Egocentric people live within themselves and only seek their own desires. How lonely is such a life? Remember, that all things are nothing if you don't have anyone with whom to share them. The fanciest house in the world is nothing if you don't have someone to admire it. So, an egocentric person just uses others to admire his own accomplishments. In reality, they are only ego boosters and don't really count in the scheme of life.

If God were egocentric, what would He need us for? Entertainment? I'm sure He has better things to do than use us for His own ego boost. Does God really need mere mortals to build up His ego? I think not and really can't even imagine God in this manner. I truly believe that God's ego is our ego and if we choose to be selfish, then He let's us. He gave us free will, not because He needs us, but because He wants us to be true to ourselves and fulfill our innermost desires. In a way, He allows us to be who we choose to be and if we choose to be this or that, He let's us. He has nothing to gain either way, except the experiences that we have. He enjoys seeing us fulfill our desires and is pleased with all that we do regardless of our motivations.

Imagine that you are a parent watching your child grow. You enjoy the good and the bad, the happy and the sad. You enjoy most seeing your child walk in your steps and see life for all that it has to offer. You do not wish for your child to be just like you as you know that you are not perfect. You wish for your child to experience life just as God wants us to experience life. Does a parent really care if the child is a doctor or a plumber as long as the child is happy? God is much the same and simply wants us to have a great time with the time that we are given. He doesn't want to see us suffer, but He knows that suffering balances out the picture. Without the bad, the good just isn't the same.

If you were God, you would see things in a much more profound view. You would not see the action but the person. You would see Sonny as the beauty and would not focus on Sonny's behavior. Deep down, you would know that Sonny is just trying to make the most of his experience. Sonny is but a soul trapped in a mortal's vehicle and must use what he has to get the most from the experience. It doesn't matter if he is a lawyer or a custodian, what matters is what Sonny makes of the experience and the person that Sonny is. Sonny is a great person and he does everything well. What more can God expect?

God expects everything and nothing at the same time. He does not presuppose anything and doesn't see win or lose situations. God sees the soul and what it needs to grow. God sees the person seeking fulfillment and joy. God sees without judgment or concern. God sees that all things are good and that things follow their natural order. God doesn't see the downside, but sees things as part of the grand scheme and sees that all things happen for the common benefit of all. Only if the world were going to self destruct would God move to change the course of history. Seeing with divine eyes, looking in from the outside, gives God the means to know the beauty of free will and natural creation. God sees that things flow in a manner far more perfect than could ever be designed. By allowing the creation to continually recreate itself brings forth a wealth of wonder to behold.

The beauty is not in the control, but in the orderly progression of the whole. The wonder is in the choosing combined to create the common will. The common will of all makes the beauty shine forth. It is not in a prison that we experience great creativity, but in the free flowing environments of the creation. It is not in the doing that creates the majesty but in the creative imaginings that bring forth the reality. It is not an idealist who causes us to marvel, but in the ideas that spring forth from the idealist. It is not the creator but the creation that causes God to smile. The creator is but a vehicle for the creation to come forth. The inventor is not as magical as the invention itself.

God sees that His creations are continually creating and that is even more marvelous than simply seeing the creations of man. Similar to watching a computer process a program, the creator sees the invention create (only to the extent that a computer can create, it simply follows instructions.) God must delight in the fabulous creations that He made. Man has long since dreamed of creating a computer that can think, but so far the dream has not come to fruition. Man can now clone animals, but can't create them. Man cannot create life, yet the attempts continue as I write. God has created the greatest things ever created, so what does He do for an encore?

If you were God, with everything at your disposal, you could do anything. Perhaps you would think that a more perfect being could be created, so you set about working on that project. You think that code names are cool, so you name it Project PerfectBeing. You scheme tirelessly at the possible improvements. The perfect ones already created may have room for improvement, so you look at all aspects for just the right add-ons. Hmmm, perhaps if the bodies were less prone to sickness or the emotions were not so controlling. What if you put some idiot proofing devices in the core? Wouldn't that improve the creations of the created? Around and around you go pondering the possibilities. You decide that you have enough improvements, so you'll use Planet Dreamy as the world of PerfectBeing. You'll give a new spin to things that you learned from the earthlings. Always the perfectionist, you strive to greater levels of perfection.

Have I been watching a little too much science fiction? Do we suppose that God can improve on perfection or would even want to try? Well it does make for an interesting story line, so we'll continue. We seem to enjoy stretching the imagination to new levels and we naturally assume that our creator is the same. So, God has created PerfectBeing on Planet Dreamy. The fun begins as the creations begin to live their lives. It'll take a while for some meaty history to unfold, so we'll skip a few generations to keep our interest alive. It's now been about a thousand years (we can only relate to earth years, so we'll stick with the known.) Whew! Perfect sure seems to have a set of problems that look much like the ones we had at the same point in evolution. Even with the improvements, there doesn't seem to be that big of a change. Sure, some of the light weight issues have been overcome, but the general outcome is much the same. What's the deal here? An entirely different set of beings arriving at the same conclusions.

What's wrong with this picture? Where are the benefits of the improvements? What's the lesson here? There is always a lesson to be learned and in this imagined case, the lesson is that the natural order of things seems to always win in the long run. You can change the players, but the game remains much the same. Do you remember seeing the TV show PLANET OF THE APES? Remember how they were just as human as humans? The lesson is not in the body itself, but in the nature of the personality. There will always be the one who wants to rule the others and the one who selfishly seeks his own. These manifestations work themselves into every scenario, regardless of the players. Where there is free will, there will also be conflict. Conflict is a natural consequence of free will. God sees free will for the beauty that it brings to the action.

If in your Godly creation, you took away free will, then certainly the entire theme of the movie would change with the revelation of the historical plot. Instead of free will being the norm, it would be the sporadic outpouring of the deviant one. It would come to life in ways which would be seen as horrible and selfish. The purveyor of the free will would soon be the enemy of all. We can't let free will get out of hand – it would have a devastating effect on the whole. Free will would be squashed like a bug on a windshield. Is this the type of existence that God would create? Is this the life that any of us would choose to have? Within the greater view of life, free will plays an integral part.

This is not to say that society must not have a defined orderly set of rules to keep chaos at bay. Laws are enacted for reasons and their enforcement becomes the basic control mechanism for the whole. Without laws or rules, free will just might get out of hand. Humans can't bear the thought of free will in total. The thought that everyone is living by their own rules just makes us nuts. The thought that we can't control things to the present degree causes us to worry and fret. Imagine total chaos – we imagine that crime would rule the world. We fail to see that the natural order of things would in itself bring forth a degree of self control. The natural consequences produce laws which are far more controlling than any that man put in place. Man can affect many things, but man still is in awe of acts of God as they are known. A hurricane is no match for the skill of man – man can only react by devising a clever evacuation plan. If you can't beat it, beat it out of the way!

Our best efforts at control have demonstrated the futility of our efforts to control free will. It is not our intent to control, but to have things operate in an order than is acceptable for all to operate within. If murder were acceptable, then things would be different. Everyone would carry guns and we would think twice before irritating someone. Road rage would no longer be a concern. People would quickly operate within a more friendly society. People would learn that it is kill or be killed or better yet, learn to get along. Killing doesn't fix our problems, so why kill? Let's bring it down a notch. Let's say that everyone is a police officer. We could arrest anyone at any time for breaking the law. Who would be the one person not locked up? We would be on a tare, trying to get all those evil doers behind bars. That would solve our problems. Once you realize that everyone has broken the law, you soon realize that the odd person out would be the only one out of jail. This is only because there would be no one left to lock the person up.

Regardless of how self righteous we envision ourselves, we all have broken a law. Remember all those times you were speeding, but didn't get caught? Does the fact that you didn't get caught lessen the crime? By no means does it change the facts of the case. You were just fortunate enough to not get caught. What does this have to do with anything? It demonstrates our free will to even violate laws, which we willingly put into place and believe in whole heartedly. We elect our officials and then spend their entire terms second guessing their decisions. We love to exercise our right to vote, but we are never satisfied with the results of our choices. We should be glad at least that we have the right to choose. Instead, we think of even more ways to limit our free will. If we had a law against illegal use of influence, then perhaps we could control the choices of our elected officials.

The cycle never ends, we are forever writing and rewriting laws. We somehow feel that one day we will come up with a perfect set of operating standards applicable to all, allowing for the free will of all, within the constraints of an organized society. Animals don't have written laws and have no need for them. We take animals and inflict our will upon them and suddenly you have a herd of cattle or a pet who wears clothes. Would the cat knowingly wear the duck costume? Is it natural for a fish to live in a bowl? Have we not taken away the free will of something else for our own pleasure? What if God did this to us? We'd be thinking up ways to get the heck away from God. We'd be scheming incessantly to find ways of getting out of the bowl of control.

Pets are fun and pets are great. If we treat them right, and this does not mean how we think they should be treated, they will bring much joy to our lives. If we beat them into submission, then we will not have a freely loving and giving pet. We will have a trained servant who has no choice but to come when we call. Sure, does a dog know that we are using food as a motivational tool to control his behavior? Does the cat realize how ridiculous it looks in the duck suit? Don't think that we stop at pet control. Did you see any trick or treaters, below the age of choice, wearing those really cute costumes picked out by their parents? Of course you did. We think that our opinion is the one that counts and we think that we have the right to think for those who can't voice opposition. Do we have that right? You figure that there is no harm and you have lots of fun with the dress up party. The child won't be scarred for life and the cat won't turn into a duck. What's the worst that can happen?

We don't stop there – we put ourselves into the life of the child until the child one day says no. When the child can exercise free will, then we begin to see that we can't control her every action. If the child never learned to express her free will, then there would be a miserable adult in the making. These are examples of extremes, but these things do occur everyday. We never stop to realize just how we inflict our free will on others. If I come to a red light and decide to run it, I am affecting the lives of others. Certainly, I have the free will to do so, but I don't have the right to inflict my will upon others. Just as you don't like it when you are told what to do, others don't like it either. Try telling a teenager what to do and stop to listen to the remarks under his breath. Were it not for their free will, we would be raising them to behave exactly like us, as if we had the perfect lives.

I recall the irritation that I felt at seeing a neighborhood dog chained all day every day to a truck on a cement driveway. Now that's the life! Why don't we chain the owner to the same spot and see how he feels? Let's put the shoe on the other foot and have him try it on for size. It wouldn't be long before the owner figured out that he had no free will and that he had no purpose in life except to exist. What kind of person would want that life or wish it upon anyone else? At least give the man the choice to be tied up or not. If he chooses to be tied up, well, then he will get from the experience what he chooses. Not everyone chooses free will so freely. There are those who choose to have less freedom. No one chooses to not have the choice. God knows that the beauty is in the choosing – having the right to choose, whether good or bad or right or wrong, the choice doesn't matter, but the right choose does.

There are so very many examples of limited free will. We could sit and ponder the myriads for days, but I think the point is well made. God knows what we know but fail to realize at times. God's actions are a reflection of the wisdom. He gives us what we need to experience what we desire. This is perfection – can you think of a better way?

Chapter 3 - How would you handle life's crisis?

Let's continue with our God glasses for a moment. Put them on and see our crisis from God's perspective. Just as we see things differently after the fact, God sees things from a more broad perspective. What may be life and death to us is merely a bump in the road in God's view. I often told students that their present crisis wouldn't matter in five years, and assuredly in five years it really wouldn't. This is not to say that some things are not life altering, as we know that there are some experiences that stay with us forever. This is to say that if you see everything, you see things differently. If you knew that you would live forever, why would you sweat the daily details? You wouldn't give a second thought to most things that fill your days with worry now.

If we look at crisis from God's perspective, we see the true magnitude and the overall importance of the event. We analyze the situation and proceed accordingly. Our response to crisis is based largely on our perspective. Whereas one person may see that all of life rests on a single decision or event, another person will see that there is no decision or event which is that important. How a person deals with a crisis is based largely on the person. What importance the person places on the event determines the importance of the event. If we see our work as our life, then the daily work environment is very important. If we see our work as necessary to make a living, then our perspective changes drastically.

What is your perspective on your life crisis? That depends on you and your overall makeup. If you are deathly afraid of dying, then a near death experience can be seen as devastating. Once you have the experience, you will see death from a much different perspective. Once you experience something, your perspective is changed. The loss of a loved one is devastating until you realize that the loss is temporary and your loved one is far happier than you are. Death is not the end, but another beginning. Once you realize that you have nothing to fear but fear itself, you can start living life on a grander scale.

How many times do we dread something until we experience it and realize that we were over-exaggerating it? Isn't the experience almost always less dreadful than we thought it would be? This does not apply to dental surgery, but that's another subject for another time. We spend so much more time dreading things than is really warranted. What if we had put our time to better use? If we could see from God's perspective, only a life altering situation would even come close to a crisis. All those truly unimportant events would melt away and be held in their proper place.

With our God glasses on, imagine that you are facing a life altering experience. Realize that God is with you as you and you can see the event as it truly is. If you are faced with the death of a loved one, you realize that you will forever be changed by the experience. You see deeply within yourself and know that you will never be the same. You realize that you are experiencing something that is a natural fact of life and the experience will be what you choose it to be. You can choose to fall to pieces and blame God for the rest of your life. You can choose to accept the experience as a natural part of life and spend time in mourning for your loss. You can become hateful and resentful and can wallow in misery. You can be glad that the person was a part of your life and that you were lucky to have known them. You can see that their happiness is in another place and that they have chosen to find their true happiness.

With God's perspective, our big problems are reduced greatly in magnitude, simply by the depth of the perception. Instead of being tossed around aimlessly by life, we see that life is more than a series of random events. Life is a carefully designed path of inclusive wills set on fulfillment of our soul's desires.

One of my most recent lessons about God taught me that our lives are connected carefully to the lives of others and that our will alone does not control our lives. Imagine a situation such as the death of a loved one. How many lives are affected? How many collective wills are involved in the process? Haven't you ever been at the bedside of a dying loved one and begged God to take you instead? Haven't you tried to inflict your will upon others? Oh yes you have, be honest. When you want your spouse to do something, you resort to clever scheming to get them to go along. You use all means at your disposal to cause their will to join with yours, so that you can get what you want. The power of collective will is reflected in the Bible, which states that when two or more are joined together in My name, it is done.

I must say that this is revolutionary to my thinking, as I had never stopped to realize that other wills affect our lives. We have always prayed that God's will be done. It is not God's will that we do anything. It is our will combined with the will of others that causes things to happen. God went on to explain that in times of weakness and despair, our will is less potent than the will of others who are not in distress. I guess this is why sometimes you get kicked when you are already down. Think of the will of others affecting your life. This had never even occurred to me before – that I am the product of the will of others also.

God gave me the example of a river and my will is but a drop of water in the river of life. The size of my will is directly proportional to the effect that it will have on the river. If my will is great and my faith is unflinching, then the effect will be more dramatic. If my will is weak and my faith is also, then the effect will be almost negligible. Think about the effect of combined wills joined together for a common purpose as in the case of a prayer group. This is a powerful thing, greater than we imagine. Our will must be solid and large to overpower the unwanted wills of others on us. If you have someone who is simply willing you to suffer and their will is great, then your lack of will in opposition will allow at least some of the will to penetrate your reality.

Now, I, just like you, have some learning to do on this. I am not amused by the fact that others can affect me simply by willing it. No wonder all those bad things happen. Now it makes sense – we shouldn't blame God, we should blame all those who will bad things on us. Right? No, we should focus our attention on our own will and don't worry about the will of others. Our strength comes from within and amounts to the caliber that we give it. How does this relate to God's perspective? Understand that God lets the river flow according to the wills. So, are we alone in this?

No, God will not interrupt the flow, unless we ask Him to. If, by our free will, we ask for God's help, then and only then will He give it. Remember, free will is truly free, and not in the cash sense. Let's say for example that I seek to fulfill my soul's desires to help others, but I don't know the best avenue. I ask for God's wisdom and guidance. It is then that God jumps into play and provides the best possible solution or direction. Often, if we look at it, His guidance defies our logic and will amaze us. But, if I run off seeking my fulfillment in the place that I think that I will find it, I may find myself on the wrong path or a much less desirable path.

Which brings me to the "Let Go and Let God" lesson, which is where I usually wind up. I have to realize that I do not have the answers and knowledge best suited to fulfill my purpose. I, of my own free will, choose to let go and let God choose for me. Now, when I do this, I shouldn't spend my days and nights trying to convince Him that He is wrong or that a better solution would be this or that. Don't worry yourself into a frenzy about how He is going to make things happen – you are simply wasting your time. Faith comes into play here and you, by your choice, trust that God will bring you what you need wherever and whenever that is. Faith is always the hardest part, but if you look at life through God's eyes, you will see that everything always works out in the end. You will look back and marvel at His workings.

When faced with a crisis, knowing that God sees more than you do, ask for His assistance and let it go. Worrying won't make things happen and faith does move mountains. Letting God do His job always works out for the best. If you add up all of your crisis moments, you will see that there is none beyond your scope, if God is with you. It is when we veer off course away from God, that we start to feel panic and fear. When we have faith in God, we feel peace and love.

From God's perspective, seek to help others as God helps you. Always act with love and compassion for the other person and not with selfish motives. We can use our will to sway others, but really lose in the end. We cheat ourselves and others when we do things with selfish interests at heart. When we seek personal gain at the expense of others, we will always reap what we wish we hadn't sown. Does Karmic debt really exist? Is this just another one of God's punishments? I don't believe in Karmic debt per se, but I do believe that our actions do have consequences. So, look before you leap and be sure that your will is done.

Set your will in the direction of your deepest desires and go unflinchingly toward them. Don't listen to naysayers or anyone else. Be determined to fulfill your desires and don't look back. Know with certainty that you are but a short time away from the fulfillment of your desires if your will is strong. Understand that the river of life flows constantly and that you want your will to make a difference. Don't be wishy-washy and let the will of others take control of your life. Just as a murderer can inflict his will upon another, know that will is a powerful tool. We can rationalize that the will of the victim must surely have been to die, and maybe it was. We cannot know the will of another, nor can we fully understand the complexities of life. But we can open our eyes and realize that someone else can affect our lives.

Don't go merely through life believing that your fate is automatically in the hands of God or anyone else. Choose for God's guidance and assistance, so that your fate will be in the hands of God. Choose that your will be strong and that your convictions are unflinching. Choose to have faith in the greatest quantity that God will give you. Know that faith increases by trial, so don't be chicken to earn more. Let go and let God – if you dare!

Crisis is a two sided thing that serves two entirely different purposes. Often, we don't have the wisdom to realize the beauty of the crisis, if we only look at the face value. The many stories of life altering events shows us that in hindsight, we were given a gift wrapped in some ugly clothes. Once the gift is revealed, the beauty shines brilliantly. We generally see the wrapping and fail to unwrap the gift. When it is darkest, it is very hard to see the gift underneath the wrapping. If we see things from God's perspective, we see that the wrapping is really meaningless and the gift is what really matters.

If your life was the pits and you had nothing but misery, an event causing you to realize that your life is a gift from God will seem welcomed, right? Oh no, you would freak out and cry "woe is me," blaming God for the horror put upon you. I saw on TV yesterday news coverage of a young surfer who had her arm bitten off by a shark. The girl said that she was glad that it happened because she could now tell everyone about Jesus. Would you be thinking about Jesus if your limb was lost? I'm guessing not.

There are so many lessons to be learned about your life and the events of your life. If you see your body as merely a vehicle, then your body will take on a less crucial role in the game. If you see that your soul will live long after the body dies, then the body will be seen more as an old suit that will one day fail to be needed. Realizing the brilliant gift that you are given will change your focus from "am I the best looking" to "am I the light to others?" Focusing on her arm would make the girl see the incident as bad, when the realization that it is simply an unnecessary limb whose loss could bring light to others, makes the crisis turn into an event of grace.

There are stories galore about people who have turned their infirmities into triumphs of spirit for the inspiration of others. I can't even imagine the grace of those who are so much closer to God than I. One of these lives, I'll have advanced to a state of supreme spirituality, but I'm guessing that it won't be this one. Someone who can lose a limb and instantly see the beauty of the gift is one who has advanced beyond my imaginings.

We look at the situation from our perspective and are deeply sorrowful. We hurt for the girl, knowing that she will suffer much to overcome the handicap. We never realize that she is so far above our level that she can't feel pain the way that we do. We have no way of knowing that she chose a life with such a tragedy, so that she could experience the trial of suffering for the betterment of her soul. It is not by a life of Riley that we grow spiritually. It is when we must pull from deep inside that we realize the real meaning of life.

We can't imagine crisis having a good purpose – we only see the bad. There are those who only see the good in all things and they are what we call masters. Are you ready to become a master? Can you master your own actions tomorrow, much less the spiritual development of others? Perhaps we may need a little more time in the school of life to even consider such a lofty pursuit. But, the road starts with one step and we have to start where we are. There are no magic jump-ahead ways to progress faster than we can. We must go at our pace and let God work things out along the way. Rejoice in the fact that we have seen the light and know that we are a light for others.

When faced with a crisis, try to look at the layer beneath the surface. This is easier said than done, but at least give it a try. Maybe the crisis is what will motivate us to take the next step. Maybe the crisis will cause us to know that we've had enough. Maybe the crisis will elevate us to a level beyond our imagination. What we make of every circumstance is what we will get from the experience.

To God there is no such thing as a crisis. To us we see them every day. We see the horrors of war and the suffering of the soldiers and their families. We marvel at their bravery and are grateful for their service. What can we do to help? Sure, that's their chosen profession and they are paid to be where they are. I'm paid to be where I am, but find that I don't have to dodge bullets or fear that every minute will be my last. As a soldier puts his life on the line for the good of others, are you also willing to put your life on the line for another? Of course you would for your child, but what about a stranger? Could you give as freely of yourself as a soldier does? What are you willing to give to others? Is there anything you can give to others? Are you even willing to try?

The sacrifices of public servants are a most respectful display of kindness toward others. The selfless giving makes our lives more secure and safe. The service of our military personnel assures that our freedoms will continue. What are we willing to give in service to others? All have gifts to give, but few actually do. Why are we so reluctant to give of ourselves the most meaningful gifts that we have to offer? What are these, you ask? Our time and love. These are free to freely give. They can change a crisis into a gift and can help others to see the beauty of this thing we call life.

Chapter 4 - How would you affect the future now?

Today's actions are tomorrow's history. We don't often think of our actions in this light, but we would do better if we did. If you realize that what you do today will be a historical reflection of you, then you might use a little more wisdom before taking action. If you realize that children are forever affected by things that happen to them daily, you will understand that for every action there is a reaction. Abusing a child will chart a course for an adulthood affected by painful memories. Saying something rude to a person will affect their immediate behavior. Few are the ones who are not affected by events around them. They are called masters and we are not among them, yet a master wouldn't be sitting here reading this. A master would be teaching things far greater than this.

Anyway, what God does today affects tomorrow. If God causes a flood, (assuming for example that God causes all acts of God) the victims will have to deal with it tomorrow. If God strikes you with lightening today, you'll know it tomorrow – in this life or the next. If you were God, how would your actions be a reflection of your choices for the future? Would you do good today so that tomorrow would be better? Would you punish today, so that the bully wouldn't bother you tomorrow? Would you cure all the world's illnesses, so that tomorrow would be healthy? What and to what extent would you act today to affect tomorrow?

That's a lot to ponder. Let's start by analyzing scale. How big an impact do you wish to make? If you do a really big miracle today, what will tomorrow bring? Let's say that you cured all sickness with one fell swoop. Think of how your world would be changed, if only for a short time. You didn't take away sickness for all time; you just took it away for now. Plenty of doctors would be looking for work. Pharmaceutical companies would fall in ruins. The world economy would be shaken. Our hospitals would be empty and everyone would be looking for work. Unemployment would skyrocket, but would this be so bad?

Bad or not, things would be topsy-turvy for a while. People would succumb to the chaos created by such a radical miracle. The long term effects of unemployment and instability would certainly cause the sickness to return quickly. So, our huge miracle would shortly fade and our chaos would return to normal. What would our accomplishment be? How would God's overriding our free will really solve all of our problems? You wouldn't be a hero for very long. Soon, you would be getting the rotten tomato treatment for being so short-sighted. What a mess you have caused? Some miracle – aren't you proud of yourself?

The consequences can be as devastating as the miracle is great. Let's assume that we take the scale down to something a little more reasonable. Remember small pox and polio? Yeah, they were bad, but they are no more. By giving a much smaller miracle, God managed to greatly impact the world without all of the devastating consequences. Now that's a miracle that you can be proud of. Sure, we give all the credit to the scientists, but what spark caused the brain to stumble on the cure? Certainly, this was no miracle or act of God – it was simply a scientific discovery based on the wisdom of the scientist. Believe what you will, but I know that some of my best ideas aren't mine. That little spark that suddenly pops into my mind and blows my mind, is simply not from my mind. Writing these books lets me know that: 1. I have much hidden wisdom; or 2. God is giving me some great information. Having known me for 42 years, I pick number 2. It's really fun to read the books after they are finished because they sound so much better than anything I could have written. This is not to say that I had a hand in the process (actually, I was given the great opportunity to type God's words, so my hands were in the process,) but I am simply to machine processing God's wisdom for you.

Maybe smaller miracles are better. We can still marvel at them, but not suffer great consequences from them. Maybe God knows that radical actions cause radical consequences, so that is why He does not interfere more often. Remember also, that God gives us free will and inflicting His will upon us defeats the purpose of free will.

What else would you do and why? You would look to guide your children in your ways using a more subtle approach. You would allow your children to come to you of their own free will and ask for your guidance. You would give to those who ask and would fulfill the needs of those who need. You would share your love in every possible way to those who seek to experience your love. You would choose to show your light in the places where light is not shown. You would seek to provide love to those who know no love. You would relish in the opportunity to teach those who wish to learn. You would clap at the sight of a soul's enlightenment. You would work tirelessly to bring happiness and joy today, so that tomorrow would be filled with hope. A better today will lead to a better tomorrow.

You would work to spread love throughout the world. You would use your love to demonstrate love, so that the recipients reflect the love shown. You would answer the prayers of all who call upon you. You would choose the wisest paths for those who seek direction. You would change the world one child at a time. You would let the individual miracle conquer the masses. You would continue to communicate constantly messages of your love. You would look at all of your creations, both in total and individually. You would realize that one person can change the world just as Jesus did. You would know that one drop of faith can move mountains and one drop of will can cure disease.

By focusing on today, we do affect tomorrow intentionally or not. Not one day or action is wasted and all things work for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. By the way, what is God's purpose? As in earlier discussions, God's purpose is to experience physical life through us. His purpose is our purpose, as we are here to experience physical life. If you believe in the afterlife, not really knowing what the soul feels or experiences, imagine how much the physical body experiences that the soul cannot. If the soul could experience physical life, then why would we be here? Wouldn't it be more cost effective to have all of this happen in the afterlife? Couldn't we deal with a few less stresses in the afterlife?

We have to assume that our physical bodies serve a unique purpose. We have to suppose that the soul needs our body to have feelings and experience what it is to be touched. In the movie CITY OF ANGELS, this concept is conveyed. Our physical bodies serve to give the soul physical experiences. If we never felt heartache, because our soul cannot even imagine the concept, then how developed can our souls become? Would we not be lost in a theoretical existence if all we know is based on hearsay? As in the movie, tasting a pear and having the experience described to you are two entirely different things.

Fixing all the problems in the world would eliminate half of our experiences. If we assume that we experience half good and half bad, then taking away either half would leave us feeling half fulfilled. Sure, we don't like the bad, but in the grand scheme, the bad makes the good.

I guess that our perspective through God's eyes would cause us to do exactly what He does. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! If they don't ask for help, don't give it. This is how things naturally progress to the best possible outcome for all. Sometimes no action is an action and sometimes no action is needed or wanted. Sure, God could change my history this very minute. But what would be the point? Would it make my life better or worse or have no real effect at all? If things happen according to how they are supposed to happen, then my history is just fine the way it is. If we see the perfection in everything, then what's the point of making a few changes? We can stir the pot, but no real effect will be had. If I have chosen to experience the things that I experience, then one way or the other, I will experience them. By shifting a few details, the result will still be the same.

We are taught that you don't change horses mid-stream. What's the point? Ride the wave and stay the course until the course is not what you choose to experience. It's not that God can't make changes, but that He does not choose to override our choices. He chooses for us to choose and by taking away or changing our choices He has a dramatic effect on our experiences.

There are times when I wish God would just solve all my problems and let me live out my life in a more mellow way. There are times when I can't stand the boredom and wish for some excitement. There are times when I am ready for this experience to end, so that I can start a new one. My impatience causes me to want to leap to the finish line at times. It's just my nature. Leaping to the finish line won't give me what I need, in spite of the fact that I'm not as concerned about the details as I am the result. If I had leapt from 20 to 40 years old, then perhaps I would be a very immature 40 year old who would be writing of rather different experiences. I wouldn't have the life meat to go with the life potatoes, so to speak. I wouldn't have the backing for the theory. In fact, now that I think about it, I wouldn't have very much at all to write about or to share as evidence for the life that I have lived.

Who's to say what is best? Who's to second guess the way things are? Who's to find all the answers in one place? I guess you haven't lived until you have lived. Skipping to the finish line cheats you out of who you really are. Sometimes, I would like to skip over a few things and most of them relate to periods of waiting. I can't stand to have to wait, and of course that is something that I must do frequently. I like for things to happen and happen quickly. Life is not lived for the slow, but for the fast, right? The fastest gets the prize and the slowest gets the experience. Anyway, there are just times when we have to take the wait and see approach. Rome wasn't built in a day and my 80 years won't pass in a moment.

Sometimes patience is all that we have when we can't see the next corner. We have to play with what we have and trust that things work for the good of all in the long run. There are times when I have to force myself to get a grip. There are times when I feel as if I will leap out of my skin if something doesn't happen quickly. Is it best for things to happen before the appointed time? I'm sure that in the long run, all things happen just when they should.

There are things that puzzle me, like why in spite of great effort the cure for aids has not been found. Why do so many suffer so needlessly? Why can't we find cures for all diseases quickly? Of course, we once had different diseases to worry about like smallpox and polio. I guess that we find the cure to one and another finds its way into the population. It seems that there is a never ending cycle of problem, solution, problem, etc. The harder we try to solve problems, the more problems that seem to appear. Now, why does God promote a system of such destruction and suffering? In the natural order, there is life and death. If there were no disease or sickness, Grandma would still be here living to some unbelievable old age. The old folks would take over the world and denture products would be the hottest things.

Perhaps it is the bigger picture that shows the need for life to end and souls to come and go, only to be reborn again. That's a really big picture, but so is a world full of extremely old people. From my vantage point, perhaps there is wisdom behind the laws of nature. Just as I don't want to live past my purpose, I'm sure that no one else really does either. Instead of hanging around, to be extremely old, why not chuck the old body and give a new one a whirl?

If you look at it this way, you can really start to see why things work the way they do. We imagine at first glance that ridding the world of disease would solve all of our problems, but we look again and see that new problems would be created. Are your best experiences had during your youth or your advanced years? Often as we age, we lose the will to even try new things. At the point when we can barely get off the chair, how much of life are we really going to experience? Perhaps youth is wasted on the young – oh if I knew then, what I know now...

There comes a point in a person's life, when they realize that they've maximized on their potential and it's time to move on. The peaceful look of a life well lived is a great gift to take with you as you journey on to the afterlife. When you lay down to die, hope that you have gotten the most of your time here, so that you can go quietly and quickly onto your next journey. There are those who die suddenly and some who fight death with every thing that they have. Death is not the enemy that we imagine, just as crisis can be our gift. It's all in the perspective and how we place value where we do.

If we see life as all there is and every crisis as a punishment from God, then our lives will certainly be filled with fear and resentment. If we see death as a bridge to our next adventure and every crisis for the gift it brings, then our lives will be filled with joy and happiness. If we love all people and all things, then there is nothing that can bring us harm. If we continually demonstrate the love of God, then how can we ever fail?

Let your light so shine before men that they may see it and glorify your Father in heaven. Simple, yet all inclusive. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Simple, yet eloquent and insightful. These two sentences say more to me than anything that I have ever read. There is great wisdom in the words and the message that each conveys. Love with all your might and give all that you have to give in the service of others. Has God not done this for you? Shouldn't you return the favor?

Chapter 5 - How would you deal with mean spirited people?

Oh, our very best friends in life – the mean spirited. You know them, you love them but you surely can't live with them. You really can't even stand to be around them. But, they are around us and we can't hide from them for long. It seems as if they track us down and inflict their meanness on us. We try to avoid and try to not be confrontational, but they just seem to crawl under our skin like red bugs and drive us crazy. What would you do if you could see as God does?

Just as the bully in our previous discussions, you would realize that a bully behaves as he does for reasons that are his own. As God, you would have the insight into his background and would realize that what he really needs is a dose of kindness. Treating a bully with like behavior will not cure his ills. It will only make things worse. A bully is someone who needs to belittle others to feel better about himself. He has issues, and lashing out at him will not change his evil ways. It will give him more reasons to continue his behavior. It will probably make him worse.

I remember all the kids who have turned to extreme violence by shooting others at school. Look at their pictures and hear their stories. Most, if not all, were victims of bullies and felt that they had taken enough abuse. Most of the kids were raised in normal homes, but were pushed to extreme acts of violence by others who belittled them. These kids were considered outcasts and were pushed into the shadows by the mainstream. These kids are the ones who appear to never fit into the "in" crowds. These kids are not popular in school and don't seem to make friends easily. Some of them are very introverted and unsociable. Every person has a limit and can only deal with the pressure to the point of their capabilities. What causes a person to go over the edge?

One never knows the limits of another, just as one never knows whether a person with destructive tendencies will choose to act out on themselves or on others. With God's wisdom and insight, you will be able to know the person's motivations and limits. You will know the right buttons to push and will know how to be most effective. You will instantly know how to turn the bully into the happy person he is just dying to be. You will know that kindness given reaps untold benefits. You will not seek to embarrass or accuse the bully; you will work to heal the internal thinking and feelings that cause the unwanted behavior.

Psychiatrists are trained to do this, but God knows better than anyone that love cures all ills and will make a bully change his behavior. I learned much about this working with disadvantaged youth. How you approach a situation makes a very big difference. Knowing the delicacy of the situation and behaving accordingly is your first piece of wisdom. You understand that the bully should never be confronted publicly. You ask to speak to him privately and you may have to be creative to get him to agree. Perhaps inviting him for a free lunch might work.

Once you have the bully to yourself, you can ask the obvious question, "Why do you behave as you do?" It may take some clever questioning on your part, but approaching someone with kindness and concern generally allows them to open up to you. If you show enough genuine compassion, the person will usually spill the beans. God wouldn't need help, but often we need the assistance of a teacher or friend. Many times a bully will not respond to all the kindness in the world, but your persistence and kindness will almost always win him over. Don't be discouraged by immediate defensiveness, but be determined to win the person over. You won't win them all, but you will win many.

Taking the time to demonstrate your kindness and compassion lets your light shine, and whether you realize it or not, demonstrates a warmth and joy that is only to be admired. The bully will be amazed by your strength. He will be shocked that you are facing your fears and are interested in getting along with him. Your efforts will display a genuine interest in the person and will draw him to you. Everyone likes to have friends. Bullies don't really have friends; they have people who are like themselves, who just join for the strength of numbers. No one respects a bully. No one likes a bully. More importantly, no one wants to be a bully. You know this just as God knows this.

Everyone seeks to be popular and well liked. I for one would like to be the most popular person and the most well liked. Be honest, you always wanted to be a part of the "in" crowd at school. The bully wants to belong, but really doesn't know how. The bully does what he knows how to do. He does what has been done to him. How can you change him? Change his experiences and you will change him forever. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. It may not be easy, but it is well worth the effort.

God wouldn't give a second thought to dealing lovingly with a bully. When our first impulse would be to run and hide and avoid, God would seek out the bully or the mean spirited person and would peck at him like a woodpecker on a tree. The bully would soon seek to avoid you. Oh no, there comes the nice guy. He really makes me uncomfortable. Yick! He is getting on my nerves with all the niceness. What is he really up to? What's his real motive? He must be trying to trick me with kindness. Oh, you will have him guessing what you are up to. This is very disconcerting to one who is used to people running from him. Why aren't you scared? Is it fun to beat up someone who walks up to you and asks for your friendship?

Take the bully out of his context of experience and put him on new ground. Take him out of his comfort zone and you will soon have him chasing you for a different reason. Kindness attracts kindness. Give it your best shot and the changes will surprise you. The bully will be surprised that he can be liked for his kindness. He will learn quickly that a kind deed brings forth wonderful dividends. Do you really think that a bully likes himself? (Do you really think that when I write him, that I exclude her? Girls can be bullies also.) Bullies come in all types and wreak havoc on many. Understanding their backgrounds generally turns the monster into a mouse. Knowing that your kindness can never be thwarted will cause your will of goodness to jump on the bully and change him/her forever.

A mean spirited person exists with a load of unpleasant baggage. You can't force the person to change, but you can let the person see another way to behave. Some prisons have incorporated a victim meets victimizer learning experience to help criminals realize how their actions affect others. Meeting the mother of a child that you killed has to be quite an overwhelming experience. Seeing the child as a person and not an object brings the actions to a new reality. Seeing the hurt that is caused by the actions of another, in the faces of those hurt, is deeply enlightening. It won't bring back the child and some of us would not take the time to let the criminal see our hurt, but we have to overcome self and think about the other person. Jeffrey Dahlmer's victim's families were allowed to confront him in court. Jeffrey wasn't feeling very proud of himself and was ashamed of his actions.

These are extreme examples, but the same works for all. Letting a bully see the consequences of his actions is likely to change his actions. Jeffrey Dahlmer suffered greatly from mental illness – there is no question about this. Jeffrey admittedly could not control his behavior, so he would fall under a different category. Our bully can be changed, because he is simply acting out his anger issues by trying to control others. Once he realizes that he can not control anything but himself, and that if he could there would be no reason to, he will look within himself to know that he does not enjoy hurting others. He just needs the love that he has not been able to find.

Once our bully realizes that more is gained by niceness than by physical strength, then he will want to be nice. He will see that the only way to be liked is to be likable. Yes, there are those who are so fiercesome that they cannot be reached. A life time of patterned behavior is very difficult to change if the person doesn't want to change. You can't change anyone without their wanting to be changed. There are those who simply don't want to change. Offer your kindness and move on. Realize that you can't save a soul who doesn't seek salvation. Move on – one day the person will take a long hard look at his/her deeds and realize that they have lived a miserable life, devoid of joy and happiness.

Why can't we change lost souls? It is not our purpose – it is our purpose to let them see happiness and joy and to offer any assistance that they will seek. If a death row inmate turns to God for help, will God turn His back on Him? No, and we really don't want to be a God who would be so shallow. A person on death row already knows that there are consequences for their actions. Another slap from God won't change the past or rewrite history. Perhaps the person will have been changed by the errant behavior and will realize that the behavior serves the best interest of no one.

A death row inmate deals daily with the consequences of their actions. Imagine sitting in isolation for ten or more years. Does that bring you happiness or bring your loved one back? No, and I would be just as mad as the victim's mother at the person who killed my child. But, I hope that I can see from God's perspective that all the punishments that we can muster will not bring the child back and that the experience will hopefully change a very misguided person into a redeemed soul, if not in this life then in the next.

Our prisons are full of people who went astray for one reason or another. Some can not cope with society even if released. There are those who are beyond redemption in this life. There are those who suffer from abuse and neglect who can never have their wounds healed. People do have their limits and a person can only take so much. We can only try to behave out of love in spite of what we have experienced. Those who seek the destruction of others are really trying to make themselves feel better. In spite of their efforts, they never will until they realize that misery begets misery. Looking with a new perspective is their only hope.

Think of the kids who committed the school shootings. They are very young and will now spend the rest of their natural lives in prison. How sad is this? How sad is it for the parents of the children killed? What if one person had taken the time to be nice to the bully or outcast at school? What if a kind soul had taken the time to listen to the frustrations of an errant youth? What if guns were not so available? Sure, let's blame the gun and not the shooter. At what point could all of this tragedy been avoided? Hindsight is always 20-20 vision. If only we had known. If only we had listened. If only, if only...

In life, seek to show your light to any who will see. With one smile you may avert a world of misery without even realizing it. With a moment of interest, a person's life can be changed forever. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works..."

Chapter 6 - How would you deal with hard headed people?

Those around me have described me as hard headed, but I just can't believe it to be true. Certainly, I am open-minded and listen intently to the suggestions of others. I am always open to change and always welcome the opinions of others. NOT! Yes, I have a little trouble listening and I do feel that my opinion counts for more than most. The wisdom of my years has given me such insight that I feel obligated to share my insights with others, even against their will. Ok, so I'm working on the hard headed thing, but I know that there are those far worse than me. Right? Some people are just impossible to deal with. You reason with them for hours and still they do it their way. How on earth can they be so closed minded to the obvious facts as I have given them?

Lucy learns another valuable lesson in life – everyone has an opinion and no one likes the opinions of others if they conflict with their own. Additionally, just because I have an opinion, does not automatically mean that anyone wants to hear it. Lucy, the hard headed know it, all learns to think that perhaps she isn't as smart as she once believed. Hmmm, perhaps my opinions are not the ones that count and who am I to inflict my opinions on others? Can it be? Oh, I just can't believe this. I'm in shock.

God would see that Lucy needs a little unlearning and relearning about life. Lucy, with all of her wisdom and knowledge, tends to repel people with lightening speed. Listen to the chat around the water cooler and you'll find that everyone disappears faster than a speeding bullet when Lucy rounds the corner. Lucy just gets on every one's last nerve with all of the pompous know-it-allness. Give us a break and give us enough clearance to steer clear of the wondrous Lucy. Admit it, you have one at work or know one in the neighborhood. Lucy has an answer for everything and really doesn't mind sharing.

Lucy will, in fact, track you down to share some of her pearls. She will butt into your conversations and will take over. She will seek innocent newcomers to set them quickly on the right track. Lucy's well intentioned arrows of knowledge will penetrate even the most guarded of force fields. She will break down any barriers and will show you the light, whether you want it or not. She just knows instinctively that you need to know all that she knows, because she knows everything about everything. You can't go another day without some of Lucy's enlightenment.

We might laugh at Lucy, but we all know her and even may have a little Lucy inside ourselves. How would you deal with Lucy, if you were God? God can't take the obvious approach and run with everyone else. God has to face the music and get his lesson also. So, you listen patiently until you have time to dream up an escape plan. You suddenly remember an important dental appointment and must leave at once. An actual dental appointment might be preferable to listening to Lucy. You take a breath, relishing in your escape when you realize that Lucy is really not as smart as she thinks, but has a great need for attention. Lucy just wants to be important and wants to be liked and popular. That old trap? Lucy has succumbed to one of the greatest traps of life – wanting to be well liked. She forces herself on others, so that they will be drawn to her vast insight and will like her.

Lucy fails to realize that she alienates herself by her misguided intentions. Would Lucy not be better served by bringing a delicious cake to work? Who would run from Lucy's 12 layer Red Velvet Cake? I'd be trying to get in front of the line – I wouldn't be hiding. Now, if Lucy made you listen to her in exchange for the cake, everyone would pass on the cake. But if Lucy wanted to win friends and influence people, a good dessert is a must. Having learned as a child that I should close my mouth and listen more, I realize that if Lucy wants to be popular, she has to draw people to her and it really is as simple as being a good listener. A kindness shown brings kindness. Instead of spouting vast wisdom, Lucy would be better served to serve cake to others.

Have you ever seen anything as effective as bringing donuts to work? Your office will be flooded as soon as the word spreads like wildfire. People, who work in places where you've never been, will suddenly appear at your door when donuts are up for the taking. Our lesson here – donuts are better than wisdom? Sometimes, because people don't choose you because of what you know, they choose you for what you do. Ohhh, that brings the one thinking eyebrow up for the occasion. What you do is more important than what you know? Your actions speak louder than words? You can't judge a book by its cover? (Just threw that one in for good measure.)

You, as God, know that actions do speak louder than words. You know that Lucy's actions are but a mere reflection of Lucy's innermost desires. You understand that Lucy is lonely and needs to be loved and needed. Lucy isn't a bad person and her cakes are the bomb! How do we turn Lucy, the hard headed know it all, into Lucy, the envy of all? You start with a compliment on Lucy's gift of listening. Ohhh, this will throw her. She never realized that she was a good listener. She'll work diligently to further hone her listening skills. She will be the best listener ever. If you are listening, you aren't talking. By giving a left-handed compliment, you create a win-win situation. Now, Lucy is delighted by her special gift of listening and everyone likes a good listener. The cakes are just icing on the proverbial cake.

Hmmm, telling Lucy that she gets on everyone's nerves will only cause her discomfort. It will hurt someone who already seeks approval. Why not give her a compliment in the direction you want her to go? Is this inflicting your will on another or the combined wills seeking mutual gratification? I don't know, but if everyone is happy, then your deed is done.

Lucy is but one example of a hard head. There are those who are sullen and introverted. They are the very ones that are always alone. In order to feel good about themselves, they envision that they are smarter than everyone else. I once worked for such a person and he was very proud of the fact that he was so smart. He even had a plaque that said, "It's hard to soar with eagles when you work with a bunch of turkeys." I was stupefied and shocked and almost burst into laughter. But, he was so full of himself that laughing at him would have been the kiss of death. You know the guy, Scott. I heard that in school he was known as snotty Scotty. I can certainly understand the reason for the name.

Anyway, what do you do about Scott? He has already informed you that he is too old to change and will not change. This is one of those cases beyond hope. A person so set on being what they deeply choose to be cannot be changed except by the hand of God. Your efforts to change someone like this will always bring about failure, if you look for results of change. Your efforts are not failures if you realize that any kindness is a worthy act regardless of the impact. So, look on the bright side and know that your light can be shown to all, but only some will see it. Know this and be glad for having shined your light to all. That is reward enough.

Turn these things over to God as only He can bring light where there has only been darkness and the darkness is satisfactory. Some people like being in the dark. This is where their comfort is. Haven't you met people who just seem to enjoy being the victim? Aren't there people who always seem to have a cloud over their heads? What's up with that and what motivates a person to always relish in the worst? There are some things that I actually do need God's glasses to see. So far, He hasn't given them to me, but I'll keep asking.

We know that we can't teach an unwilling soul and we are wasting time if we think you can. I have spent tireless hours trying to teach hard heads that sometimes honesty doesn't pay, especially to those who really don't want honesty. You can't think that just because something is true that someone wants to hear it, Lucy! All the wisdom in the world is useless unless there is an open ear to hear it. Spouting wisdom to an empty room only brings enjoyment to you, as there is no one else to hear it. Do you talk just to hear yourself? Apparently so, as your wisdom unsought is but music to your own ears.

Realize that there is nothing as irritating as someone trying to force his/her religion on you. Saturday morning isn't really a good time to visit someone's house unannounced to tell them about the great things that the church is doing in their lives. How many times have you chosen to not answer the door? Admit it – you have so done this. I have and not to be rude, but I simply wish to avoid hearing about someone else's religion. I make it a practice to not shove my knowledge down the throats of others, especially not in their homes. Why do we suppose that people are not drawn to church by do-gooders interrupting our otherwise quiet time at home? I have never attended a church because someone knocked on my door. Generally, if motivated, I will choose a church with a less overbearing approach. I want to be welcomed to church, not cajoled into the doors.

I know that the Bible tells us to be fishers of men, but did it ever intend for us to run people down and force them to hear the Good News? I don't think so. You can shine your light, but don't waste your time blinding people. Like a freight train rolling down the tracks, do-gooders are not impeded by the common sense thoughts that would have them understand that their good intentions only drive people away. Do you want to be one of those people who knock on doors? Must we all put "no solicitation" signs on our homes, so that we don't have to endure the unwanted disturbances? I recently signed up for the government's "do not call" list to keep phone solicitors at bay. I guess we could put "do not knock" signs on our doors. Yes, this is a radical approach to a never-ending problem, but what do these people think? Realize that your light can shine wherever you are and that you don't have to put it in people's faces. If they are seeking, they will find.

Hard headed people are no different than other people; they are just set in their ways. God knows this and so do you. Realize that you can only be available, but you can never change them – not even if you do bring cake and donuts to soften the blow.

Chapter 7 - How would you teach?

Teaching is one of those things that is relative to the person being taught. Consider your audience before designing a lesson plan. Don't assume that everyone learns the same or even cares to learn. Just because I may go to church does not mean that I am there for anything other than the fellowship. I may not even want to hear the sermon. Oh, God forbid, you say. But, I may not need to be taught, I may need to be in a comforting place for a little while. I may need to go to the park to sit or I may need to simply hear music. I may not necessarily need to learn, even if I am in the class. I may choose to day dream of being somewhere else. I may choose to imagine that I am in a romance novel as the main character. I may be in the class because I'm forced to be. So, you can't teach me a thing, because I don't want to learn.

Oh, the fun of having a class full of free wills. It certainly makes life interesting. Let's assume that you would never be in a class to learn about God by force. Knowing God is not a must, it is a choice. Sometimes it seems as if we have no choice, but it is a choice. I remember being forced to go to church and hating every minute of it. I didn't learn much, that's for sure. Many children are taken to church based on the best intentions of their parents. Parents fail to realize that forcing something on children may cause resentment. If a person is meant to know God, then nothing will keep them away. If God calls you, you can't help but answer. God only calls when you ask Him to and He will never out of the blue knock on your door. He will come when you want Him to and not a minute before.

So, as God, you set out to teach all about God. What's your lesson plan? Who's your audience? What are your most effective teaching tools? What do they need to learn?

The next chapter looks at what to teach, but how you teach is just as important. You can't force an unwilling soul, so it is useless to try. This is very important to your teaching and to your life. Knowing that all are not wowed by your great wisdom does not devalue your wisdom, but it does keep you from wasting your efforts. I can sing from the mountains, but if there is no one willing to listen, I might as well save my breath.

If you go to preach a sermon and no one shows up to listen, your time might be better served by putting your words into action and focusing on the teaching at another time. You can't benefit from rounding up unwilling souls and packing a church just to make them hear your wonderful words of wisdom. You will have a church full of mad people, who will leave once you begin to spring forth the wonderful words that they do not wish to hear. It'll be a lonely place if you spread the word without an audience.

When the word spreads of your wonderful teachings, then you can know that they will flock to hear the magic that you have to share. If your words are needed by only one, then your time is well spent. If you run people down on the street and force your words upon them, you'll likely push them away. God does not seek to force upon us that which we do not seek. When we seek, we get in great abundance. Don't look for God to be waiting to hand out pamphlets. Don't look for God to be chasing you down to give you some pearls. This is not His way and He knows that you will seek what you need when you need it. Give to those who ask just as God does. Don't run folks down and give it to them without their asking.

All the generosity in the world is wasted on those who do not appreciate the gesture. Don't let your light so shine that it causes people to run and hide. There is nothing worse than forcing your will upon another. It will not bring the desired results, and will only leave you standing alone, wondering what you did wrong.

Chapter 8 - What would you teach?

Complexity is generally unnecessary, so you would realize that simplicity is the best way to convey the messages. It's easy to get lost in trying to surmise a meaning if the complexity and nebulous nature of the conveyance leads to misunderstanding. (See what I mean?) Keep things as simple as possible to convey the true meaning in the most efficient manner. You, as God, know that there is no need to be mysterious or complicated. You know that a simple wisdom conveyed, with the least possible verbiage, offers the greatest insight for understanding.

If your message is love, then simply state that love is everything. Love is all there is. God is love and only gives love. Sometimes we can get lost in the detail and make things infinitely more complicated than they need to be. If we were to try to explain love, we would fill page after page with our thoughts about love, but would never be able to convey an understanding that can only be obtained by experiencing love. There are no words to describe its wonder and beauty. We can write about love, but until we feel love, we can never truly understand it.

The Bible, in its seeming simplicity, brings forth some very complicated issues which confound even the most ardent scholars who seek to understand it fully. We can get easily sidetracked trying to understand fully the Bible and its contents. We try to rationalize the writings and make them suit our needs or level of understanding. We try to use history to bring concepts to light. We study and study, but even with our best efforts, will never fully understand all that it contains. We try to simplify and to complicate the Bible's contents. We somehow believe that if we can just understand it, we can surmise a true knowledge of God. But the mysteries of God tend to sway us away from the simple truths of God. Why ponder the actions of the citizens of the Bible, when all we really need do is know that God is love.

We get wrapped up in the details and fail to see the simplicity for its beauty. Take all of the words of Jesus and put them in a simple compilation. Let His words speak with the simplicity and love intended. Jesus did not go around expounding with great verbosity about the mysteries of God. Jesus took things to the lowest level of understanding and did not relish in talking over anyone's head. His messages were important, but more importantly that they be understood. Personally, I get more from the simple words of Jesus than I do from anything else in the Bible. Take a little time to look only at the words of Jesus. See the simplicity and beauty of all of His words – the profoundly true in the unmistakably simple.

God's simple instructions leave little room for misinterpretation. Don't be swayed by the mass of words or the lost meanings of the translations. The simple guidance of Jesus will give you all you really need to get you on the path to Godliness and will fill your days with the purposeful pursuit of a life filled with happiness and joy. Realizing that you have a purpose will put a focus on your life and will give you something to work toward with all of your might. Living a life without meaning or purpose leads to misery and waste. How many times do we sit and wonder if we do have a purpose and what the reason for our being put on this planet is? I have had these very questions roll through my mind and have always believed that I do have a purpose and that I live to serve others. I may not always know the ways, but I know that I must live for others and do all that I can to bring light to the darkness.

If you see your purpose as simply bringing a smile to one person in your life, then serve that purpose with your best effort. You will find that one smile isn't enough and soon you will be walking around smiling like a person fulfilling a divine mission. Do what you must do to fill your emptiness and give your life meaning. Don't wait for a supreme sign from the powers that be, get in touch with your innermost self and start at once bringing joy to others. There is no greater joy in life than bringing joy to others. Think about it and realize that you feel best when you are the bright spot in someone's day. Meeting a deadline at work can be fulfilling, but it will never bring you the joy that comes from the joy of another.

Look outside yourself and see where true beauty lies. You will never find happiness in your own happiness, but will be made happy when you bring happiness to others. That dollar in your pocket can wield amazing power to bring happiness to another. It means very little to you, but can change the outlook of another person by giving it. A child will be uplifted when given a dollar. They start immediately to imagine all that they can buy with the dollar. The dollar is not its material value, but the power that it holds to bring out a smile. No one really values a dollar but loves the things that it can buy. And don't assume that money is the only way to give. Give of yourself – offer your assistance to someone who may need it. A simple generous gesture won't cost you a thing and will bring a warm fuzzy feeling to the recipient. Never underestimate your power to affect the lives of others. A simple kindness can turn a dreary day into a day filled with sunshine.

What do you think about when you sit and wonder about your life? Do you live without purpose or meaning? Do you float through your days hoping simply that nothing bad will happen? Do you jump out of bed and run to do what you do for only the ability to make a living? Do you live your personal life without purpose? Do you take for granted all of the wonder in your life? Do you feel that if only you had this or that you could have a meaningful life? What's the deal with all of this? Would you not better spend your time contemplating your purpose and seeking ways of fulfillment? If I go to work and don't feel that I make a difference, then my time there will be meaningless. If I go to work filled with purpose and inspiration, surely I will make a difference. Somehow my efforts will have served the greater good.

Wake up at once and seek your purpose. Even if you can't get a good handle on your true divine purpose at once, make up one and go for it. Your divine purpose will be revealed to you when you are ready. Even a made up purpose beats no purpose at all. Don't waste your time by concocting a selfish purpose. Make up a purpose that involves others and not in a way that inflicts your will upon others. Look for simplicity at first and the big picture will soon be revealed. Living a purposeful life is a major key to getting the most out of life. If you see your life as a meaningless trip through time, then you won't be very happy. If you see your life as divinely directed, you are sure to get a whole lot more out of it. It is not as important what you do, as how you do it. If you take the low road and settle for the minimum, then surely you will get just what you put in.

At those moments in my life when I feel directionless, I have a horrible feeling of emptiness. It is the worst possible feeling and I have to fight to regain my focus on what is really most important. This is not to say that it happens magically or I don't have struggles reconciling my life to my desires. I have struggles just like everyone else. It is only when I know that I have had a positive effect on others, that I can truly live in the light and feel the emptiness disappear. These are the times when I feel closest to God. These are the times when I know that my life is not just a waste of tremendous effort. Everyone needs a boost now and then. We get kicked in the pants and feel defeated at every turn. If you think about it, it is during those times that we seem to instinctively feel God's greatest impact on our lives.

When I feel that I have served the greater good, then I can keep the flow going and seek to bring more good to the cause. If I see myself as a waste of flesh, then surely I won't be at my best. I do often need a lift, but find that somewhere from the darkness, the light shines forth. When I least expect it, God does give me the boost that simply hits the spot. Sometimes I need to know that someone cares. I am human just as you are. I can get sucked under by the details of my life. But, just when I need it most, God always shines through.

It is always darkest before the dawn, and if we realize that our low moments are but a short time of introspection, then we can face the darkness knowing that the light is just about to shine. If we have no hope of the light, then the darkness will overpower us and we will be drawn into the darkness. If you are feeling low, there's really no better time to perform an act of kindness. This always helps in times of depressive thoughts. We are not happy making machines destined for lives of fun and games. We are God's creations creating the lives that fulfill our purposes.

When you can't seem to find the light, look up. Return to the basics and seek God's guidance during the storm. His simple inspirations will be there when we seek them. He is always there waiting for an opportunity to show us His love.

His teaching style is simple and profound. If every act that we commit is based in love, then we will be fulfilling our purpose. Our lives will be lifted to new heights. If we focus on love, then we can never go wrong. Love does not always beget love, but it does give us the safety net of knowing that we have given it our best.

Chapter 9 - Would you just get sick of all the mistakes that people make?

Sometimes you just think that there's no hope for people and you just want to give up. You get so tired of people doing things that are not good for them or others. You tell them and tell them, but they just don't seem to get the message. What's God to do? What would you do? You can give up and turn your back or you can seek the root causes of the behavior. You realize that people in their quest for divinity will make mistakes and mistakes will be repeated. History does repeat itself and you will know that it's all part of the learning process. People have to make mistakes in order to learn the lessons they are here to learn. Perfect, you and I are not. I'm sure that the mistakes of my life are much the same as the mistakes of others. Trial and error exercises teach us much. If I never take the chance, I won't ever have the chance to learn.

We are all on a path of our destiny. We are all out to get what we need to progress toward the ultimate realization of God. We all have different paths, but all paths lead to the same destination. All paths are not the same length or width. Some of us need more time, while others need hardly any time at all. We can't judge ourselves by others and we don't benefit from listening to the judgments of others. We must walk to the tune of our own drummer hidden deeply within our selves.

The tune of another will never quite bring you to your destination, so you have to focus on your own tune and realize the perfection of it. It was designed by you, for you and no other tune will do for you. Play your tune until you get into its rhythm. Walk or dance to your own tune knowing that it is uniquely your own and only you can hear it. Feel your tune in the depth of your being and mellow out in its beauty. Listen intently to its vibration and flow through life with it always playing inside. The tune can be a euphemism or a literal tune. You make your own tune, so make it what you will. If you choose to have an anthem that plays the tune of your heart, then by all means play it continuously and relish in its love. Some people have favorite songs that bring joy to their lives. We can connect the certain things and sometimes find a greater meaning hidden in the song. Some may find that the chants of meditation are the music of their soul. Whatever works for you, tune into it and feel the joy that it brings.

As no two people have exactly the same taste in music or clothing or anything else, no two people can totally relate to the paths of each other. Some may be more spiritual and some may be more physical. Some may be more worldly and some may be more Godly. Whatever works for you, take the time to realize your own path and always see it in the foreground of your life. My path may be rocky and strewn with troubles, but realizing the bumps in the road are part of the road will make the journey meaningful. If you envision a path with no challenges or strife, then yours will be a journey without meaning or fulfillment. Surely, we choose the path of our lives, we know that there will be bears jumping out from behind the trees, as we realize bears are a vital part of the journey, will see the bears as less foreboding.

If we walk in fear, then the bears will take over our path and we will not be able to see past them. We will be paralyzed to overcome the bear and will seek to go back to a place of safety and comfort. If we let fear by our master, and this is very easy to do, we will never make it past the bears and will forever be left with the feeling of loss and disappointment. Surely, the bears are out there, just as there are troubles in our lives, but the bears will come and go, if we stay focused on the path and the journey of our souls. Much as seeing God would scare us to death, we would love for it to happen. Our fascination would overcome us and we would just have to sneak a peek.

There are bears out there that can foreshadow our very lives if we let them. There are bears out there that can cause us to run in the opposite direction. There are those who would love nothing better than to see us suffer. But, how we approach the bears and the experience that we gain in overcoming the bears, will be the most meaningful experiences of your lives. There is nothing to be gained by simply flitting through life with no bears on the path. Just as our greatest moments seem to come after our greatest fears, it's not about the struggle, but about the outcome. What do you learn from the struggle with the bear? You may find that the bear has just eaten and is simply curious to know who's on the path. You may find that it is the biggest bear in the world and it has eyes for only you. You may find that God can cause the bear to simply return to the woods. You may find that if you ignore the bear, it will go away.

There is much to learn in this life and everyday is filled with opportunities to learn. We can pass the lesson and take the shortcut around the bear, but we will not have the courage to face the next bear as we have avoided the opportunity to learn from the first bear. I have once or twice avoided the bear, but generally in the long run just go ahead and get it over with. I know that the bear will just show up again, so why try to avoid it, when the confrontation will eventually occur. Face your fears and then put them where they belong. The worst that can happen is the bear can kill you and even that won't kill your soul.

You really have nothing to fear when you know that the worst thing you will ever face is your fear. Think about it – fear is the greatest devil or demon that we can ever face. There is no such thing as fear. You can't find fear at the store and you can't see fear. You can't do fear or find fear. It doesn't exist, except within our minds. It thrives within us and only has the power that we give it. Our fear manifests itself in every aspect of our lives. Learning to put fear in its proper place can make the biggest possible difference in your life. Never underestimate the thing that we call fear. It is real when we make it real. We all know that we won't be hurt in a haunted house, yet the fear seems all too real when we are screaming at the top of our lungs. After the experience is over and the fear has gone, we laugh at our silliness for even being afraid.

It is always the fear of the experience that causes the most damage. After the experience, we look back and see that the amount of our fear is usually greater than it should have been. We feel stupid for even working up a good froth of fear. After the fact, fear is put into its proper perspective. If we imagine a worst case scenario in advance, then we will be more prepared to face our fears. If we realize that even death has no hold on us, then we really have nothing to fear.

It is not necessarily wise to have no fear, but it is wise to have proper respect for situations. If I don't fear the alligator, then I may take a foolish chance. I guess respect is a better word than fear. Yeah, let's get rid of fear all together. We'll substitute the word respect for fear. We can have a great deal of respect for God, but we should never fear Him. We should have a proper respect for things that can do bodily harm, but not fail to live our lives because of giving more respect to something than it deserves.

Live your life with all that you dare to behold. Love with all that you have and never fear. If God were giving us as lesson, these would be some of the most important points.

Chapter 10 - Would you turn and walk away?

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Certainly, God is no different especially since things don't get tough for Him. But, He understands our plight and gives us lovingly the tools that we need to deal with tough situations. Especially during our times of trial and uncertainty, God is there awaiting our call. If you are anything like me, you only call when you are in need. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

If we were treated like we treat God, we would drop the whiner like a hot potato. We wouldn't stick around to hear all the bad stuff and be abandoned when the good times come back. What kind of friendship is that? God doesn't drop us like we drop others. He stands by us through thick and thin, especially through thin. We can't even imagine such kindness and often assume that God has abandoned us. When our prayers aren't answered immediately, we just know that He is punishing us for something. Can it be that He has other plans which are more suited to remedy our problems than we can foresee?

I'm reminded of the song sung by Garth Brooks UNANSWERED PRAYERS. We pray urgently and desperately for what we think we need, but we fail to pray for things using God's perspective. So, of course, God didn't answer as usual. He just leaves us to fend for ourselves. He doesn't really care or He would have been true to His words – ask and you shall receive. Where's God when you need Him?

I have wracked my brain to understand the dichotomy of the choosing and the actual receiving. I just can't seem to reconcile the two in my simple mind. If I am supposed to get what I choose or ask for, then why do I not get them? I have asked so many times this very question and don't fully have the answer, but God has taken me through an extensive exercise to bring the understanding of how it all works.

I put Him to the test, I made choices and threw it over to Him. When I didn't get what I had chosen, I just couldn't understand why. Surely, I had made wise choices as there is no right or wrong. What difference does it make to God if I choose this or that? Does He really care one way or the other? I just can't seem to understand the logic - if I can choose what I want, why then do I not get what I choose?

Here's the lesson or the information as given to me, to explain my seemingly unanswered prayers – you make choices based on surface desires and not for truly meaningful reasons. You choose to have your surface "wants" fulfilled, but you do not fully know what the choice will bring. A more wise choice would have been for something more truly meaningful, such as happiness or spiritual fulfillment, instead of fun and games. As God has the foresight to see what our choices will bring, He might just have a little more insight than we do and know that the choices that we have made will not bring us happiness or fulfillment.

So, how do we know what to choose? We look deeply inside and see what our deepest desires truly are and ask for fulfillment of those and don't waste our time trying to tell God how to accomplish the fulfillment. If your deepest desire is to help others, then don't tell God that you want to help others by working here or there. Let Him choose the place and all the details. He will bring you to the place and all the needed trappings that go with it. My mistake is in choosing to tell God how to make things happen, when I don't have a clue what is truly in my best interest.

Perhaps by asking God for something or by choosing our deepest desires, God should be allowed to actually work His magic. Maybe, and I mean just maybe, He does know what He is doing. Otherwise, why bother to ask or choose? If we go to the post office, do we really need to tell the postal clerk how to do her job? Maybe she already knows how to do her job. If we go to our friends and ask for advice, do we first need to tell them their opinions? If we want to handle everything ourselves, then perhaps we should. Just leave God out of it, because we aren't really interested in His answers anyway.

If you were God, would you give someone something just because they asked, or would you seek what is in the best interest of all involved? If you were God, would you give a child a razor blade, just because he asked for it? If you were God and one person asked for world peace, would you grant it because only one asked? Perhaps it is not in the best interest of all that we do the choosing for ourselves or for others. Sure, world peace would be nice from our perspective, but how do we know that it would not cause far greater calamities than we had ever taken the time to realize? Our shortsightedness can cause us to choose for all the wrong reasons. I remember a guy who recently bought a new motorcycle. He thought that it was the coolest thing. One week later he was killed on that motorcycle. Did he make a wise choice? Before he was killed, he told someone that he knew he needed to get rid of the bike, because he was going to get killed on it. But, instead of heeding his own warning, he kept it and rode it to death.

This is not to say that all who ride motorcycles will be killed. I was not, but I was so scared of it that I barely rode it. I was not one of those that went flying around as if I were invincible. A proper respect for machinery is wise. On the other hand, would he have not died anyway? When you time is up, your time is up, right? Maybe he knew that his time was almost up and chose to go out with a bang. Maybe there would have been nothing that he could have done to avoid his death. Who knows? Certainly I don't, and I do believe that each person chooses for himself/herself, and we choose that which fulfills our purpose. Maybe he felt that his purpose had already been served and continuing to live would not be in his best interest.

There, in a sense, are greater and lesser choices in life. I may choose to go to work today and this could be either a greater or lesser choice depending on the circumstance. If I chose to miss work today for no good reason and the head of the company was going to be at work today, then perhaps I have made a greater choice. If I chose to miss work today, as I was not well and there was nothing important going on, then maybe I made a lesser choice. All things have to be considered in their proper context. Life is just full of choices, and we have to try to make wise ones. No one else can choose for us and we have to make the wisest possible choices in light of the consequences. If my choice for not going to work causes me to lose my job, then perhaps I should have chosen differently. If my choice was to ride a motorcycle to its limits recklessly, then I have chosen to take my life in my own hands.

Regardless of our choices and whether we agree with God's handling of our prayers, we really need to more carefully consider what we are asking for before we ask. If you don't want to live your life full of disappointment, then perhaps you should learn to get in touch with things that are really most important. If you were God, would you just abandon your child because he kept making foolish choices? Would you turn your back on the world because of the destruction caused by the population? Certainly not, as you cannot not care about what happens. The world and all that is in it is your creation and you have a great interest in all that happens. Imagine that you had started a company. Would you not have a vested interest in all that happened within the company? Would you walk away? Would you allow your employees to simply make choices for you and the company? No, you would realize that your involvement is crucial to the interest of all involved.

Why does God let the world seemingly self destruct? Charles Graybar wrestled with this question in his book BEYOND THE BROKEN GATE. He asked such questions of his spirit guides, as he could not reconcile his thought process to such. (During his meditation, Charles was shown elaborate scenes of a garden in which three spirit guides taught him.) The elaborate explanations given by the spirit guides explain God's view of free will and how He only offers assistance as requested. God has a vested interest in His creation and offers assistance, but allows free will to operate freely. God can certainly, at any point, change anything that He chooses, but by interfering, He disrupts the natural flow of free will. By offering assistance, He can help His people make better choices and can through His people operate through free will. He can allow people to choose to make a difference in the world by advising them to make better choices.

If you are a spiritual master and you come to those who ask, would you not advise them wisely about their choices? Would you just hide and laugh about the foolish choices being made? Certainly not, as you have an interest in the chooser and the choices of each.

Are there really spiritual entities around us? Even the most basic spiritual believer believes in the presence of angels. I have questioned people about their beliefs in angels and most say that they believe in angels, as the Bible states that angels are around us. When asked if they had ever seen an angel, I only heard of one person who actually had.

I guess it doesn't really matter if you believe in angels, spiritual guides or other such spiritual beings. More importantly is that you believe in God and realize that He gives you what brings you what you need. I asked God if there are angels and He said that He uses tools that we can't even imagine to fulfill the needs of His children. Even our imaginations can't conjure up all at God's disposal. We limit ourselves by our own choice and we further limit God by limiting the tools that He makes available to us. It is more important to ask God personally for His guidance and He will choose the tools which best serve your purpose. At some point, a person realizes that God is not like us and is not limited by our physical limitations.

I am fascinated by the responses that I get from people about angels. I have yet to have anyone just dismiss it instantly. Always, the person takes the time to ponder the question and surely wants to know if I've seen one. There are people who have seen angels and their lives are forever changed by the experience. There are those who dismiss the possibility of angels as figments of imagination. I know that if you want to see an angel, you surely will. I know that I was once convinced that I had seen Santa Claus. The power of the mind is awesome, but the power of God defies reason. I do believe that children do see things that we cannot see, because they don't know that they can't. There are children who can do amazing things that our reason tells us that they can't.

We get so bogged down in our logic and reason that we simply choose to not even imagine the possibilities. Why is it that we get to middle age and wonder if this is all there is? Just as Neale and Charles wondered, what is the meaning of all of this? I know that I personally have wondered many times about what my purpose is. Surely, even as an accountant, it doesn't add up to what I've experienced. Why do people walk away from their financially stable lives and seek higher spiritual fulfillment? Why do people simply give it all up to find the answers to such questions? Is it that our soul has an inherent purpose which gnaws at us until we answer its call? Are we given a purpose before birth that refuses to be denied? Surely, my life is not about fulfilling my accounting tasks. Surely, there must be more.

I imagine that everyone, if asked, would somehow know that there is simply more to life than we know. If this life as we know it is all there is, why do we never obtain fulfillment deep inside? This is particularly apparent for those who have obtained the most that life has to offer, yet they feel somehow an emptiness inside. Even after amassing vast wealth and notoriety, they seek the basic spiritual truths. At twenty, you may not even give such things a second thought, but surely at 40 you will. Whether we admit it or not, we will seek to find the meaning of life and our purpose in the grand scheme of things.

We get caught up in our attainment of material fulfillment and lose sight of spiritual attainment. We put aside those internal things for the external things. How many teenagers do you know spend their nights pondering God and the meaning of life? As for me and the teenagers that I knew, our nights are filled with thoughts of having fun and what their friends are doing. It is only once we have learned that material things only fulfill certain desires, that we realize that our truest desires cannot be bought. All of the money in the world will not bring you spiritual fulfillment. God can't be bought and angels don't come to the ones with the most money.

Have you ever thought about such things? Have you ever reached a point when you were just not fulfilled, even though you were materially satisfied? Do you seek a higher calling? Do you want to know what God is all about? Do you want to know who you really are? What is your purpose? How can you fill that nagging emptiness inside? If you realize that you are a spirit and a new car won't cut the mustard in spiritual fulfillment despite how good it makes you feel, you soon learn that your spirit is the king pin of your life and that perhaps you should pay a little more attention to it. Trust me, that car will not fulfill your spiritual desires. That big house just won't get you closer to God. Yeah, these things are fun for a minute, but the joy they bring is fleeting. If you don't have the money to afford the car and the house, then your fulfillment will be even more short-lived.

We put our focus and attention on things that satisfy our surface desires. One day, your soul starts to call from inside. That's a call that is hard to ignore. You can choose to ignore it and continue to try to avoid it. You can continue to amass wealth and social status, but one day you have to deal with you – the real you. One day, God will make your spiritual call so loud that you can't ignore it for one more minute. A phone solicitor will not be as aggravating as God's call. He has speed dial and your number is programmed. You'll refuse to answer, assuming that you are just bored. You'll not wish to pay it any attention, knowing that you are just before slipping over the edge. I must say that in my experience, God called often in my life and I couldn't imagine why He was calling. I was doing the best that I could and was living my life as I had chosen. I never suspected that I had a higher calling or that He had other things in mind for me. I had an inkling that there was something to do with writing, as I had taken the time to write about my journey to Christianity twenty years earlier.

What now, God? If you want me to do something different, just tell me, I said. I do not know what I should do or if I should do anything differently. Just lay it on the table, because I'm at a loss. I had pondered for years that there must be more, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. So, God forced my hand. He told me to sit down and write. Write what? Don't worry about the what, just sit there and it will come to you. Having been left with no better alternative, I sat down and wrote. I wrote like a maniac. I typed till my wrists hurt. I continue to write (and that only means that I type things that pop into my head.) As long as I will sit and be willing, the words will come. I have sat many days for more than twelve hours typing. What is the meaning of all of this? What's the purpose of it? I do know that God had to override my life to make me sit down to write. He knows of my soul's purpose and my desire to fulfill it, so He took my desire and made it happen. Only after I asked did He step in and just lay it out for me.

I had dodged my purpose long enough and had apparently wasted enough time. There have been days at work when I would walk outside and know that something was missing from my life. I had attained much in my life, but had never been happy with my life. I somehow knew that there was more. I just didn't know how to make it happen. If in doubt, ask. God did answer the call, but in no way by the means that I would have chosen. Out of left field, He made things happen that did not amuse me but did put me in front of this computer writing with the ferocity of a typing fool. I just know that life has more to offer than pushing one more spreadsheet in the endless accounting cycle that became my life. I had gotten so involved in my working life, that I had sorely neglected my personal life. Amazing how that happens – maybe I was seeking fulfillment in all the wrong places. No matter how I tried, I simply could not fill the void.

When all else fails, turn to God. How, you ask? It really doesn't matter how, but only that you do. I assure you that you will seek until you find the only one who has the answers. I know that I tried all known rational means to make my life rewarding, but failed. Not in the material sense as I have need for nothing physically. It just isn't enough and one day it came to the point where I had to search my soul for the means of fulfillment. My soul knows what I desire, but does not know how best to achieve fulfillment. Only God knows how to fill the spiritual glass, so that I may drink continuously from spiritual outpourings.

The answer for me personally was not in a book, and believe me, I have read many. This is particularly profound as I hate to read, so I must really have been searching for something. I find that basically all paths lead to the same end, but there are many paths which can be chosen. Neale chose direct questions and answers; Charles chose meditation; Doreen chooses all manner of tools; and certainly there are others. Some people simply choose to pray and have faith. Some choose interactions with angels or spiritual guides or pastoral supervision. It matters not the path, but the destination. If your destination is spiritual fulfillment and you don't know how to get there, ask God. He'll provide the path that is best for you.

Think about a simple example – take long division. Back in the day, when I went to school, we were taught that there was only one way to solve the problem. In my efforts to help a child with homework, I discovered that I didn't have a clue and had to be corrected on how to solve the problem. I was told that I didn't know how to do the new math and was shown how they do it. Can you believe that shortcuts have been found for what was once very tedious and complicated? Hmmm, why weren't we taught the easy way? Have you heard of "new math?"

Back in the dark ages when I went to school, there were no calculators, except the ones that were in our heads. I started in accounting when there were no personal computers, so imagine how unamused I was to learn that a depreciation schedule is as simple today as putting the variables into a software program. When once doing someone's taxes was really taxing, now it is only a matter of a software program and entering a few numbers. How fair is that? I had to sit through painful exercises in calculating taxes manually.

Do we choose to learn the hard way or the easy way? God has every means available and will give us what we need. Some of us need a little more encouragement (a few figurative knots on the head) than others. I have a tendency to ignore the obvious, and in return, cause myself a lot of needless heartache. I guess I have more self doubt than the law allows and am more negative than a room full of mourners. God sometimes has to slam things in my face before I get the picture. Doubting Thomas had nothing on me. So, I have to work twice as hard to see the light, but God makes sure that I do eventually. He is very patient with me and He knows that I require more than most.

Sometimes I think that if God Himself walked up to me, I would begin to question if it were really Him. But, we may take the long route, but it's important that we get on the road. Sometimes, I find that taking the long route provides a lot of beautiful scenery that otherwise I would have missed. That's how I justify it in my mind anyway. God just knows that I can't see the forest for the trees and works to cull it all out for me. How about you? There are those who get it the first time. Don't they just make you sick? Don't you want to know how they do it? Why does everything have to be so hard for you? It must be you because everyone else talks to God and He actually answers them.

Self doubt can take over faster than you can eat a donut when no one is looking. I'm not worthy; I'm not deserving; I've committed way too many sins; I couldn't show my face to God after all I've done wrong; and God would laugh at me knowing me as He does. Which category applies to you? I think that I fit in all categories, even on a good day.

Let's assume that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Having that said, you'll be as clean as snow and ready to face God (as if it were necessary to be clean to face God, since God does not judge.) Let's also assume that God already knows all about you, so what's the need to hide? Further, let's assume that you are just at your wits end and can't take one more minute of this futile life that you are living. Now, you are ready to talk.

God had better look out, because you have a few things to say. Let Him have it with both barrels. Don't give it a second thought – you have the newly discovered safety net of knowing that you will not be judged and He won't get mad. You open up your heart as you never have. You rattle on and on about all the things that are wrong with you and, in fact, everything in this world. You just wanted to let Him know, in case He didn't, that you are not amused by His lack of love for His people. You are sick of being ignored and simply refuse to take it any more. Blah, blah, blah. You talk as fast as you can, until you've spilled your guts to God.

Suddenly, the realization hits that God just may have a few things to say to you. Do you make tracks like a deer in front of crazed hunter with a gun? Do you cower in a corner waiting for the impending lightening strike? Do you muster the courage to face your punishment, as surely God will dish out your just desserts? Do you fall limp in a pile of your own dissatisfaction of life? Do you listen intently to hear what God has to say? If you were God, would you take this treatment lightly? Would you dish out a few scary spiritual phenomenon to spook away your naysayer? Would you send the person straight to hell for such disrespect? Would you instinctively know that the devil had moved the person to shear lunacy? Or would you respond with pure and unconditional love?

We tend to assume God's reactions, just as we foresee the reactions of others. We just know that He will be mad, even though we have no way of knowing what His reaction will be. "Just wait till your father gets home," are some of the most dreaded words a child can ever hear. So, you are instantly filled with dread and spend every moment contemplating how running away now would spare you of your father's wrath. What if your father came home and quietly sat you down for a heart-to-heart talk about your concerns and the reasons for your actions? Hmmm, you would be caught in a whirl of doubt about all that you just knew for sure. Talk about throwing you a curve – that would surely take you out of your comfort zone. God will, in the kindest possible way, address each of your concerns and will seek to bring you comfort. Unconditional love is, therefore, without condition. He will draw you near to Him in a manner that will cause you to melt like butter in a hot frying pan.

Of course, I can give you a zillion lovely analogies for God's benevolence, but until you experience it personally, my words are simply words. You can not comprehend the depth of the experience, so have the experience. I know that you won't be disappointed. A fair warning – if you don't want to be more inspired than you have ever been, don't try this. If you enjoy your life just as it is, avoid talking to God at all costs. If you don't want to feel the love that you have missed all of your life, please stay away from God. If you just can't believe that life has more to offer, don't risk talking to God. You might just find that you get more than you bargained for!

Chapter 11 - Would you simply solve all problems?

Charles Graybar just could not believe, as most of us, that a benevolent God would allow all the horrible things in the world to happen. Haven't you ever wondered if there is a God, why He doesn't stop all the needless killing and starvation in the world? Why on earth would God be so nonchalant as to watch idly by as the world self destructs? What kind of God just watches so much misery without intervention? Surely, if you were God, you would do something at once. You wouldn't let another day go by without taking control and putting an end to so much wrong. You would snatch the devil (whom you believe causes all the trouble) up and throw him instantly to the pits of hell where he belongs so that your children could live happy and loving lives. So there – you would solve all the world's problems with one fell swoop of your mighty hand. Problem solved – next please.

And, then what? All would live happily and die happily – end of story, right? All those souls who came to earth would not be able to fulfill their soul's desires. Now, let's suppose for a moment that God is just as smart and powerful as you are. What could possibly be His motivation for doing nothing? Why does He only do what He chooses and He lets even one child die of starvation? This is madness, but let's go out on a limb and imagine what motivates God.

God gives His children free will. Free will allows us to do as we please. When doing as we please, consequences are naturally created. Consequences happen for a reason. Consequences cause further action and more consequences follow the additional actions. If God were to step in and cause all free will to disappear, the world of robots would be in full operation. Yes, there would be happiness as robots never seem unhappy, except in the movie SHORT CIRCUIT or the TV cartoon THE JETSONS. Ok, so there are other examples, but my memory fails me of the complete list. Anyway, do you want to be a robot? Do you want God determining every move you make? Do you want nothing more than to experience a one-sided life? Do you ever get bored when everything goes along smoothly?

What would be the sum total of your life if you had no comparison between good and bad? How would you know love if you didn't feel hate? How would you even know what happiness is if you didn't have unhappiness in contrast? If your purpose is to experience life to the fullest, how can half experience give you the whole picture? At this point, you are probably thinking that you could stand a little more happiness in life. We all could, but we as souls, don't want to miss out on a thing. We want to get our full share of all that life has to offer. God designed life this way, so that His children could experience life to the fullest. Life to the fullest does not mean living only half of it.

If you had never known the beauty of love, how would you know what it is to feel heartache? If you had never been loved, how would you even imagine such a thing? If you had never been unloved, then how would you know to appreciate being loved? This all sounds quaint, but it doesn't really give us a good explanation for all of the bad things that happen. It does let us know that there are two sides to every experience and one is nothing without the other, but it doesn't explain why so many suffer. And we want to know – why does God let so many suffer?

If you were God and you created every soul in the universe with free will, would that not also give the soul the chance to decide the kind of life and experiences that they want to experience? Let's say that you are in the afterlife trying to decide on your next life. Hmmm, will it be happy or sad or fun or sorrowful? You ponder all the possibilities. You know that you want to experience everything, so that you can leave no spiritual stone unturned. You are no sissy and you know that you need to experience fully this and every life. Now, let's throw in the details from the last life experience. Let's say that your last life was filled with hatred and suffering caused by you. You were a nasty chap with only selfish desires that had to be filled. You murdered and hated and caused despair on everyone in contact with you.

After your death, you were given a past life review and you were shown your life and were given the chance to know how you affected others. You were made to feel every emotion that you invoked in the people around you. You feel the pain that you caused. You feel the loss of the family of your murder victim. You feel the fear of all those you intimidated. You had quite an effect and you are shocked at your behavior. You can't believe that you took a good life and just took advantage at every turn. Sure there are no rights or wrongs, but you are overwhelmed by the pain that you caused. So you take this into consideration when you are considering your next life. Maybe you feel the need to experience life on the other side of the coin. Maybe you'd be a better person if you knew how the other person felt. Maybe a life of pain and fear would round out your soul so that you could progress on your spiritual quest.

If everyone can decide how best to make the most of life experiences, then why pick an easy life? Mother Teresa, considered to be a very advanced soul, chose a very modest life in witness of great suffering. Sure, she could have taken the easy road, but she chose to maximize her opportunity and did let her light shine for all the world to see. She didn't shine in her looks or her wealth. She didn't become a Saint by dazzling the world with her beauty or finesse. She became a Saint because she chose a life of service to others. How smart was that? Could you have lived her life, even if you knew you would become a Saint? There are few who have the spiritual maturity to choose as she did. But it should be our goal to always choose to maximize our experiences on earth as they are invaluable gifts from God.

So, you were absolutely the worst in your last life and you need to make amends and learn to be a better soul. You won't do this if you keep making things easy on yourself. Those who choose difficult lives are not doing it for sympathy or flattery; they are choosing to advance spiritually to be the most that they can be. You know those who seem to suffer at every turn in spite of being very kind and loving. You, as God, seem to have no empathy for their plight. Or do you? You know that they have chosen freely their life and are experiencing their choices. Sure, on the road to being God, you would just imagine that you would have an easy road to ride. But, how can this be if you have nothing but wine and roses? If everything goes your way, how will you ever rise above your level of maturity and attain spiritual greatness?

Many of the books that I have read, which talk about spiritual masters and how they are able to rise above circumstance effortlessly and know that all is for spiritual fulfillment – both good and bad. A spiritual master knows that a well rounded soul is a soul that lives life on a higher plane. A spiritual master was not created, but was made by experiencing the fullness that life has to offer. A good physician is one who has experienced good and bad. A good teacher is one who has had both good and bad students (not literally good or bad.) Teaching a difficult child is a teacher's greatest accomplishment. The students who are run of the mill just melt away in our memory, while the one's who took us to our limits are the ones who jump to the front of our memory class.

There are analogies in the Bible of trials and tribulations. God allowed Job to be tested and Jesus was also tested. If our souls are not tested to the limits, how will we know that we are spiritually mature? If God intervened in our free will, we would not be able to maximize our experiences. If God solved all of the world's problems, then He would be taking away our opportunities for advancement and spiritual maturity. When we realize that life is but a short opportunity of experience for our soul's development, then we can begin to see God's wisdom. We can know that living the life of a starving child in Africa will give our soul a wonderful experience of how it is to suffer physically, but not spiritually. Such an experience pays untold dividends in the advancement of our souls.

Think about your life. What instances of accomplishment do you remember most fondly? Do you relish in the times when things just fell into your lap or in the times when you worked diligently to achieve something? The difference in a college degree to me and a person of great intelligence is beyond comparison. Whereas I had to work like crazy to pass, persons with lots of smarts just merely go through the motions. Who puts a greater value on the accomplishment? Without a doubt, I know that my degree is more meaningful to me, because I put so much into getting it. The same is true in life. If you are given a degree almost without effort, how much value do you place on it? If you inherit a zillion dollars, can you really appreciate it for the hard work that went into its attainment? A life half lived reaps its investment in kind.

If God wanted robots with like souls at equal levels, then He would surely have made it happen. Just as you don't want two of your children to be the same, God wants the most for each. You don't choose to make your children what you want them to be. You want them to express their own special talents and creativity for the fullness of their lives. God is no different. Take a look at the world from God's perspective. Take a look at your life from God's perspective. Imagine that this life is but a speed bump in your soul's development. If you knew that this was not your only life, how would you choose differently? If you knew that you had as many chances as you need to experience life to the fullest, why would you choose to settle for less?

If you think of the Biblical version of heaven, don't you think you'd get bored after a while? Surely, there has to be more than just sitting around and playing harps and riding around on clouds. You would get a little fidgety and want a challenge. Even if you choose to believe that this is the only chance that you have to experience life, you would choose to live it to the fullest and not by some predetermined order laid out by God. Freedom to choose is the only way to get the most of the experience. Think about it – if your parents made you do what they wanted every second of every day, you would be fit to be tied. You wouldn't be able to stand it. You wouldn't want this and neither would your parents. The beauty of free will is not without consequences, but without free will, the consequence of no consequences is pretty bleak indeed.

Not to mention that there is no thrill without taking a chance. If you lived a perfectly controlled existence with no ups and downs, then how much fun would that be? If you didn't take the risk, how would you know what it is like to feel the thrill of skydiving? If you didn't take the risk of loving someone, how would you know the thrill of loving? If you didn't take the risk of feeling pain, how would you appreciate joy? You might have to stretch to see the wisdom, but in the final analysis, the beauty is self evident. God's wisdom is beyond our imaginings, but He will help us understand what we can, if we only seek His wisdom. If you don't ask, He won't tell. If you don't seek, you won't find. If you aren't curious, well, I guess you're completely satisfied with the status quo.

Chapter 12 - How would you demonstrate love most effectively?

Only if you were God, would you even begin to know how. So, we really have to stretch on this one. If God has or shows love unconditionally, then you would be able to see love in a whole new light. We have a rather limited view of love and we do tend to attach conditions to its distribution. If you don't love me, then surely I don't love you. It's kind of a tit-for-tat kind of system with justice being ever present. We don't just waste our love by passing it out willy-nilly. We hold on to it tightly for fear of wasting it or giving it out too freely. It's valuable, so we can't be careless with our limited commodity. We know that giving love freely also makes us look a bit short of psychologically stable. What's the deal with that half-brained do-gooder?

You, as God, know that love is never wasted and can see the enormity of the potential of love. You know that love is all there is and you are love. You see inside all persons and know that love is at the core of each and every one. Even if their behavior demonstrates something short of loving displays, you know that deep inside there is nothing but a loving core. Seeing past behavior is God's special gift that only a few people ever accept. Most people choose to judge the book by its cover and write people off who do not behave in a loving fashion. There are cases where society overlooks bad behavior as an excuse for successful attainment. How many corporate bosses are admired for their kind and loving ways? We admire those who are cut throat and demonstrate that the end always justifies the means.

Giving love freely exposes our weakness. It allows others to see inside our fluffy interior and lets them know that we are just mellow light-hearted weaklings who haven't caught up to the rest of society. The killer instinct is what gets you the much sought after prize. Doing good never gets you anywhere. Only the good die young. The one who dies with the most toys wins. Who has respect for someone who is more interested in loving than winning? Win at all costs. Love won't get you a promotion or a seat on the board of directors. Love won't pay your bills and is not accepted at ATM's. Try some love as payment for your electric bill. The clerk will smile, but still insist on monetary payment.

What's all the hype about love and why do we spend our entire lives wanting to love and be loved? Why does God say that love is all there is? I've seen a few things that I would not describe as love. I've experienced a few things that I'm almost certain are not based on love. I've done some things that I very well knew were not loving. Just today, someone honked at my driving and I was not filled with love in response. I had some wishes that didn't come from love-based thoughts. To disguise it, we call it justice. The guy who honked deserved what he got. Maybe he'll think twice next time. Maybe he'll behave in a more loving fashion next time. Yeah, that'll teach him to be more loving. Nothing like giving someone the finger or a profanity to set them straight about love.

So, why and how do we love as God does? I guess it's something that only experience can teach us. Being more loving will show us what it means to love. There's not a person alive who does not enjoy a loving experience. Who do you know truly wants less than love? Would you not choose love before anything else? If you imagine yourself in any situation, would love not be preferable to any other condition? If you were God, would you choose anything other than giving love? What else can God give? He doesn't judge or punish, so He is limited. He can't hate or behave badly, so love is about the only expression He has available. He can't have fear or disgust, so love leaps to the front again.

If you were God, you would and could only love. Wow, now that's a startling realization. If you had no other choice, you would have to love. How much fun would that be? You couldn't kill or be vengeful or make people suffer according to your wishes (as if you would want to.) You would have to love and love a lot. You would have to love without condition and freely love everyone and everything. You would only be love, as there would be nothing else. Imagine that your every action could only be loving. You'd love your family and friends, but also your enemies. Ick! That's no fun. Where's the justice in that? You'd love the murderers and the Saints equally. You'd love just for the sake of love and you would love without bounds. You couldn't love Susie more than Sammy. You'd love everyone equally. You'd love the fun of loving. You'd love on Monday mornings. You'd love the person that everyone hates at work.

You'd find yourself loving everyone all the time, if you were God. How could unconditional love be shown any more effectively? God pretty much has the market cornered on love and effective dispensation. If only the world used love more freely and effectively. If we gave love as God does, then it wouldn't take long before its effects would be felt by the masses. If one act of love is given and in turn given again and again and again, it wouldn't be long before there would be some love going around. If you realize that a single action on your part affects many people, then you can see how many more would be affected with each turn. If I am nice to Joe and he is then nice to Barry and Chrissy, and they are then nice to four more people – the cycle is potentially endless. If only one act of kindness started our day, then how quickly could that one act pay manifold dividends? If you think that you can make or ruin a person's day by your first encounter, then know that you are the basis for great effect. If you are a prominent person and you make a kind gesture, you have the potential to affect millions. If you are but a simple person, you can change the world if you know how to do it. Not saying that such a thing is easy, but if you were Mother Teresa, a simple nun, then you could make it happen.

Sure, she must have had some special power to accomplish all that she did. No real person could ever do such a thing. What special power did she have? Did you ever see her do anything dazzling? No, she just did the best she knew how in her service to others. She chose to give of herself in simple ways, and look at how she changed the world. It can be done, but first it takes the willingness to do so. If you get up in the morning and decide that you are going to change the world for the better, before lunch you will have decided that it isn't possible from where you stand. What were you thinking? Are you delusional? And if you want a quick lesson in how not to be so thoughtless and shortsighted, ask for someone else's input into how you can change the world for the better. People will come out of the wood work to tell you that you can't. They will rush to corners to talk about you behind your back. They will laugh at your stupidity. They will pity your ignorance. Poor Jeff, he thinks he can change the world.

What if Mother Teresa had set as her goal to change the world and become a Saint? Would that have made a difference? I'm not sure, but I know that her unfailing commitment to serve others out of love did make a wonderful change in the lives of many. I don't think that she saw the result as her goal; I think that she merely chose to serve and let God fill in the blanks. This gets us back to letting go and letting God. Do we choose the end result or the primary purpose? She could not have foreseen, without a vision from God, the enormity of her impact on the world. I'm sure that if she had known when she became a nun that she would be one of the most influential people in history, perhaps her thoughts would have been muddled with trivial things. If you see the end result before you start, your path may be altered. Hmmm, something to ponder.

I'm not sure if the knowing in advance causes a change in the result. If I knew that I would be the greatest singer of all time, then would I be more or less prone to take my lessons seriously? (There's not even a remote chance that this will happen – in fact, I've actually been asked to not sing.) I guess it depends on the person and how affected they are by what they know. A very modest person would be least affected, whereas a very egotistical person would be very affected to the point of arrogance. Or, would the egotistical person instinctively know that they would have a tremendous impact on the world regardless of what they chose to do? Back to the real subject, and it is not the impact of ego on world influence.

By choosing love, do we give up our competitive nature? Does Tiger Woods not love the game and all who play against him? Do you have to hate to win? Does lack of empathy make you a better player? How does loving someone affect your ability to compete against them? How does loving someone affect your ability to supervise them? How does kindness play into the details of our lives in ways that we never before imagined? Now that's a big one. How different would our lives be if we chose to behave lovingly? Picture the possibilities that you can imagine. Surely you can't even imagine all possibilities, as someone will cut you off in traffic or be rude to you in a store and dash your loving thoughts.

If we chose to return a rude behavior for a loving behavior, would not people be suddenly taken aback? Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by the kindness of a stranger? Didn't it make you feel good when the gentlemen opened the door for you? Didn't you feel good when you opened the door for someone else? So simple, yet so effective. Never overlook the obvious and never miss an opportunity to be kind. The day you brighten just may be your own.

If God is love, then only love comes forth. Seeing everything as love is the real beauty of God's love. When faced with seemingly endless turmoil, lift your eyes to see the love of God. Instead of blaming God or others, seek to find the love in the situation. Know that there is only love and every experience is an act of love, whether we can see it or not. It is when least we feel loved that we are most loved. When we are down and out, God brings forth His greatest attention to our needs. If we look for His love, then we will find it. If we just know that it is there, we will feel it. We must know that there is nothing but love before we can see the love in everything.

We are not love when we fear or are blaming others. We do not feel love in the retribution of others. We do not seek love when we are selfish. We do not want love when we are caught up in our surface purposes which are really selfish purposes. Love only comes from inner purposes and the fulfillment of our highest purpose which is from the soul. One who believes that he is fulfilling his purpose when he punishes another is surely missing the boat. One who takes on the burdens of everyone is also missing the boat. We are not here to fulfill or take away the purposes of others; we are here to fulfill our soul's purpose. Now that does sound selfish, doesn't it? Let's not confuse helping others with living their lives.

It is not love for you to take over the life of another and solve all of his/her problems. It isn't very loving for you to conquer the world and rid the world of its problems. It is loving for you to want nothing but love and to give nothing but love. Giving love does not mean solving problems for others. It means helping others, per their requests, to the best of your ability. In reality, you cannot solve the problems of another for you do not fully understand the person or the problem or the circumstance which created it. You can see the surface problem, but you cannot understand fully the problems of others. Consider this when you are out to handle something for someone else. Can anyone solve your problems? Who understands you better than you?

If you need a loan, then the offer of a loan can help. It doesn't solve the root problem. If a person is homeless, will giving him a place to stay solve all his problems? No, it will help eliminate one problem, but will not give the person what he needs in total. You won't be aware of the circumstances which brought the person to where he is. Offering assistance will bring forth a light which may spur the person to be uplifted to make dramatic changes, but it won't solve his problems for him. How many people do you know who get jobs only to quickly lose them? You think of how irrational this is, because you know the person needs the job desperately. But you can't help an unwilling soul no matter how hard you try and you can't solve the problems of others.

Harsh? It does sound rather rough, but it is part of love to understand that people live their lives as they do for the reasons of their own choosing. We are not like Superman who swoops in to save the day. It would be nice and it is a very loving thought, but the reality is that we can only provide assistance. Sometimes the mere offer of assistance is uplifting to the point that it brings forth wondrous effects. A simple gesture can make a world of difference – it can show the person that he is not alone and thus the inspiration to go on is had. I know that a simple offer of assistance makes a huge difference to me. It gives me something firm to place confidence in, even if I feel that no assistance can be had.

When we set out to fulfill our loving purpose, we must realize that our purpose is to give, but not save. We cannot save souls; souls are not for us to save. We cannot bring people to God; people are not ours to bring. We cannot fix what we don't know how to fix. We can't solve what we don't know how to solve. Give it a try – find someone and fix them. Sure, it seems easy enough. With some effort and training, anyone can be fixed. Let me know all about fixing them; obviously I have lessons to learn, because I have never been able to fix a single person. Oh, and I have tried. Teach me your secrets – I'll share them afar. It often seems that those who get the most help are the ones who are least likely to be helped. How does this compute?

You can take a wayward person and give them all that they need to live a good life and before you know it, their original circumstance has returned. How can this be? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him live like you want him to. I can talk till I'm blue in the face, but until someone is willing to listen, I am wasting my time. Do you honestly believe that we have a homeless problem in this country because we don't have enough housing? Do you believe that people are starving in this country because they can't get something to eat? Take a short look at the available government programs and you'll quickly realize that no American has to do without anything essential for life. Then, why on earth do people choose to live in boxes under overpasses? Simply putting such a person in a nice house with food and clothing will not change the person. Why? Essential need deprivation did not put the person in that place. Look at the bigger picture and see that the person has either mental or spiritual issues which caused him to feel that he had no reason to keep up the fight.

Sometimes we do give up on life. Sometimes we feel that we can't take one more step. Sometimes we think that the world has kicked us around enough and we just don't care anymore. It is tough for the mainstream to imagine such a mentality. Sure, you are depressed because you can't get the million dollar home that you had your heart set on. Depression is natural when you find out that you missed the sale at your favorite store. Who wouldn't be depressed to know that you missed your favorite show on TV? Magnitude may have something to do with the issues at hand. Perception may just change the focus of things. Just because we haven't experienced what the other person has, doesn't mean that the person doesn't have good reason to feel defeated.

I am forever uplifted by Neale's tale of hitting rock bottom. Neale didn't choose to be there, he just wound up there by virtue of the worst sort of bad luck circumstances. Neale did not choose to remain in his newly found circumstance; he made the most of the situation and climbed out of the hole. But Neale had fortitude that many do not. Neale had a strength of purpose and a will to succeed that drove him out of depression and helped him overcome some great odds. While living in that campground, Neale probably met people who had no greater ambition or desire than to be where they were. Sometimes, people just don't want the things that we feel are necessary. Does that make them wrong or less than we are? Certainly not, but those who sought a way out surely found one.

Just as we can't imagine someone getting out of prison and quickly returning, we can't imagine why homeless people choose to live outside mainstream society. Once we realize that we can't choose for others, we learn to see people for their individual choices. This is not to say that we should pass a beggar and not offer some money. We have no way of knowing the internal makeup of the person nor the circumstances that brought him to the place we see him. He could be a regular who makes good money begging. He may choose to do this so he doesn't have to hold a regular job. He may have lost his job and may be desperate for help not knowing where to turn. He may be mentally handicapped and not know what to do. We can't know this and we can't force assistance upon him. The Bible says that we should give to those who ask. This is the very least that we can do. This is love and is exactly how God loves us.

By offering assistance, we bring joy to others and ourselves. We are inherently generous by nature and will help to the best of our conscience. I believe that this is human nature. Certainly, there are those who wouldn't give a nickel if it were the difference between life and death to another, but I do believe that these people are the exception. There are countless acts of kindness everyday all around the world. People give freely all the time, but never get credit. Instead we focus on all the ills in the world. We are not awe stricken by the outpourings of financial donations after 9/11/01. This simply blows my mind, until I realize that the bureaucracy surrounding the distribution brought the situation back into focus. It was not for a lack of generosity, but for the fear of abuse that many suffered needlessly.

God's love doesn't involve the actions that we would most like to see; God sees that our inner needs must first be met before real solutions can be had. A homeless person may need counseling to work out issues caused by the trauma of war before he can learn to live and work. We have to know that God sees what we do not and the appearance of unloving acts does not necessarily reflect what is in fact being done. Problem resolution by any counselor comes from having the person realize the root causes of the problem. The counselor does not start out the session with solutions and answers, as the counselor has no knowledge of the problem or possible solutions to the problem.

If a homeless person suffers from clinical depression, then medication may be is necessary to resolve the issues. If a war veteran cannot cope with the memories associated with combat, then serious medical attention is needed. Don't judge a book by its cover and don't assume that you have the answers or solutions just because you want to help. Be willing to offer assistance to the best of your ability, but know going in that you can't fix others. You can help others, but you cannot solve their problems. This is fundamental to your quest to fulfill your purpose by helping others. Doctors must know that they cannot save every patient. It's difficult to swallow, but it's true. A psychiatrist cannot eliminate all suicides. Knowing the parameters within which you have to operate will help you avoid needless disappointment and much blaming of God for His lack of love.

If you question God's love, then you are not in a position to help anyone. You have some soul searching to do within yourself. Is there anything worse than someone trying to help you who ends up telling you all her problems? It may help, but only in the sense that you learn to not let her help you anymore. Like the knock on the door by a religious zealot, her help is just as welcome. When you have more problems than a math book, you should consider carefully in advance the type of assistance that you should offer. Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and run out aiming to save the world. Before you let your assistance get out of hand, try starting small. Try saving yourself first before, moving on to saving the world. Don't forget to look in the mirror first, before seeing everyone else.

If you were God, would you just show up at the first sign of trouble and wave everyone away knowing that you have everything under control and no one's help is needed? Why not handle everything yourself? You don't need all of the incompetence getting in the way. Of course, you would not as controlling everything would defeat the purpose of having free will. You would stand by and watch and wait for the call of those who seek assistance. After the request, you provide what is needed. You wouldn't go doling out things that weren't really wanted or needed in the first place. You would work for the highest benefit, providing the things that truly bring enlightenment.

Many stories can be read about people who were touched by angels during times of great suffering. You don't hear many stories about angels just dropping by for the heck of it to check in, or saying they were just in the neighborhood. The Bible says that many have entertained angels without even realizing it. See, their impact wasn't felt unless there was a need for them. Whether you believe in angels or not, there are far too many cases of divine intervention to just write them all off to coincidence or luck. It's much the same as when someone finds a dollar on the street. If the person has no possible need for the dollar, then they will not make much of it. If the person really needed the money, then it would have a more profound effect. Everything is relative and God knows what is meaningful and what is not. Of course, God doesn't just sit there and wait, He interacts constantly, but it is us who fail to realize that He is there. Unless some sort of crisis has befallen us, we don't even open our eyes to see the beauty of our gifts.

There are so many times in life when unexplained things happen, yet we are not the least bit moved by the experiences. We are far more prone to believe that it was our imagination or some freak occurrence that an actual act of God. We seem to go out of our way to avoid God, if you really think about it. The extent of our recognition is usually in our going to church on Sunday and feeling that we have paid our homage to God. We've done our part as we have taken the time to sit in church and listen to the preacher's message for an hour. Done for the week. Now, we can get back to life as usual. Some of us don't even give it an hour a week. Some of us don't even give it a second thought. Surely, this is our choice as God will not force Himself upon us or take away our free will.

In our limiting the possibilities of God, we limit our life's experiences. When things don't go our way, we are all too quick to blame God. He never gets a break – He gets credit for the bad, but not for the good. Somehow we think that the good stems from our own wisdom, but the bad stems from someone else. We would never have made that happen! Why on earth would we punish ourselves in such ways? We'd have to be utter fools to choose such punishment for ourselves. When will we ever take responsibility for our own actions? Right this minute, I just can't see the benefit of placing all the blame on me, but I'm sure the lesson is certainly forthcoming. God has a way of clearing up things for me, even if I become the scapegoat in the story. Yeah, it's God's way of getting the heat away from Him. He's sick of being the bad guy, so we'll put it on the innocent and frail humans. As if they don't have enough to deal with, let's blame them for the miserable lives that they lead also. Yeah, that's it.

God has a clear conscience and I have way more baggage than a freight train can haul. I'll have to pay for extra baggage the next time I fly. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now I have to take the blame for all of the misery that I have caused and take the rap for my miserable circumstances. Suicide starts to look even better when you are faced with the enormity of your actions and the results, of course, you'd have to pay for taking that shortcut also by being brought back to relearn what you missed by taking the easy way out. Never a break. So you turn the spotlight on yourself and start to think of the ways that you really do affect your own life and the lives of others. You start to see that your impact on things is greater than you thought.

Knowledge is a very powerful tool and you have the power to make the best use of the knowledge, or to run and hide. Sometimes running away does seem like the best solution. When your problems seem insurmountable, the flight instinct takes over and the urge to get the heck out of dodge seems very appealing. You fight the urge to run and decide to stick around a little longer. You imagine that things will be different tomorrow and you start to figure ways to solve the problems. You realize that problems follow you wherever you go and nothing is solved by avoidance. I remember hearing of people who decide to run away and only their cars are found abandoned. Years later they turn up living completely different lives. What drives a person to take the road of abandonment, instead of the road of responsibility? What motivates someone to actually leave everything and just run away? Sure, we've all thought about it and it seems cool, but deep down inside, we know that our problems won't disappear with a change of location.

Our lives are to be lived and taking responsibility seems like the worst sort of burden. On the other hand, if we do not realize that we are responsible, then we will never know that we are the makers of our own destinies. We will miss the wonder of creation if we choose to avoid responsibility. If we relate our lives to a business venture, we enjoy the creation, but rarely enjoy the nasty little details associated with the reality after creation. Paying taxes and payrolls and utility bills and handling customer complaints, etc., cause us to wonder what we were thinking when we chose to open a business. If we realize the beauty inherent in our being able to choose, then the picture takes on a greater focus of a much bigger picture. We tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive and lose sight of the true objective of the creation. We get wrapped up in the small details and soon the business is lost. We blame the bad economy and every thing under the sun, but never stop to think that our focus on negativity may have caused our business to flop.

Creation is fun, but the creation is often not. Running a business is hard work, as any business owner can tell you. If you realize your potential and know that the small stuff is just part of the whole, then your odds of success are much greater. If you walk into a business and the owner looks like he's down to his last wit and the place gives off the gloomy persona of the owner, then you won't beat a path to that door. If you walk into the cheesiest business in the world and the atmosphere is warm and inviting, you are far more likely to return, as you have a good feeling when you leave. It's not about the business, but about the owner. There can be identical stores with identical merchandise, but based on the choices of the owners, the experience can be totally opposite in each. We never stop to realize that the attitude of the owner makes a huge difference.

This principle holds true in every aspect of life. We attribute the happy attitudes of successful people to the success that they have not to the attitude which brought the success. Wow, another light just came on. When I reflect over my own choices based on my negativity, I see that I got just what I invested. What if I had taken the opposite approach and started each day filled with optimism and warmth of spirit? Would things have been very different? If I had to be around myself, would I choose to? Would I seek out someone a little more positive to share my life? Hmmm, I know that it takes all kinds, but why on earth do we choose to behave negatively, when a more positive approach seems obviously better? My life lessons just keep coming. I'll have to make a mental note of that one and suggest that you do the same.

Envision your life as a business and realize that you have operated it to its current result. Business analogies tend to make things easier for me to understand. I don't even have to stretch to see that I have run my business like an accountant and have gotten purely modest return on my investment. I pay my bills on time and I work diligently to keep the business going, but I fail miserably to bring forth the attitude that would draw customers in. One of my favorite local businesses is a very small food stand, that you would not even give a second thought to stopping in. But after you go there once on the advice of another, you'll understand why the parking lot is full at meal times. You wonder at first glance, why the health department hasn't closed the place down rather than realize that the place is one of the oldest businesses in town. When you walk up to the window, you are greeted by a wonderful smiling face and the food is terrific. When I am there, I can't help but smile. It's a place that draws you in based solely on the attitude and the fact that the food is good, doesn't hurt.

It's amazing how many small businesses stay afloat based on good service and a great attitude. Those hole-in-the-wall places just seem to always be filled in spite of outward appearances. What's the lesson here? I guess it's to not judge a book by its cover and the importance of a good attitude. Either way the message is clear – attitude is everything. Your attitude determines the very life that you will lead. A creative and positive attitude is the most important thing that we can have and it really doesn't cost anything. Sometimes it feels costly to have a good attitude when faced with so much negativity, but it is during these times that we most need a dose of the positive.

Always managing to look on the bright side is the difference between misery and success. If you realize that you can't fail, then you won't. If you see that you create everything, then how can you not be positively inspired? This does bring up the present reality that your will alone is not the only influence in your life. You must know that you have others wishing that you would just disappear at times. How do you react? By disappearing? No, you make a choice and the choice determines the next move in the game of life. Realize that all of the wills affecting your life comprise the range of emotions and your will alone is not all there is. But, at the same time, realize that your will is the most powerful in your life and you can choose to take what you have and make the most of it.

There are powers greater than ours at work in our lives. There are those whose envy is extreme and they will stop at nothing to take away our happiness, so that we can be miserable just like them. They can inflict upon you, but you have the choice of your reaction. You can either let them get you down or you can see the root of their behavior and simply choose to help them see that by destroying you, they will not be any happier than they were before.

When we wish bad things on others because we think it will make us feel better, we don't quite get the intended result. We only see the futility of our efforts and aren't one bit happier than we were in the beginning. Think of all of the envy that you have felt and I know that you have felt envy because it's simply in our nature. Just wait till they get what's coming to them. Why does God give them so much and gives me nothing but misery? Again, blame God. We imagine ourselves as the happy people that we see on the surface. If only I had their life, then I would be happy too. Never once do we stop to realize all that is going on in their lives. Maybe they are just putting on a front, so that others won't see their pain. Maybe they live for the outward appearance and there is nothing inside. You have no way of knowing whether the circumstance of another is better or worse than your own. So, why bother being envious when nothing good can come of it? I guess it serves the purpose of keeping the spotlight off of us while we are focusing on others.

The man in the mirror is your greatest inspiration and ally. When things seem hopeless, take a look in the mirror and there you will find the means to change the situation. I crack up when I see people handling their problems by shopping or spending or trying to live up to the standards of others. I have never purchased an item that helped me solve my problems. I have never purchased a self-help book that made my problems disappear. Granted, I have learned much from the advice of others, but I had to sit down and see the creation of my life as my own, before the solution came to light. Depending on how I choose to proceed, I can make a positive change or a negative change, but the answer is always within me. Sometimes I can't see the light clearly and need a little help. That's where the insight of God comes into play. Praying for guidance and wisdom will bring it to you. It may not be the answer that you were hoping for, but in the long run you will see the infinite beauty of the wisdom received.

You have to be open to the guidance before it will make a difference. Just as school teachings can be learned or ignored, so can God's guidance. We can listen intently as He gives us the wisdom of the ages, but unless we heed the advice, we will surely make some more excellent unwise choices for ourselves. Sometimes, when we don't get the answers that we want, we write them off as our imagination or the devil just trying to deceive us. Again, blame the devil. If we are not truly open and do not heed the advice, then we might as well not have asked. Why ask God if you already have all the answers? Why ask the teacher if you already know everything there is to know about algebra? Why waste your time in idle pursuits?

Just do as you please as that is your right. You have had to live by your own wits, so you must be smart enough to figure this out. But, why not seek the advice just in case? What's the harm? Keep God on the job because He is holding the position? You aren't God and are not supposed to have all the answers. Let Him work it out – then you can blame Him for poor choices.

How many times do we ask God for answers and don't even take the time to see if He answers? We don't stick around to hear what He has to say. We lay it out and move on. We wonder why He doesn't answer when we call. Surely He just doesn't care. Run up to your boss and ask for his advice, but leave before he answers. Are you any more prepared to solve the problem if you didn't stick around for the answer? Why even bother to ask? Oh yeah, I forgot. God will handle those things while we get back to the business at hand. I simply lay it on God and He takes care of it. So, we don't ask, we tell God what to do.

We believe deeply that God will work it out, so we don't have to bother. Now, there is wisdom in this, but at first glance it appears that we have not asked for assistance, but have tasked God with finding the solution. What difference does this make? It's kind of like splitting hairs in a way. The difference is in the final outcome. If you don't care one way or the other about the outcome, then by all means lay it on God. Surely He will make the wisest possible choice. But, if you do care about the outcome, then perhaps you need to invest in the solution.

If you don't care if you get the promotion or not, then lay it on God and He will make the wisest choice. If you do care, then perhaps you need to listen to what He has to say. If you don't get the promotion because God doesn't think you are ready, then you would be wise to understand the reasoning before you get mad at His choice. It's our nature to lay blame elsewhere, because we don't take the time to see the wisdom behind the choices. How many times have you had to work for someone who obviously isn't qualified to hold the position? How miserable is this for you? How miserable is this for the person who holds the position? Do you want to put yourself in such a position? Do you want to have to make choices for others when you can't even make choices for yourself? Having the job and doing the job effectively are too entirely different things. It is wise to wait until you are ready before taking on responsibility for which you are not prepared to handle.

When you have hundreds of lives at stake, it is not wise to have a position without the goods to handle the position. Chaos is just around the corner when things are handled badly by someone who doesn't have a clue. And don't be fooled by the assumption that you will be taught what you need to know once you get the position. It ain't gonna happen, so take off the rose colored glasses. Trial by fire is more the appropriate analogy. You will be thrown in to sink or swim, especially if the position is at a high level.

You have to bring something with you or you won't be able to handle the position appropriately. I've seen it happen so many times and am so very glad that I do not aspire above my means. It would be fun to be in charge, but the reality makes things a little more upsetting when you realize that you don't have a clue what to do. Now you are back on the hotline to God and the place is falling down around you. Why did God give you this job in the first place, when He knew that you weren't ready? Sure, the obvious blame game.

Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. Oh, how many times do we learn that this happens frequently? The lessons are hard ones, but how we handle what we get is by far the more important focus. There are those who do not have the education or experience to hold the positions that they do, but perform marvelously. How do you explain this? Surely God is giving divine intervention and making them be more than they are. Perhaps it is not what you know, but how you approach situations that can make the difference. Seeing every situation as a challenge and realizing that you don't have all the answers is very key to making the most of everything. Work for someone who doesn't need anyone and you'll soon find out that she is in a very lonely place destined for failure. Work for someone who needs and appreciates everyone and you will find that she has it all going on. A person who appreciates the contributions of all is one who is destined for nothing but success.

In a way, it really is not about what you know, but who you know. If you know your employees personally and appreciate each one, then you have the strength to move upward and onward. If you realize that your most precious assets are your employees, then your employees will bring you nothing but success. It's a chain reaction that can't fail. Your success is their success and so on.

With a successful team, the customer always wins. We always like to think that the customer is number one, but if we change our focus to the employees who serve the customers, our customer service improves dramatically. I have been both a customer and an employee. I know that good customer service comes from good employees. All of the good intentions in the world and focus on the customer will not make your business prosper. A happy employee makes a happy customer. Employees, like business owners, determine the success or failure of a business.

If your employees hate their jobs and feel that they are just a means for serving your greed, then you will get the worst possible results. The general business wisdom has changed its focus from customer to employee. Allowing employees simple pleasures such as dressing down can change their entire attitudes and it doesn't harm the business in the least. If employees are stuck in offices all day, why not let them be as comfortable as possible? I saw on TV a business owner who lets his employees bring their pets to work every day. He walks around and passes out candy and pet treats and speaks personally to every employee every day. Gosh, where do I get an application to work there? Most of my work life is spent in the dread of having the boss actually talk to me, because he only does so when good news is not on the horizon. How good do you feel when you dread the wrath and scorn of your boss? How positive are you when you know that a compliment never will come your way? Makes you want to go out and please a customer, doesn't it?

The boss never gives a second thought to you or your attitude – you are there because he pays you to be there and you better put forth your best effort. Now, what constitutes your best effort? I can work hard all day and meet my deadlines and go home. Or, I can work hard with a friendly attitude and serve two purposes at the same time. Depending on your situation and work environment, a good attitude can be the difference that turns good into great. Forcing your employees to feel that they are machines that must function at your behest is one way to make things happen, but allowing your employees the freedom to serve you to the best of their ability is far more rewarding for you and the employees. Knowing that employees are people and not machines is vitally important to business success. A dissatisfied employee can bring forth a wealth of misery that is very draining on the overall business. Compliments travel slowly, but a bad attitude spreads like wildfire.

Granted, you can't please everyone. It won't ever happen, but by pleasing the majority, the others will go along just to be part of the overall experience. There are employees who seem to make it their jobs to try your patience, but they will fall by the wayside when you give them your best and leave them to make their own choices. They will feel your sincerity and will at least know that you care, even if you can't give them all that they want. This goes a long way in keeping the team together and spirits high.

Seeing the person instead of the behavior can help you realize that people are not actions, but humans with individual perspectives and reasons for behaviors. Assuming that behaviors are a reflection of you is short-sighted at best. Circumstances beyond your view can cause people to do things which you have no ability to change. Henry may come to work with a bad attitude because his child is sick. Instead of realizing that Henry has a life outside of work, we run him down for being in a bad mood. Would we not be better served to understand that Henry has something going on in his life and a little attention to his feelings might just turn his mood from bad to hopeful? We blame moods on chemical substances and don't bother to realize that someone may be in a bad mood for a reason.

Shirley has the worst attitude. No one likes her and no one wants to be around her. But the one who takes the time to learn that Shirley has a sick parent at home is the one who finds that Shirley isn't so bad. Once the cat is out of the bag, everyone will be empathetic to Shirley and Shirley won't be able to help but find a reason to have a better attitude. A bad attitude is generally a reflection of something going on inside a person. We aren't born unhappy, we learn to be. The offer of a simple kind gesture can change sourpuss Shirley into someone who is enjoyed by everyone. Certainly, there are those who fully intend to be miserable and all the kindness in the world will not change them. Know this and be kind to them anyway. You can't change them, but you can know that they have something inside that causes their unhappiness and you can empathize with their internal suffering. It can't be fun to be that miserable and it certainly isn't fun to be around them. Do what you can and go merrily on your way.

In all things, seek to do your best and always see people for the souls that are inside. Don't let a person's behavior be your focus, for you have no idea what causes the behavior. Know that you don't go out of your way to be in a bad mood or seek the misery of others, so give the other person the benefit of the doubt and you will see the wisdom of God pour forth.

Chapter 13 - What fun would you have?

If I were God, I would have lots of fun. I would have billions of people to watch and would be able to watch all the fun and giggle at their lives. The opportunities are endless for the fun that God can have. I can just revel in the delight of sitting back without any worries and having my way with the little earthlings. Watching someone learn to walk or watching someone fly a kite or watching someone run a marathon or watching men land on the moon, etc. I would watch all the fun. Would you like being a spectator only or would you want to get in the game? Free will keeps God out of the game, until our requests for assistance and guidance puts God in the game.

If you were God, wouldn't you want to be in the game? How would you enjoy the game most? Would you give little hints or would you give game altering strategies? Would you enjoy watching folks figure it out or would you enjoy telling them how to score the winning points? If you were God, how would you enjoy the game? Since God chooses to not be on the field, because that would surely change the game in His favor, He chooses to play the game based on the desires of His players. If they don't ask for help, He'll just sit and watch. It won't be much fun, but He honors His commitment of free will. Oh, but when someone finally asks, or when the team prays before the game, then the fun begins.

God doesn't take the game lightly – He plays to win. He gives it His all and His all is a lot. In the game of life, which He created, He knows the rules all too well. He knows that simple intentions and desires can move mountains. He knows that faith can be the only factor needed for a winning game. He knows that the game isn't always won by the strongest, but by the person with the strongest will. He knows that good sportsmanship is imperative, because ill-gotten gain is no gain at all. He knows that to win one must first choose to play. He knows that there's nothing more important than a good coach who is loving and supportive. He knows that without respect for the team and the opponents, the game is merely an exercise in running around aimlessly. He knows that there is no player better than the team and no team better than their own will to win.

On God's team, you can't lose. To God there is no such thing as losing. If you were God, you would not have fear of losing, as it wouldn't be possible. Without fear, winning is your only option. When you know that you're on the winning team, the possibilities are endless. What a confidence builder this is. You go on the field ready to win. You can't lose. You are pumped and ready for the game. Your excitement is almost uncontrollable. You wish that there were more teams to play. The more teams to play, the more wins to be had. You are on a roll and you can't be stopped!

Now, wouldn't that be fun? Could God possibly give you more than that or have more fun? I think not. But life is not a game and we often see the losers and the disappointment on the faces of life's players. This invites our sympathy and causes us sorrow. We hurt for those who hurt. We weep for those who lose. We ache for those who grieve. What's the fun in that? Isn't that what life is all about really? You don't see people skipping around happy and joyful. You see people who are downtrodden and sorrowful. The joys of life are often not very joyful.

If you were God, you would see that all of life as joyful, because you are living your chosen life to fulfill your soul's desires. God doesn't see our lives as sorrowful, but as lives lived to fit our needs. God sees life from a different perspective and knows that we suffer what we believe are tragedies. God knows that we feel that our physical lives are real and that our pain is real. God offers us solace during our times of trial. He feels our pain, but knows that we chose the experience, so that our lives would be wonderfully fulfilling spiritual experiences. No pain, no gain. This is not to say that God is not empathetic to our plight, He knows that we are not suffering real harm. God knows that our physical bodies may suffer, but our souls never do. God knows that what we believe is reality, is but an illusion designed for the fullness of our experience.

God knows that if you didn't feel the pain or joy, that your experience would be lessened. God teaches us that our physical lives are temporary, but knows that we see them as reality. It is necessary that we believe our physical lives to be real or we would simply gloss over our experiences without reaping the benefit. If you knew for certain that you were only here to play a role, then would you put so much stock in it? If you knew that you were here to pretend to be suffering the death of a loved one, then you wouldn't be hurt at all. You would not have the experience of being hurt. You would not know the beauty of the sorrow. You would not learn the wonder of love nor appreciate being loved by the person whom you lost. It would all be just a game and you would reap what you invested – not very much.

In the same way that a game simulates a war, we can see our lives as a game or a war. We can take them seriously or we can simply slide through without being affected. It is our choice, but God does provide us the tools to get what we choose. Before we are incarnated, we are provided the means to not recall our time in other lives or our time in the afterlife. If you remembered these things, then you would short change your current life's experience. Do you really want to get less than you need? Even the chicken in me wants it all and doesn't want to leave this life with less than the satisfaction of the needs I came here to accomplish. On the other hand, if you get short changed, are you just going to have to do it all over again? Whether you have one shot or not, I really don't think that I would choose to "redo" this life. Let me get what I came for and move on to something new.

Depending on the view that you take, and there are many offered, you can choose to live life to the fullest or simply fly through life without reaping any benefit. Let's assume that I came to this life to experience mediocrity. I guess then I would have exactly what I asked for up to this point - middle of the road, without the highs being too high or the lows being too low. I can't say that I've had a really excellent or a really unpleasant life – just mediocre. So, if I die tomorrow, I would have fulfilled my desire to live a non-eventful existence. What if I came here to experience awe and grandeur? I'd be sorely disappointed at this point. I'd have to make some dramatic changes to get myself on my chosen path. I'd have to start taking some of those risks that I have previously not taken. I would have to move at warp speed to catch up, if I am to get my fulfillment before I die.

What if I had waited too late and didn't fulfill my purpose? I would revisit my life in the afterlife review process and see clearly what I had missed. Would I choose to give it another try or would I simply not seek fulfillment and would move on to other pursuits? One cannot imagine sitting before the Council of Soul Development (I made this up for demonstration purposes,) in the afterlife, trying to come up with a game plan. Would regret overwhelm my soul such that I would feel obligated to return and try again? Would I chalk it up to a lost cause and move on to another experience? If you were sitting now in front of the Council of Soul Development (assuming that there is one as we would need some help reviewing and planning,) what would your thoughts be about your life? Would you have regrets? Would you want to try to better your grade? Would you settle for less? If we feel certain that we will have to face the impact of our life, either in heaven through God's judgment or by facing the Council of Soul Development, we would surely want to maximize our experiences, so that our spiritual progression is on the path to knowing God.

Realizing that there are no effective shortcuts, we know that only by experiencing do we truly learn life's lessons. If you take the easy road, you will reap what you sow. You will gain nothing or at least very little, as you have invested very little. If I invest $1 in the stock market, imagine the possible return. If I invest $1,000 in the stock market, I'm likely to win a significant amount or lose a significant amount. A spiritual master would throw it all in and know that either way, it's a winning situation. We aren't on that level, so we can't even imagine betting it all. We can't imagine that there is a sure bet. We don't think on such a level that knowing that losing it all is a valuable lesson in itself. We are taught that having is winning and losing is never winning. We aren't taught to play the game fairly and the experience of playing is enough. We are taught to win at all costs and that the only alternative is losing.

A spiritual master knows that there is no such thing as winning or losing – only playing the game to the best of your ability. We understand in our reason that there always has to be a loser, but we never want to be the loser. Remind yourself of one time when you chose to lose, seriously. I'm having a tough time remembering such an instance for myself. Oh, sure, I remember saying that I would just let someone else win, but that was after I had realized that there was no way that I could win. We have lots of ways to protect our fragile egos. Letting a child win does not count in this scenario. That's not really a fair game.

If we reflect quickly on our lives to date, how would we judge our efforts? Would we see a fog of random acts motivated by fear or a hard charging "make every minute count" ray of sunshine? Excuse me while I wipe the fog from my own glasses. I think that perhaps I have taken a fear-based approach to a new level. I am not proactive, but reactive. If they do this, then I'll do this. Sounds like I'm in charge of the show, doesn't it? Back to you – what did you see? Granted our perspective has much to do with how we see ourselves and our lives. I will see myself as a chicken sitting in a corner, whereas my employees may see me as tough and motivated. One thing's for sure, no one will ever call me lazy. That is a certainty.

So, how would others see you? Let's assume, that if we asked someone his/her opinion, he/she would not be totally honest out of politeness. They wouldn't want to slap you in the face with the unpleasantness of you and your actions. So, if we are our only judge, let's be honest with ourselves. What would you say to the face in the mirror? Do you see yourself living life to the fullest or someone who accepts compromise as a way to avoid living? Instead of the expensive foreign car, you will be just fine driving the modestly priced economy model. We are currently not looking at vanity – that's another topic for later discussion. So what's the verdict? Are you living or existing?

Having become something of an expert at existence, I feel strongly that I have lived well in the pursuit of mediocrity, but have failed miserably at truly living. I pay my bills early and work twice as hard as I have to. I never take the time to relax or enjoy the fruits of my labor. I am constantly worried about what I can do better and am never able to sit fully relaxed in the comfort of satisfaction. I will work to my physical limits to do the best that I can, but don't waste a minute enjoying what life has to offer. What's up with that and won't I have some regrets when the game is over? God advises me constantly to enjoy life and stop worrying. Of course, that's easy for Him to say – He doesn't have to pay bills like I do. See if the landlord will understand that I can't pay him this month, because I have taken the time to enjoy life.

So, in order to enjoy life now that I have realized that I've been doing things for the wrong reasons, I have to relearn my way of living. I have to shift my focus entirely and know that my reason for living is not to work, but to live. That's a toughy for me. That's like telling the Pope to not be Catholic. Whew! I just can't even imagine living without stress and worry. These are my ever present reality. God will have to open the lesson book and teach me how to live without these favorite companions. What about you? What lessons could God teach you about your life? Many times people have to be shocked back to reality by a life altering event. A sudden heart attack will let you see things differently. The loss of a loved one will shift focus to your own mortality. When you stop and realize that this life won't last forever, you will reconsider your choices. You will start to realize that perhaps you have spent your time looking for love in all the wrong places. You will start to panic and start to focus on the truly important aspects of your life.

I always admire the elderly for their wisdom. They aren't running around like chickens trying to figure out what to do next. They are calm and resolute about life and know that the small things don't matter. They are not a mess of confusion. They are filled with a sense of peace that we wish we had. They have seen what there is to see and have envisioned what is to come. When most we fear death, the elderly seem to look at it differently. They know that the end is coming and they see what purpose their lives have served. They are ready to face the next challenge, as they know that this challenge has played out. It's so much easier to enjoy grandchildren than it is children. Only the perspective has changed and not the children. It's easy to see the vanity of our youth when we are looking back. At the time of our youth, we are filled to the limits with extremes.

One could rationalize that the elderly don't have the energy to live life to the fullest. This isn't so, as we see so many elderly persons skydiving and playing sports. It's not about the physical energy; it's about enjoying the game and living life to the fullest. Living life to the fullest does not necessarily mean being aggressive or hard charging. Living life to the fullest may involve a quiet spirit of reflection and wisdom. Having experienced life, the elderly have a unique perspective on life that we would be well advised to pursue. Looking back on life, we see things differently. I reflect on some of my life's greatest trials and see them entirely differently now than I did then. That's the beauty of hindsight and the enlightenment of the lesson learned.

If life is but a place of learning, then why do we get so freaked out? We don't stop to realize that it is a place of learning, so we see it as all there is. If we stop and see things in the educational view, we will certainly see things much differently. If we know that life is but an illusion of our creation, we can take a more objective look at what we think is real. Deepak gives a breakdown of life to the atomic level in one of his new books. If you see yourself as atomic particles swirling around, then you will certainly have a much different perspective on your life. We are taught in school that everything is made up of atoms, but we never stop to think that we are the same. I guess the realization is there, but the full concept escapes us, so we don't spend any time dwelling on it.

We are real – pinch yourself if you doubt. Or, did your will cause the finger atoms to move over and constrict on your arm atoms causing your brain atoms to process pain atoms? Too much to process, so we just see ourselves as real, as we see ourselves in the mirror. Why bother with all that scientific stuff? Thinking such things just gives me a headache and will never cause me to understand physics. Even if we could imagine ourselves as atomic particles, what would be the benefit? Doesn't this take the person out of the picture? In one sense yes, but on the other hand, it does give us the perspective of placing less importance on the physical and greater importance on the spirit.

Can a body really hold a spirit? Can the spirit be contained in a body? How can such a wonderful creature be held inside a sea of atoms? Have we taken a road that will surely lead to more and more confusion? Probably, but take a moment to imagine the atomic world and see your spirit encased in this atomic swirl. When the atomic swirl turns to dust, what is left? Back to the main feature – the spirit or soul. That's the view that deserves our focus. If we live for our soul's desires and not for our physical desires, then we will fully live our lives.

Yeah, but won't we miss all the good stuff? What good stuff? Your body is but a vehicle for the soul in this life and it will fulfill all of your desires as you choose. It is not the body that wills itself to get up in the morning. It is the soul that drives the train. By focusing on the soul, we start to drive the train on different tracks, not on those preprogrammed. We learn to drive the train over the scenic route. We learn to drive the train through the mountains. We don't just drive the train to work; we drive the train for the enjoyment of driving the train. How can we miss anything if we follow our soul's guidance? It is by following the soul's leadership that we guarantee that we won't miss anything.

Which brings up the point – do we limit our soul by seeing it as this strict religious thing that limits us to our God fearing views? How do you see your soul? If you were God, would you see the soul as a pompous religious figure who can never have any fun? Or would you see the soul as nothing but pure enjoyment? Looking at the soul through God's eyes might just give you something to think about. We envision our souls through the eyes of what we have been taught by religion. A holy celibate life is superior and the soul must rise above the physical pleasure of life. Did you ever suppose that restricting the soul can cause it to not advance? Do you suppose that by forcing your soul to live within the confines of religion that you fail to fulfill its purpose? Ever wonder what a priest might experience if he allowed himself to bust loose?

Have you not restricted your own life by your religious beliefs? Have you ever let the fear of God cause you to take a road not as exciting? Have you ever stopped having fun because you felt that God wouldn't approve? How many things in your life have you not done because you just knew that God would punish you? Now that's religion in action. Keep the fear going and they will behave as a good Christians should. Sure, but when they die, they will be sorely disappointed that they didn't experience their lives to the fullest. Talk about regrets. We certainly can't have anarchy and bedlam in the world – there has to be a civilized order to society and all must behave according to the laws of civility.

Sure, we know this and don't advocate everyone living selfishly and without acknowledgment of consequences. Will not consequences teach us that errant behavior is not in our best interest? We take away free will by brainwashing our children. We do it with all the love that we have. We tell our children to walk the straight and narrow path of righteousness. When they become teenagers, they seek to find the answers for themselves. They run like maniacs to prove or disprove what we have so carefully instilled in them. They won't believe it just because we say it's so. They must find out for themselves, just as you and I did, what to believe and what not to believe.

If you taught your child that sex is not a game and that the sanctity of marriage is the only proper place for it, the teenager would throw that teaching to the wind when suddenly faced with a rush of hormones and emotions. They will try it out for themselves and will soon realize that there are consequences for their actions. Just as most teenagers realize, it is better to wait, but only hindsight gives them the wisdom of reflection. An unwanted pregnancy or STD will make them see sex in a very different light. Johnny wasn't nearly so attractive when you are sitting in the doctor's office getting the news. And where is Johnny who loved you so? He's on to another conquest and the fulfillment of his hormonal desires.

When Johnny gets the child support papers, he suddenly realizes that having sex may just not be as much fun as he thought? How many times have we had to face those dreaded consequences which teach us far more than our parents ever could? Don't you find that your parents weren't as stupid as you thought they were? Of course, without the experience, their words were just meaningless verbiage meant to spoil all of your fun. Why didn't we listen? Oh, if only I had listened, I wouldn't be sitting here rocking this baby, knowing that my life is forever changed. Hindsight is 20-20 vision. But, we know that we can't control our children forever and that they must seek life's experiences. We don't want robots any more than God does, so we have to let go. We have to trust that our careful loving direction will lead them eventually on the right path.

For me, I did kick the traces and run to experience all that I could. There were times when I could hear my parent's words, when I was faced with a situation. At which point, I made a choice. Far too often, I just knew that they were wrong and I could do as I pleased. If not for hindsight, I guess I would still be running aimlessly seeking fulfillment in all the wrong places. At some point in our lives, we do realize the wisdom of our parents, as we begin to teach our children the same lessons. Why do we bother? Why does God bother? You have to lead your children to the path of love knowing that they may stray, but that they will always come back. Children, who do not have the benefit of loving parents, find the path very elusive. Remediation must be had to show them what we take for granted. God provides for those who need remediation, just as He provides for the needs of all.

If we assume that it is not beneficial to restrict the soul's desires, we will know that truly the soul cannot be restricted. One way or the other, our true selves emerge. Our soul will have its way and we will do according to its will. If not today, the day will surely come. This is how God allows us to freely follow our soul's desires. He knows that by restricting us, we will just avoid the obvious even longer. Why not let the spirit fly where it wishes to go? Does God want us to come to Him because we fear Him or because we freely choose to? Do you want people to come to you because they have to or because they are drawn to your loving nature? I can say that there is a huge difference in going to your supervisor's office knowing that there is cheerful support within the walls and going when you know that there is scrutiny behind the door. What kind of God would you be? Would you get delight from making your servants worship you? Would you want your children to flock to you because you are so loving and kind?

I just can't imagine that God would want anything but for us to come to Him, because we seek the love that only He can offer. Why would He want artificial affection and contrived worship? God just isn't that shallow, and fear is not something that He wishes for His children to experience. The very thought of God coming to you this minute brings fear to your mind. Why? Is it because you are scared of Him? Is it because you have a head full of preconceived notions about His ferocity? Is it because today is Halloween and the sight of a ghost would cause that heart attack that you've been waiting for? Today is Halloween, and I thought I'd throw in a spooky vision to get your heart pumping.

The thought of God walking through my door should not cause me to fear. It should be something that would bring me the greatest joy. I should want nothing more than God to pop in on me, to see what I've been up to. I should pray that God be in every aspect of my life, for I know that God is life and only through God can I experience true love. The love of God that we are taught in church conjures up a few different feelings many times. The love of God is filled with fear and angst. We tend to see God's love as that of a very strict parent. We are only human and we are motivated in large part by fear. I guess that fear is our greatest tool and we can scare people to God. We envision God striking people with lightening and all sorts of horrors. Seldom do we envision God striking people with boundless love and affection. Why do we limit God? Do we just love to punish ourselves?

Why does mankind take such a fearful deference to God, when a more loving approach would be more amenable? If God is not mysterious, we just wouldn't be interested. A powerful and awesome God is far more intriguing than a loving and wussy God. We want the power behind the name and the control that goes along with it. We don't want a God who is loving and kind, we want to feel the power of the all powerful. We want to know that our master is one of great strength and deeds. We want miracles and great outpourings of the highest caliber. We don't want some namby-pamby God who doles out loving gestures. We want what we can admire and fear. If it doesn't scare us, it's really not that interesting. We don't want to ride the sissy roller coaster – we want to ride the scariest one on the planet.

Do we crave fear and equate it with excitement? Why do we love Halloween? We just love to be scared for some reason, and anything that doesn't scare us is just not important. What is our inherent need to feel fear? Why on earth do we like a good scare? We know that we have never felt the excitement of God's unconditional love, so we get our kicks the best way we know how. Feeling all the love that we can muster just doesn't give us what we need. Fear to the extreme really gets us going. It is our ignorance of God and His love that causes us to turn to fear to get the adrenaline flowing. If we could experience the enormity of God's love, we could give up thrill rides forever. Very interesting – I never thought that we knowingly seek to scare ourselves into experiencing a full range of emotions.

Now, that really does open up Pandora's Box. That gives us some fat to chew. If God isn't scary, then we aren't interested. Has that thought ever occurred to you? That's a first for me, but it makes all the sense in the world. I guess God dropped us a scary pearl of wisdom on this Halloween. Very cute indeed! God just cracks me up sometimes. Never one to miss an opportunity, He worked that concept in such a masterful way. Brilliant, don't you think?

So, if you want a good scare this Halloween, ask God to drop by for a visit. There isn't a cemetery on the planet that can get your blood pumping faster. He has some tricks up His sleeve that will truly blow your wig up. If He weren't enough, He can bring some helpers along to add to the head rush. If you need a thrill, invite God over for a chat. He'll give you an experience that you won't soon forget. Talk about fun – only God can truly put "u" in fun.

If you want to put things into perspective, talk to an elderly person about the most memorable experiences of his/her life. Without a doubt, only those experiences which evoked the greatest emotion will be remembered. A war veteran will remember those times when his fear was greatest. A mother will remember those times of great love and compassion. No one will remember twenty six years ago when they were just sitting around watching TV and nothing significant happened. I don't remember the unemotional times in my life, but I do remember those times when my emotion meter registered full tilt. We somehow register our memories based on their significant emotional contributions. I remember clearly the emotions of my Baptism day. I remember times of stress and upheaval. I remember those times of the greatest highs and lows. I remember, as if it were yesterday, the loss of loved ones. I fail to remember what I was doing on July 20, 1973. I can barely even remember the previous day, but I can remember significant events that happened many years ago.

When my life is at end, will I remember every miniscule detail of my life or those times of great emotion? How will I be affected in my next life by the choices that I made in this life? What different choices will I make in the future which will change the course of my soul forever? Rather difficult questions to answer, if I believe that my life is my one and only chance to feel love and experience life to the fullest. What difference would it make if I changed today for the better? The Christian belief that if we ask for forgiveness with our last earthly breath, then we will be saved. It's like getting a "get out of jail free card" and being allowed to skip over to heaven. How can this be all that there is?

Life is tough and sometimes you think you can't take one more minute of suffering. Who in their right mind would choose to come back for another round? My daddy used to say that hell is here on earth. Many times, I believed this to be very true. But if you live by your soul's guidance, you can see the beauty of all of life's experiences. If you know that you will see your loved ones again, it takes some of the hurt away. If you envision your grandparent watching over your shoulder as you read this, it takes some of the edge off of the harshness of life. It is human nature to focus on the negative and see life as cruel and unfair.

What if Jesus had this perspective? What is He sat around feeling sorry for Himself? What if He lost every opportunity to make a difference while lost in the comfort of a good old fashioned pity party? What if He said to heck with the rest and decided to throw up His hands and walk away? What if we decide to chuck it all and live for the ethereal rewards of selfishness? No one really cares about me, so I don't care about them.

What if I am all that matters? What if I am the center of my world? Imagine yourself on an island, alone with I. Not a pretty picture, unless you are truly the fulfillment of your own purpose. Maybe you are the greatest person of all time and you don't need all those other losers messing things up for you. Maybe you can operate better in the vacuum of your own world. If you think so, try it sometime. It won't be long before you'll go buy groceries for the simple pleasure of being in the company of those losers in the world. You'll find that you aren't the end all, be all that you thought you were.

Living with I can be a lonely life. Living for I can be very unfulfilling. Loving I alone can be rather empty. Pleasing I is really not very pleasing. You don't have to try very hard to please yourself. There's really no reward in selfishness that is worth the effort. If this is true, and I assure you that it is, why do we spend so much time focused on the I? Sure, the I is important, but only from the standpoint of the All. I am only important because I am part of the All. Were it not for the All, I would be meaningless. Were it not for the affect that I have on others, I would have no reason to exist. Being alone is good for the soul, but not all the time. Quiet introspection puts things into perspective and gives us a fresh look at the choices made and to be made. We must get in touch with ourselves to know the effect that we wish to have on the All.

Whether your contributions are seemingly large or small, you do affect the All. How do you choose to affect the All? What will be the legacy of you on the All? If you had to stand before the All and explain your choices, could you do so with purpose and intention? Could you affect the All with inspiration and love? Have you affected the All by only acting with love? What is your role in the grand scheme and how have you fulfilled your purpose? If you had to stand before God today, how would you justify your existence? What behaviors did you exhibit that signified your commitment to and impact on the All? Surely, you won't stand up and give a dissertation on I. Surely, you won't face the All and sing the me, me, me song. If you had to face God today, what would be your approach?

If we see ourselves as non-events in the grand scheme, then surely we will lesson our impact on the grand scheme. If we see ourselves as equal partners in the grand scheme creation machine, then we will put our lives into a more benevolent perspective. If you realized the impact that you would have on even one person, wouldn't you want that impact to be beneficial and loving? Would you want to be the one who dashed the hopes of a child with your negativity? Would you want to kick someone already depressed with a good dose of your pessimistic views? Or, would you want to always be the one affecting the All with optimism and joy and happiness and love? Your impact on one person affects the All, whether you realize it or not.

Think of the impact that a serial killer has both directly and indirectly on the lives of the victims, their families and those who learn about the killings in the media, not to mention those who attend the court proceedings. Think of the effect that Jesus had in spite of His not having TV available. News of Jesus spread far and wide and even into the future. Think of all the people in your life and all those who are affected by the people in your life. The numbers grow exponentially, and before you know it, the All has been greatly affected. Remember how Hitler affected the All and still does? Whether good or bad, one person does have a dramatic impact on the All. One act can change the world. What if Hitler had put his talents to more benevolent use? What if his soul purpose was to unite the world in peace instead of conquering the world? Would the affect have been as dramatic? We can only guess and hope that a purpose based in love spreads more quickly than a purpose based in greed.

Worldwide ministries seem to spread like wild fire. Could Hitler have commanded the same efficacy? I don't think so, because it takes a lot more effort to bring people to your way of thinking if you are thinking about taking over the world for selfish gain. It would be a tough sell to get the United States, Russia and China to see things from Hitler's point of view. Seeing things from a benevolent perspective makes the sell much easier. Spreading the word of God and His love tends to draw bigger crowds. If you are kind and loving, will you not increase your popularity faster than by being the old troll that everyone hates? Birds of a feather flock together and no one really wants to join the troll patrol.

I think that given the equal choice, people will choose to do things for love rather than for hate. There are those who will always follow the wayward path, but for the most part, people want to be loving and loved. Those who follow the wayward path do so for the love of the fellowship that they can find. Do you think that gang members, if it were their choice, would choose to do harm to others? No, people join gangs to fulfill their need to belong and to be loved (this is a stretch, but in their minds they find love where they can.) Gangs are created by and for those who have not found love in the places where we typically find love. Birds of a feather flock together. If you have never known love and feel that you really don't matter, then you are more prone to be attracted to that which offers you belongingness. No one wants to be alone and if the only group that offers you a membership is a street gang, then you are likely to join. This does not mean that your inner core believes in the values of the gang, but you go along so that you won't be alone.

Loneliness is powerful – never underestimate the desperation created by loneliness. Do we send people to prison so that they can enjoy a great social life? No, isolation is one of life's most dreaded punishments and prison life is designed to strike at our most basic dreads and fears. There are those who feel that they can't live in open society, so they continue a cycle of violence which ensures their incarceration. They feel that the only place that they belong is in prison, so they commit crimes to ensure their return to their comfort zone. It's hard for us to believe, but take some time and talk to some prisoners. Get their perspective on what caused them to commit the acts that put them in prison and why so many return to prison after being released.

We have a tendency to put ourselves in a mental prison. Our lack of self esteem can keep us locked away all of our lives. We don't need metal bars; we have mental bars which are far more difficult to escape. Why are we our own worst enemies? It boggles the mind to realize that we actually do literally imprison ourselves mentally. Our rationalized fears keep us from achieving our potential. Our fears of embarrassment or humiliation cause us to alter our lives, so that we don't have to take the chance on feeling these emotions. Stage fright and shyness can render a person useless. Would we not be better served to suffer some embarrassment and live a little?

Letting go of I, the big all powerful and encompassing ego, will change your life forever, and will bring a brilliant punctuation to your every action. Living life to fulfill your purpose starts with one step, which will be the most fear invoking step leading to the most fulfilling step that you have ever taken. But don't take my word for it; I have enough trouble getting my shoes to move. Be inspired by those who had the courage to take the first step – think of John Glenn, what if he didn't have the courage to get into that rocket? What If Neal Armstrong had not left the lunar module and courageously faced the unknown? "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," would never have been seen or experienced. One step can make all the difference in the world, and really out of this world!

Chapter 14 - How would you draw your children near?

We have delved into God's loving ways and have shown how God seeks the purposeful fulfillment of the lives of his children. What more can He do? What more should He do? Does He really do all that He can and should? Could He not be a little more loving by giving us greater insight and foresight? I can easily feel the love when I'm in the know. All of the anxiety is created when I don't have the answers. Where's the love when I need it? Where's the love when I am trying to decide to do this or that? Why can't we just have a little more loving guidance in our lives from God? I'm sure if you were God, you wouldn't let your children wallow in the misery of the unknown. You would lovingly feel their pain and would dash in to save the day. Or, would you?

By saving the day, you dramatically alter the day. Did the day need saving? Does anyone really want your saving grace? What makes you so sure that you have all the answers? Does God really want to save the day and take away all of our concerns and indecision? Do we want God to take away our choices? If we were closer to God, then we would understand His ways and realize that His choices for us are our choices and He only helps us along the way. Do you want God to have all the fun? Do you want God to take away your choices, so that you are a lamb following the herd? This goes against our very core of independent thinking. God's love does not mean that He takes away our choices. Sure, sometimes it would be much easier to feel the love if it came when we most thought it would be useful. Why is God never around when the greatest turmoil is going on? He seems to disappear and we can't feel His love until the crisis has ended. Boo hoo hoo – we are but lambs to the slaughter. Or, are we?

Did you ever stop to think that God shows up after the crisis because that is when we actually take a moment to reflect? We can't see Him during the crisis because we are so blinded by the crap going on at the surface. Maybe He slipped us the answers during the crisis for which He never got credit. Maybe it was Him who told us what to do instead of our own instinctive problem solving skills. Maybe we discount God when we need Him most. Maybe we blame God for the crisis to start with, so why would He help us get out of the mess. Maybe we like to think that someone has to be blamed and so we resort to our favorite object of blame. We can't see during a crisis the lesson to be learned from the crisis. We don't have the foresight to see that the crisis caused us to side step far greater tragedies. We don't realize that the crisis is the helpful solution to another problem. Nah, it's easier to see things on the surface, so we do.

If you realize that getting into a car wreck saved your life by keeping you away from a murder scene, you'd be amazed that you have such bad luck – wreck here or death there. Anyway, you have no way of knowing that putting you somewhere else actually saved your life by keeping you from the place at which you would have been murdered. Watching the evening news, you see that you would have been at the scene where the shooting took place at exactly the time when the shooting happened. Chills run up and down your spine. You then realize that the car wreck was not so bad after all. Hmmm, God does work in mysterious ways. Couldn't he have just let me get caught in traffic or something a little less drastic? So, you go off on another tangent of God blame.

Instead of being grateful for being alive, you are upset that God chose to have you wreck your car and put you through the soreness. What was He thinking? Apparently, He wasn't thinking very Godlike or He would have made a better choice. What if God had simply delayed your timing and had not shown you the news footage of the shooting? What would you have experienced? Absolutely nothing and would not have been graced by the personal interaction with God's grace and love. You would have gone on about your business unscathed and unlearned. Let's go further and imagine that the car that was wrecked was a fire waiting to happen. Not having experienced a particular malfunction, you assume that the car was in perfect operating condition and you could have driven it for many more years. Maybe God knew that the fire hazard would have caused you or a loved one to die if you had continued to drive it. Whew! You are a bad luck magnet. Anyway, maybe God saved you twice and gave you the knowledge of the loving actions. Maybe you just don't see all that there is to see.

Why does God interact in such strange ways? We can sit around guessing for the rest of our lives and still die without the answers. Maybe we are given the knowledge that we need and the rest is wasted speculation. Does it really matter why things happen the way they do or is it only important that we learn life's lessons so that we can move on the greater things? Does it matter why God chose to make grass green instead of purple? Does it matter that trees grow up instead of down? Does it matter that I play Scrabble instead of Monopoly? Does it matter if I wear a blue suit or a brown suit? Does anything matter except the learning experience? Not really – life is in the lessons that God teaches. Why are the lessons so important? Imagine that you had never gone to school. Think of filling your days in isolation, because you are different and unlearned. What can life hold for you? Sure, education isn't that important, as you can live without it. Knowing God isn't required, but does it make life more meaningful? Sure, education opens up the world in magical ways, just as learning to know God opens up all things spiritual and exciting.

We can certainly choose to avoid the education and the learning, but why would we? Ignorance is said to be bliss. I haven't experienced the bliss, especially during calculus class when there was much ignorance. There are people who choose to not learn one more thing and those who can't seem to learn enough. Each must choose for him/her and must use life in the way best suited to his/her individual needs. I may choose to know God, but He is equally available to me and to everyone else. I can't keep someone else from knowing God, just as I can't make someone else know God. I like to think that I can pass on some useful tidbits, but I'm not so arrogant as to believe that I can give knowledge of God to others. Oh, if only I could, then my problems would be solved.

Just as my parents are at home to answer my call of need, God is there waiting to pick up the proverbial phone calls from us. What more can He do? He has made Himself available to everyone all the time and no appointments are ever necessary. Isn't that enough? How can we get closer to someone who is always around? Just like the nerd that everyone dreads, God is always hanging around us. We can't give Him the slip or outrun Him or dodge Him or beat Him at hide and seek. We can run, but we can't hide, even if we do our utmost to get away. Haven't you ever had a bee buzz around you and you can't seem to make him go away? You swat and run and slip and dive, but he is always with you. That's kind of the way God is – always buzzing around. I would not liken God to a bee, even though they serve a very useful purpose, but God is never a nuisance as the bee is in our presence. Of course, if we are out to do evil things, God's presence can surely put a damper on things.

Anyway, if you realize that God has given infinitely of Himself, then that's about all He can do. He won't step over the line and do for you, but will avail Himself to your every beck and call. Maybe, getting closer to God requires a little effort on your part. Maybe, you will have to make the first move. Maybe, you'll have to dial up the hotline to God. Maybe, you'll have to knock on His door. Maybe, He won't chase you down and force His grace upon you. Maybe, you have to meet Him half way. You really do have to seek to find. Your car keys won't jump in your hand, but God can lead you to them if you ask. God won't throw money at you, but will lead you to a path of earning that will fulfill your needs. God won't win the race for you, but will teach you how to prepare for your most effective performance.

Maybe, I want more from God. Maybe, I think that God can do more. Maybe, God doesn't fulfill my needs as I know that He can. Maybe, if you were God, you would understand what it is like to walk the earth and deal with life's little ups and downs. Maybe, you would love with a more proactive physically intervening approach. Yeah, that's it – give us more of what we need. Throw us a bone now and then, and show us some feats of your love and greatness. Give us more miracles and show us the money. It is easy for you, because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Drop some food from the sky on the starving children around the world. We know you can do it – remember the manna from the sky? It can happen, because it has happened. What's different now? Why did you do for some and not for all? I guess only the Hebrews get the manna, as they are God's chosen people. I guess the starving children of the world just aren't special enough to get a food dropping. Surely, the God of love would not play favorites.

Hmmm, pose that question to God and have Him explain the rationale for choosing to supply one and not the other. Yeah, let's feel the love in that explanation. Sure, the Hebrews were special and they had to wander the desert for forty years. Blah, blah, blah. Who are we trying to kid – starving is starving regardless of your ancestry. What does it take to get God to act when He could so easily feed the hungry? Now that this analogy has popped into my mind, I'll have to ask for the answer to this question. I'll have to get back to you when I get the answer.

On to other questions... If God is love and only love, why does He not give us a greater realization of His love more often? Why do we so seldom hear of miracles and angels? Why do we go years without amazing stories of kindness from above? Why do I sit here feeling suddenly that there should be more miraculous activity from God? What a downer.

PS – God just dropped the pearls on me while on a short break about the manna. He asks that you act on His behalf and drop some manna yourself. Ever heard of organizations that use contributions to feed the hungry? Perhaps a miracle is within your power. Why not feed the hungry yourself? Why does God have to do everything? Didn't He give you enough that you can freely share? Why are you being greedy and not helping others? Cannot the resources of the world be utilized to solve its own hunger problem? Are there not enough resources available to literally drop food from the sky? Is this not done every day already to the places where we choose to provide the food? Are the warehouses not overflowing with food at this very minute? Back when the Hebrews journeyed across the desert, planes couldn't fly over and make food drops. There's nothing stopping you now, but your own greed.

Ouch! Talk about a slap without a hand and a kick in the old caboose. I guess that perhaps, if we were more inclined to perform lovingly, then God wouldn't have to do all the work and wouldn't get all the credit. Why should He have to do the work that we've been or will be trained to do? Just as the lady who had the gift of healing but was afraid to use it, are we afraid to use our talents to perform miracles? Can you not perform an act of kindness that will be seen as miraculous today? A person down on their luck would think that God Himself had given the gift of food if you were to spring a few bucks on him. What we see as chump change can make a difference in someone else's life. What is run of the mill for us is easily a miracle to someone else. Wouldn't your time be better spent performing a few miracles?

Of course, you shouldn't go around declaring the miracles that you perform. Waving a flag of greatness and wondrous deeds will not make your actions seem very auspicious. You will be seen as self important and selfish. Keep announcements of your good deeds to yourself, so that the I is not involved. If questioned, give the credit to God, so that others can know God for the love that He has shown you, and not give glory to self for that is all the glory that you will receive. If you do things for selfish reasons, selfish rewards are all that you will receive. Acting for the love of self generally isn't all that rewarding. If God worked for the benefit of self, then why would He bother with our miserable selves? I think that God could have a much easier existence without listening to all of our whines, don't you?

But, as for the love of a child, so is God's love. But for the love of All, so are God's actions. Can you honestly say the same of you and your actions? Probably not, so let's get down to business. Let's get serious about loving others more than ourselves. Let's take out the old notepad and make a to-do list. Let's chart our course for the most effective time utilization. First item on the list – fix self. Change yourself to reflect your innermost desires. Neale conveys this as moving from doingness to beingness. Next item – rearrange your life for the fulfillment of your innermost desires. Generally, this happens once item number one is done. Next item – get busy and don't look back. The rest will take care of itself. Once you have chosen your new path, you'll be amazed at how quickly everything seems to fall into place.

The old days of uncertainty and doubt just seem to melt away when you decide to be loving toward others. Being kind and doing kind things are entirely different things. If you choose to help the poor by being helpful, then go forth with all of your might. If you choose to be happy for the outward exhibition of love to others, then don't stop smiling. Be filled with happiness or whatever you choose to "be." You may do great things, but you will never be great until you choose to be great. If you choose to be good, you can't help but do good things. This was a tricky concept for me to grasp, so it may take a little practice. Write down a few examples of being and doing and learn to see you and not your actions as a primary focal point.

Whatever you choose to be, go whole hog. Don't let anyone or anything cause you to, even for a moment, be anything else. Of course, don't freak out if you backslide a bit, just get yourself back on course and stay in the hunt. Try this and you will find that it makes a marvelous perspective transition in your entire life. I was skeptical, but it is a neat thing to experience. Do you want to teach or be a teacher? Do you want to learn or be learned? Do you want to sleep or be sleepy? Try it, you'll like it.

Being God, instead of doing God's work, is quite an eye opener. Just as a student can't imagine what it feels like to teach, we can't imagine what it is like to be God, until we put ourselves in His place. If you want to be a preacher instead of doing some preaching, then put your focus on the being and not on the doing. The doing is secondary to the being. You have to be a teacher before you can teach. You have to be a doctor before you can treat patients (or you'll get locked up for practicing without a license.) Think about it until the concept is firmly planted in your core.

Once you get this concept down pat, then shift your focus to I AM. I am a teacher; I am a doctor; I am a preacher; I am an author; I am good; I am what I have chosen to be. There may be a time lapse between the choosing to be and the being. If you choose to be a teacher, you will have to get your teaching credentials in order before you are a teacher (if you choose to teach children publicly.) If you choose to teach about God, then you may not need any official credentials before you are a teacher. All things are relative and the first step is the most important step which is choosing.

Doubting Gloria sits and chooses to be an artist. She just knows that she can do it if she puts her whole self into it. Not being naturally gifted, Gloria realizes that in order to be an artist, she needs a few classes on the basics. Gloria doesn't have the money for classes and feels that maybe she really can't be an artist. She would like to, but if she thinks about it, it's almost ridiculous to dream of such a thing. Why on earth would she think that she could, even if she could afford to take the classes? She doesn't have time to take classes and besides, the classes are way across town and she doesn't have a car. Soon Gloria has talked herself out of her dream. She has disappointed herself again. Doreen talks about such a situation in her life where God just had to boot her to the admin office at the local college. Sometimes, like me, God has to give us a boost to get us over the hump. Me, write books, I still laugh at the thought as I'm typing number three. It can never happen. What, am I living with my head in the clouds? Get real, you're an accountant and that's all you'll ever be.

Doubting Gloria gets a boot from God and suddenly, believing and inspired Gloria, sees the way to make it all happen. Her tax refund check is exactly what she needs to enroll in the class and her neighbor goes past the art center just at the time she will need to be there. Coincidence? Maybe for doubting Gloria, but to believing Gloria, there's no such thing. So believing Gloria is on her way to fulfilling her dreams. She can't believe her good fortune. She tells her friends of the miraculous things that happened just when she needed them to happen so that she could take art lessons to fulfill her dreams. Her friends look at her like she's nuts, but go along and try to not laugh. Gloria can't paint or draw – I've seen some of her work. Did you ever look at a Picasso painting? Maybe Gloria has a shot.

How do things like this happen? Deepak Chopra, in his elaborate writings on synchronicity, gives very complicated scientific explanations for coincidences. Great stuff – for the scholarly of which I am not. I prefer the first grade version which lets us know that God causes things to happen so that our soul's desires can be fulfilled. That's good enough for me. How it all works just boggles the mind, so I like to leave it with God and let the magic work itself. I can take the first step which is choosing, and the ball rolls from there. No sense adding to my confusion.

So, I have chosen and God is working His magic. I just sit back and watch the show, right? Not exactly, but your steps will be magically charmed to do and go where you need to, even without having to think. You'll be amazed at the process, as I am everyday. These words don't type themselves. I have to sit here and do the crunch work, but the words come to me for as long as I choose to sit and type. I've tried it – if I stop and take a break, it doesn't matter. I pick right back up. If I leave it for days, I pick right back up. It keeps happening regardless of my thoughts or reasons. If I make the choice to type the words as they come, they keep coming.

Do I get bored sitting for so many hours? Yes, but I have learned to pace myself to what I am physically capable of doing. God doesn't care if I type two or ten pages a day. God doesn't care if I type at all. God simply gives me the words if I choose to type them. Nothing is forced and no mental effort is expended, except in the presentation. How can this be? I have no natural typing ability and no special writing ability. I am by no means gifted or talented. Where did this all come from? What is happening now that didn't happen before? What is the purpose of this? What's the purpose of this in the fulfillment of my soul's desires? If you are astute enough to look within you, you will be able to see all the answers to these questions.

God has all tools available to Him and we are His most special tools. Ever thought that while looking in the mirror? What if God gave you a special talent and you never used it? What if you were the one person to change the world by what is currently inside you trying desperately to get out? I believe, and I can't explain why, that everyone has a special purpose. As I can't even realize my own, I just somehow know that everyone does have a God given talent. Why is there so much talent wasted? Why do so many people miss their opportunities to experience the gifts inside? Why do we go through life feeling meaningless and unimaginative? What is the spark that lets some people instantly know their talent, while others live entire lives without ever even thinking that such a talent exists? Maybe if more people got the boot from God, then there would be a massive worldwide change when all the world's talents were revealed. Why does God not give the boot to all? Why does God allow people to seemingly waste their entire lives without even realizing that they have been given a special gift?

Fear, I suppose. People fear the unknown. I fear the unknown. With God's boot, I got my behind in gear and did as He told me. But, was the environment suitable to receive the boot? Maybe, God had given me the boot several times but the calluses kept me from feeling the impact. Maybe, He lit the fire over and over until one day I saw the light. Maybe, He knew that I was fully prepared to use the talent to the best possible purpose fulfillment at the time when I finally got the boot. Who knows – do you? I'll have to check in on the answer Guy later for the insight. Anyway, what is your special talent and I do believe that you have one. Could it be that God is giving you the boot of inspiration right this very minute? Hmmm, could it be? Is it possible? Nah, that's for other people who are divinely inspired to serve God. Only Saints get divine inspiration and have special talents. Isn't that why we pray to Saints? Why would we need a Saint if we had what we needed on the mainline to God?

Are you a doubting Gloria or a believing Gloria? Are you in the mood to shake things up a little (really a lot, but I didn't want to scare you?) Do you feel that if you do the same things one more time, you'll just die of boredom? If you don't get this burning desire to teach puppetry to children into action, you'll just go mad? You can't take one more minute of hiding from the need to serve food at a homeless shelter? What's your burning desire and your unrevealed talent? Maybe, you are already using it and don't even realize it. Hmmm, now that would be a kick in the rear. You never even gave a second thought to why you needed to volunteer at the hospital, you just did. Perhaps, you have a special talent for bringing light to the sick. Perhaps, you have healed many without even realizing it. Perhaps, like my friend, you have inspired the hospice nurses such that they can't wait to visit you. Perhaps, you have changed lives in miraculous ways without even taking the time to enjoy the miracle.

If you are doing, you can do more. If your soul still needs more than it is getting, ask God to give you what you need. If volunteering at the hospital doesn't give you the gusto that it once did, perhaps taking on a little more responsibility will. Nursing school – never. You couldn't possibly, even if you had the time and the money. Or could you? Let's guess that if you choose to take the leap, God will boost you so high that you'll be amazed and amused at the wonder of His works. You'll be graduating and nursing in less time than it took you to conclude that you couldn't ever do such a thing. How does that happen? If you choose for the purpose of helping others, God will make it happen. How could He not? You have to step up to the plate, but He'll cause your bat to swing, so that every hit is a homerun every time. No strikeouts allowed in God's game.

You sit in your favorite chair thinking that you are too old or feeble or tired or poor to do what you choose. Let me tell you this, schools and businesses can accommodate your every need – it's the law. There are financial aid packages available to just about everyone. There are job training programs beyond belief, if you do a little research you will find them. All it takes is the will and God will make it happen. If you think that you can't make a difference, try visiting a nursing home with a deck of cards. Add a few snacks and you are the life of the party. Dare to bring entertainment and you can't be stopped. Everyone will plan for your next visit as they won't dare miss it.

There are ways which we can't think of to contribute to others by giving of ourselves. It doesn't take a miracle to drive to the local nursing home, but you'll think you've performed one when you leave. Never underestimate the power of kindness. Never sell yourself short. Dare to dream the impossible dream and don't wait for the boot from God. He's with you this minute smiling and egging you on. All you need do is choose and the bigger the better. Make God earn His keep – stretch both your limits and shoot for the moon. The dreamers are the ones who live lives filled with fantastic experiences. Be a dreamer and start dreaming. It matters not the dream, but the choosing to dream.

Sound a little fluffy for you – yeah, on the surface it does. The world is just full of disappointed dreamers and unfulfilled dreams. We've all seen it – the Small Business Administration is overwhelmed by failed business started on dreams. What's the difference between a success and a failure? It's really in the eyes of the dreamer. If you have a dream and use the wrong methods or motives, surely failure is possible. But if your sole motivation is the betterment of the world, then failure isn't possible. One simple act of kindness fulfills the dream. If you have selfish dreams filled with only personal advancement in mind, then surely you'll be disappointed. Bill Gates dreamed of making computers accessible to everyone and by golly he has almost done it. If Bill had sat in a corner scheming ways to make himself rich, then perhaps his dreams would have been a little less divinely inspired with much less help from the divine.

You can never go wrong by choosing for others. Unselfishness is the key to happiness. Deepak says that his parents taught him that, if you want to be happy then you have to make someone else happy. There's a wealth of wisdom in this teaching and he was fortunate to have wise parents to teach him such valuable lessons. What is the most valuable lesson that your parents taught you? Do you ever stop and think back to something that your parents said which really rings true? I do it all the time, but wouldn't dare admit it to them. How do you draw your children near? God really isn't all that different if you really think about it.

Chapter 15 - What would you do?

That's a really tall order deserving of much self evaluation and derived insight. Aren't you glad that you don't have to decide? Whew! That would just boggle our minds until we stopped to realize that God isn't all that different and He gives us what we need to accomplish all tasks. If you were God, you would have all the knowledge to make the choices very easy. You'd know that the world works on a very simplistic time system and most things evolve around the perception of time. You'd know that life is but an illusion for the practice of the souls and you'd not sweat the details as there really is no such thing as death. You'd have a special insight that only the soul has meaning and purpose. You'd know all things, because you created all things. The only mystery comes from the choices made by your creations. That's where things get interesting and the fun really starts.

Will Donna choose Ralph or Fred to be her husband? Will she choose for love or security? Will Donna live happily ever after or will she become another divorce statistic? Will she have children or will she choose to be a career woman? Will she learn to be loving or will she be filled with hate and discontent? Will she realize her soul exists and will she know that she has a purpose other than shopping? Will she want to help others in any way that her soul desires? Will she live in sorrow and misery not realizing that her soul is there waiting to be heard? Will she die young, the victim of her own misery? Will she live to a ripe old age and look forward to the next life of her choosing, carrying with her the advancement gained through experience? Will she cut bait and run and turn to alcohol and drugs? Will she find that hope springs eternal in a soul fulfilled?

Imagine that you are God and you see Donna in her life going through the role of her choosing. It seems so real, yet you know that it is but a flash on the clock of the soul. You hate to see her suffer, so you answer her calls. You lovingly stand beside her through all the ups and downs. There are times when you carry her through the battles of life knowing that the war will soon be over. You let her play the game, knowing that she cannot lose no matter how hard she tries or how little effort she exerts. It must be both wonderful and painful to watch a spirit grow. It must be fun and not so fun to watch a soul struggle to find its purpose. If you were God, what would you do?

That's really hard to say. Our first impulse is to think that we would solve all of her problems and make her life nothing but magical. Our afterthought tells us that we want her to live her choices as she knows what she needs. We realize that she chooses for reasons and every reason is valid. She chooses the steps she takes on the road to spiritual maturity. We realize that an underdeveloped soul is like a school age child who needs an occasional boost and you are there to provide the boost when it is necessary. You send her inspiration at the critical junctures of her soul. You find ways to comfort with special messages along the way. You see the end and know that the result is assured, but your loving kindness makes it hard to see your child suffer.

Conversely, you relish in the love and excitement experienced by your special one. You delight in her accomplishment and feel her happiness. You see the growth and rewards of her efforts and bless her for staying in the game. You provide the loving support that makes the game worth playing. You throw her an instant of inspiration – a glimpse at your greatness. You give her the spark to keep her ever diligent in her quest for spiritual fulfillment. You would step in and take over, but you are stopped by her need to earn fulfillment and advancement. Winning the game for her would make it a hollow win. You want nothing but the best for your angel of light, but you know that only she can choose to win or lose or even play the game.

Being God would offer us a totally different perspective on every detail of life. The sky will not open up one day and God's wisdom will not fall on our heads. We have to work our way to the wisdom with due diligence and tenacity. We are taught all of our lives that we should believe in God and it takes us years to get comfortable with our own beliefs about God. Once we believe in God, then another chapter opens and more is left to learn. It seems that the path to God is a very long one, but if we stop and think about the enormity of God, then we will see that we have made greats strides already. Knowing that we are all souls on the path to God gives us a sameness that helps us to see the commonality of All and that we aren't really different from anyone else. Seeing others as ourselves allows us to find the good in everyone and offers the unique perspective needed to look past behavior and see the most important things – the souls. I am not the sum of my actions. I am the sum of my experiences and can choose to be whatever I please.

Taking responsibility for my own choices in the creation of my life is a huge step in the process and gives me a giant leap on the pathway to God. This takes much courage and fortitude, but is one of the life altering realizations that can make your pathway come into focus. Removing our preconceived notions about God opens us up to the possibilities of God and gives us but a dim view of All that there is. One quick snapshot of God's greatness can alter your life forever. Seeing a miracle, not matter how small, gives you a peep into the window of God's house and all that is held within. As long as you live, you will never be able to know all that there is about God, unless you have first seen the light in some small way. Having seen the light and having acknowledged the existence of God opens all other doors. What you choose to do after that is entirely up to you. The purpose of our lives is to experience things physically. If your path leads you to God, then that is what you should do. If your path leads you to experience all the physical pleasures of life, then by all means get what you came here for.

Whether you choose to seek God in this life or not, you should seek to fulfill the purpose of your life. You came here for a reason and just hanging around isn't it. Get in touch with yourself and your innermost desires. Realize your purpose in being here and go after fulfillment will all that you have. It's not about approval or disapproval; it's about the experience that you seek. God knows why you are here and He wants nothing but your free will choices to bloom for your full potential to be realized. There is no right or wrong, only fulfillment or unfulfillment. You make the choice. It's not about what Jim did to you last Thursday, but about what you will do today. Everyday is a new day and another chance to make more choices in the creation of your life's experience.

God can tell me to type, but I make the choice whether to type or not. If I believe that God is telling me to type for a very good reason, then I should heed the instruction. If I think that I am surely wasting my time and just keeping myself occupied so that I won't go crazy, then perhaps I would be wise to stay away from the keyboard. The choice is mine. God will not do the typing for me. God will pass along the information to someone who will do the typing. He will let me do as I choose. He knows what is inside me and knows that I am not the typist extraordinaire. He knows that in order for me to find my fulfillment, the typing is the means to the end. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has me here doing this for the reasons of my soul. I know that putting me in front of one more accounting spreadsheet will not bring me closer to the realization of my soul's desire.

I do accounting, but it is not who I am. I go to work but I am not work. I type these words but I am not these words. I am a soul seeking desperately to find my fulfillment. The words are God's gift to me, so that my soul can find fulfillment. I can rationalize that my accounting work serves others, but how much more can I do than I have done? Is accounting the best avenue of my potential assistance? Is sitting in an office processing numbers really fulfilling me in ways that make me happy? I sit in an office like a caged animal waiting to spring forth and do great things.

I will never find fulfillment in accounting – I have twenty years to prove it. I've made a decent living, but have always felt that I have not followed my true path. At some point in life, we realize that what we are doing is not who we are. At this cathartic moment, we stop and seek what we have for so long missed. What brings us to this point is really unknown to me as I'm sure that you can't put your finger on your crossroad happening, but you do know that there is more and you finally have to do something about it.

Do I have the answers? I do not. Do I know where this typing will lead? I do not. Do I know that God is working out my fulfillment in ways that are beyond my imagination? Yes, I do. Am I more anxious about tomorrow than I have ever been in the past? Yes. I can hardly wait to experience what God has in store. I am typing at a speed that amazes even me with a diligence that surprises me and those around me. God's divine intervention in response to my requests has brought me to this crossroads and I didn't even see it coming. He has a way of distracting us, so that the wonder appears even more magical when the view finally comes to light. In this way, we know inside that nothing but the hand of God could be causing this to happen. He builds our faith and causes us to reach into places that we never dared to go. He causes us to search, not knowing what we will find. At this point, it is not as important what we find as the fact that we must find. The gnawing inside has brought us to where we never guessed we would be.

It is not that I've arrived at a place, as I know that I will never arrive at a place. It is the journey of my soul that keeps the motor running. It is the knowing that I have not found so far what I seek that keeps me in the game. It is the quest for fulfillment that keeps me inspired to keep looking and walking on my soul's path. Some of this may sound so esoteric (what does that really mean,) but I know that what you seek is uniquely what you will find. If knowing God in the Biblical sense fills your basket, then let your basket be full. If looking for answers in knowledge outside the Bible is your cup of tea, then by all means drink your fill. Remember, it is not the destination but the journey and our journey has really only begun. There are things that I've come to learn that I would not have even considered giving a second thought previously. If it wasn't in the Bible, then I discounted it immediately.

I have come to learn that one book does not fit all and where we look isn't as important as that we look. It would be nice if all the answers were in one place, but this just isn't so. We can read and reread the Bible, but the mysteries of God cannot be contained in one place. It can give us a glimpse, but it will never show us the wonder of it all. Sure, things that we don't understand seem far fetched and crazy. We don't want to look outside our present knowledge, because we might be easily led astray. If you know that you can never be led astray and that by reading about reincarnation you will not be forsaking God, then why not fulfill your curiosity and give it a whirl. We tend to take the easy road and think that by acknowledging something that it is real. Surely if I acknowledge that reincarnation exists, then I will have a whole new set of things to worry about. Let's just settle for less, because less is easier to handle.

Well, I tried that and could not be satisfied. Something didn't add up and something drives me to explore other things in other places. There is nothing that I have read that has changed my mind about anything. I simply process the input and produce the outcome as I choose. I used to think that I should never even think about things that were not in my Christian learning. I was scared, in fact, to even read about things unknown to me. I have come to realize that I have limited myself greatly by not at least exploring the other possibilities.

If God is not entirely housed in the words of one book, then what other houses should I explore? Is it perhaps short-sighted on my part to not even read a book about reincarnation when I may one day find that I am in fact reincarnated? What a surprise that would be. Then I would have regrets about having not experienced all that I could, if only I had looked in other places. If I knew that reincarnation was a very real possibility, then I might consider the present choices in this life to be less important and might even take the time to enjoy this life more.

I won't know about reincarnation until I am dead, so why even bother at this point? I don't know if it is even worth it, but surely something is urging me to explore. Once you know the answer to everything, it kind of takes away from the fun of discovery. This is much the same in our day to day lives – we overlook much of our routine life and see it as unimportant to the overall life. If we see every minute as important, then our choices certainly bring us to different conclusions. I guess it all comes down to what you want out of life and what brings fulfillment to your life. If having kids and living the life of an urban wife is your dream, then you can easily attain your dream. If you seek things on a different level and aren't even amused at the thought of having kids, then certainly your choosing is your engineer. Mine is not yours and yours is not mine. We have a tendency to not understand those who do not see things our way. We almost never take the time to appreciate the choices of others for their uniqueness and inspiration.

One who chooses to live outside the societal box is seen as odd. We all see the people who are following their own calling as eccentric and perhaps a little weird. We don't stop to realize that the Beethovens and Einsteins of this world march to the beat of a different drummer, but we do marvel at their accomplishments. Why can we not appreciate them until they are gone? Why do we see the person as the behavior and not the accomplishment of living for her/his own purposes? If we put more interest in our own individual drummers, then perhaps genius would not be so rare. If we each maximized on our potential and chose to live for ourselves according to our soul's desires, then such greatness would be far more common.

The starving artist or the crazed mathematician is seen as nuts when they are probably much closer to their highest truth than we will ever be in this life. Do you ever step outside your comfort zone to even imagine that you could do more? Do you ever take even a minute to imagine that your life can be the one that solves a very complex problem? I often marvel at the story of the invention of typing correction fluid. One ordinary housewife invented a revolutionary product in her kitchen using household products because she simply took the time to make it happen. I'm confident that she had no idea what would come of it, but she probably just wanted it for her own use. How the world was changed by a simple act of creativity? Being the excellent typist that I am and having worked in an office before word processors, I realize the value of the invention. One boss asked me if I needed a bucket and brush of white out. Very funny, I thought as I was smearing it on in gobs trying to hide the error of my ways.

One simple act of creation can change the world. There are so many examples that I won't even begin to list them. Think of the book that you are reading and what creativity it took to produce it and bring it to your view. Think of the chair or couch on which you are sitting and marvel at the creation of it. Think, and this is a stretch, of the person reading this book and blow your own mind by imagining the creation of it. So, just as you are a creation, you create. Just as God does things on a much grander scale, you are no different, except in scale. You are a piece of God and you contain His creative ability. What is stopping you from being what you can be? What is stopping you from changing the world? What is stopping you from doing what you can only imagine? God is not stopping you, as He would never take away your ability to be what you choose to be. It almost sounds too simple, but if you really think about it, you can do anything that you choose to do, except change people. They have to choose for themselves.

You can have a dramatic affect on someone's life, which can lead to a change, but you are limited in the effort to the affect. Of course, the affect is also a matter of their choosing so you can't even do that. You can show your light, but you cannot make it seen. Yeah, that's more like it. If and how the person sees the light is entirely up to them. Ok, we are on a roll now. We can only show the light and with our good intentions can make it shine brightly. We can pour forth of all that we have to offer, but we can't bring the light to others. Hmmm, what if we shine our light on all watts and no one see it? Bummer dude! We have wasted our best bulb and all the energy to make it shine. What's the deal here and how do we understand this? I invent a clever new product, but I can not make people use it. I can advertise it twenty-four hours a day, but no one even gives it a try. Well, so much for all that effort. Now, I sit in disgust at the waste of my time. Or, do I realize that it is for me to bring forth, and what happens after that is really up to God?

Typing these words is the same – I type them, send them to a publisher, and have nothing to do but wait. I can't make them be published by the publisher, no matter how I try. I can self publish them, but the backing isn't there for advertising, etc. At some point, I have to take a leap of faith and know that God will take over and bring forth the product of His choosing. I can only do so much and the rest is up to Him. I must trust that God will lead me to where I shall go. The words are God's and He must choose their dispensation. I can't save the world, as I can't even save myself. I can only do what I think is best with what I am given.

If you believe that these ramblings come from me and my very vivid imagination, then you don't know me very well. Vivid imagination is not one of my characteristics in any way, shape or form. I draw stick figures fairly well, but that's about the limit of my creativity. At some point, things happen beyond our control based on the choices that we make. If I choose to make the most of my potential and ask God to make it happen, then I have to trust that my potential will be maximized. There are things beyond our thinking and understanding for which we simply have to trust. We see everyday things happen beyond our belief and have faith that God's intervention is the force behind the action.

This brings me back to collective will. I can only know my will, but God knows the will of All. He sees what is needed and requested as I do not. He knows that there are those like me who seek to understand more than they currently know. He knows that there are skeptics just like me who seek to find and don't really know where to look. He knows that there are many books already written which explain the same things contained herein, but He knows that those do not tell the story in exactly the way most needed by the requestors. If one book fit all, then God's writing days would be over. Since God knows that there are seekers of very kind, He keeps the words flowing, knowing that your best understanding may be the same as my best understanding. There are those who read books who get absolutely nothing from them. There are those whose entire thought process is changed about a subject based on the words contained in a book.

If you were to write a book right now, what would you write? Have you ever thought about it? Have you ever taken the time to start a journal? Have you ever thought that perhaps you have something to say that may change to course of the life of another? If you have ever had, even an inkling, that you can or should do or write something, then start at once. If it is a part of your fulfillment, then it will be a success. Writing a book is not about what it produces in material gain, it is about what it contains. Writers don't write for a vocation, they write to express. Everyone has a unique need to express themselves. Our doubts and fears keep our expressions bottled up inside and deprive others of the pleasure of experiencing what we have to offer. There is not a person that I have met who doesn't have a wonderful story to tell. It's not about the reward; the reward is in the expression. Sure, financial gain is nice and does allow for more expression, but try to not think of Steven King as someone just trying to make a living. The creativity of his writing lets us know that he has a unique talent and the expression of his talent brings forth financial gain. If Steven had to get out and go to the mill everyday, his writing may just be filled with even greater horror stories like "The Boss Who Knew It All" or "The Disgruntled Employee Who Took Things Into His Own Hands." Let's keep Steven at home and let him express himself as only he can.

If you have always wanted to sing in a choir, just do it. So, you aren't very good, but you have the inspiration to sing to the heavens. What on earth is stopping you? Who cares if you sing like me, it's not important and they can teach you to sing beautifully with the choir. Sure, you may not be the best, but you are the most inspired. I love to paint but absolutely am the worst. I paint anyway for the pleasure of painting. I don't expect to make millions, but I expect to have a good time in my own creation. See your life as the beauty of your creations and live with the enthusiasm of your creativity. Dare to dream and don't stop there. If you were God, you'd not give a second thought to not being all that you can be. What if God suffered from shyness and doubt? I guess we wouldn't be here pondering these things.

If you were God, what would you do? Sit around and watch TV? Sit around and complain about boredom? Envy the neighbors who are having so much fun? Day dream of all the fun you could have if you had the nerve? I think not. The thought just occurred to me that my fascination with food stems from boredom. In this day and age of every body has a diet book, the thought comes to mind that perhaps I eat because I am compensating for other need fulfillment. Yeah, we've all heard this before, it's called sublimation. I also realize, while writing these books, that I have absolutely no interest in food and have to remind myself to eat. Why is this as it flies in the face of my usual passion for hanging around the refrigerator? Perhaps, by fulfilling my innermost needs, my physical needs fade to the background. Perhaps by focusing on what I find most important, I find no need to loiter around the pantry. Perhaps, if I did a few of the things that I really want to do, then I would lower my grocery bill in return. Perhaps the secret to a successful diet plan is actually living life.

It is during the times when my focus is away from my writing that I have a gravitational pull to the kitchen. It is then that I am filled with self-doubt about my life and my abilities and I tend to hunt for that special snack that will hit the spot. If I were out singing in the choir or running the marathon, perhaps my diet worries would fade out of sight. If I were doing good for others, I might find that food is not the focus of my life. If I realize my need to help others overcome alcoholism as I have done, then my focus would be away from the drinking and on the helping. It is not the alcohol that drives us, but our need for fulfillment. We turn away from our real needs and use other things to compensate for our missing fulfillment. I haven't heard one person declare proudly, "I'm going to become an alcoholic." Judging by my profile, one might guess that I chose to expand my horizons by spending more time in the kitchen. The symptoms are obvious signs of our lacking.

Run out and buy a diet book or join AA or listen to others. Do whatever you choose, but at least take the time to realize that nothing will fulfill your soul's desires except just that. We get into habits which control our lives because we fail to realize our potential to achieve our goals. Our habits are mere distractions to the real issue and the distractions will never offer fulfillment. When you are running around having fun, are you seeing a picture of food dancing in your head or a glass of wine? I'm guessing that you are having fun and are much too busy to even concern yourself with such things. It's not about the thing – it's about you. If I were out on a book tour, I wouldn't be at home cracking open the chips and dip. If I were playing my favorite sport, I wouldn't be trying out the latest snack I saw on TV. I must say that since the advent of the FOOD NETWORK, my struggles have increased dramatically. Talk about having your cake and eating it too – watching them bake the cake prompts me to dash to the kitchen to bake one myself. I don't even like baking or cakes, but it just looks so good on TV.

The moral of the story, get your behind from in front of the TV. Find yourself something to do that makes you feel good and don't find it in the kitchen or at the local restaurant. If you can't muster the courage to enlighten the world, then take the time to enlighten yourself. Get outside in nature and ponder the meaning of your life. Sit under a tree and marvel at the amazing beauty of its creation. Imagine yourself as the creator and imagine yourself as one with the tree. Oh no, not a tree hugger! I appreciate the concept, but just can't hug a tree for no reason. Having climbed trees in my youth I have an appreciation for the feel of a tree. But, for the sake of argument, hug a tree and don't worry that those walking by will think that you are unstable and are simply trying to find your balance. Do something, whether large or small. Force yourself to do something. Every action creates a reaction and you may find that you meet a great new friend who also likes to hug trees. You probably won't find that person in your house – there just aren't any trees inside. Get the heck out of the house for a reason other than going to work or going shopping. You might just find that there is a whole world out there that you didn't know existed.

If you were God, what would you do right this minute? You would probably be saving souls and loving every minute of it. You would be passing out the fun in double handfuls and would giggle at the joyous reactions. What could be more wonderful than seeing someone feel happiness for the first time in years? What could be more wonderful than knowing that someone who felt hopeless suddenly is inspired to do great things? Could it get any better? Oh, the wondrous things that you would do as God.

Ok, so you are God or at the very least a small part of God. Oh, now what? What are you going to do differently, knowing that you can do wondrous things? What's your excuse now for sitting around feeling sorry for yourself? How can you turn this into another tragedy in your own mind? How do you quickly squash the sudden inspiration and make it go away, so that you get back to your regularly scheduled life? I trust that you will put down this book right now and proceed at once to the frig for a little comfort. Go ahead, I'll wait. When you get back, you'll still know that all the food in the house will not give you the boost that you need. Ok, so maybe you'll have to run out to the store or pick something up – which brings up the fact that we don't give a second thought to running out for food, but we just aren't able to run out for some nature. Hmmm, anyway back to the subject. If we want more out of life, then we have to put more into it.

If you want to be God or just do His work, then you have to do something. If only to ask for guidance, then at least do that. While gazing lovingly at the marvelous selection of food in the frig, think about giving God a call. He has some great advice, so ring Him up. You really have nothing to lose. You can even talk with Him while eating. Gosh, it's a win-win situation. The fun just keeps on coming. So strap on the feed bag and see what God has to say. Don't let His responses be drowned out by the eating noises, take a break when it's His turn to talk. Give Him a fair shot at getting the message through.

If you really don't have a clue where to start on the path to fulfillment, start with the question. One good question leads to another and another. As in this composition, questions just seem to come from no where and the end just isn't in sight. Start at point A and let the path come into view. In a couple of weeks, you'll see the path unfolding before your very eyes. You'll be amazed at what you can see if only you look. The path is not mysterious and it is not the same as someone else's. Don't seek to be on the path of others, for your fulfillment is not the same as theirs. Seek your own path and know that you are secretly already on the path and the journey began some time back. Reading this is your assurance that you are on the right path and that you have nothing but fulfillment ahead.

Sounds too easy? Can't be you? Where's the path taking you? Who's running the path? Where does the path lead? What's the meaning of all of this? Why are you asking so many questions when you really only wanted to read a good book? Many answers bring many questions, and as if from no where, the journey unfolds before our eyes. What is required of us? Nothing. What do we have to gain? Everything. What in the world has caused me to inquire about things that I know nothing about? Maybe God has called you and you finally heard. Maybe your soul can't take one more minute of the lifeless creation that is your existence. Maybe you are sick of being afraid of everything and are ready to start living. Maybe all the food at supermarket won't fill your every need. Maybe your happiness doesn't come from a bottle. Maybe your stale existence just needs a fresh dose of inspiration.

Who knows why you find yourself where you are. Do you? I know that certainly I am at a place where all that I know doesn't give me what I need. I am driven to find the life that I want to live. I am seeking the knowledge that will make my dreams come true. If I am the creator of my life, then it's time to create something a little different. I am ready for a change and I have to make it happen. I can't live one more day knowing that all I am is what I do. I can't stand one more minute of living to pay my bills. I can't stand the influence that I have given others on my life. It's time to step up to the plate and make the winning run. I don't know how, but I know that by being at the plate, I have chosen for it to happen. God will have to fill in the blanks, as He knows more than I what I truly need. I have to let go and let God set the conditions for the win. If I don't bother to step up to the plate, then surely a winning run, or any run, I will not hit. I must first choose to do my part and be faithful in the expectation that He is doing His part.

My happiness is not in front of the TV, even though I enjoy it very much. I know that my life is not about watching, but about doing. More than doing is the being and being must come before the doing. All things relate, but first is the choosing. If your only choice is to do one thing differently, then you have chosen to make a new life. Don't discount the small choices and don't underestimate God's ability to fulfill even your wildest dreams. Dare to be God in any way that you choose. Dare to live the life that you have chosen and dare to realize your dreams.

Seeing your dreams realized, even if in your mind is very powerful. Imagine that you are singing in the choir just as you dreamed. Hear your voice gently melding with the others. Feel the excitement of having realized your dream. Relish in the thought of standing in front of an audience. Marvel at the sparkle in the eyes of those who were lucky enough to hear your performance. At what point does the dream become reality? When you know that it is so. The physical reality will follow if your dream is realized in your innermost self.

It is not enough to merely dream, but the realization of it has to start in your comprehension that it can. How? Well, you may not know the specifics, but you do know that you'll need some physical effort to let your desires be known. You'll have to find a choir that will accept your untrained voice. God will find the place, if only you ask. If you truly believe that you can, then you can. If you are filled with doubt and worry, then you will have to work extra hard to overcome those things before you can get back to realization. Once you set your mind to it and know that it is your highest thought and greatest desire, and then proceed at once to make it happen. Never hesitate to ask for guidance, as you will waste valuable time seeking the right place when it is much easier just to ask God to show you the best place. Go there at once and witness the fulfillment of your dream.

This is but an example of a small dream, but any dream is a big dream if it means that much to you. You may find that you have a wonderful voice and you will be spotlighted in solos before you can blink your eyes. I believe that we all have innate talents that are just waiting to appear. If you were God, would you keep your talents hidden? I think not – you would rush out and give it all you've got. Your light is just bursting to be shown and you have your finger on the switch.

What will you do, God?

Bibliography

Tyndale House Publishers. The Living Bible. Illinois: Tyndale, 1971.

The Lockman Foundation. The New American Standard Bible. California: Riverside, 1960.

Walsch, Neale Donald. Conversations With God Book 1 New York: Putnam, 1995.

Walsch, Neale Donald. Conversations With God Book 2 Virginia: Hampton Roads, 1997.

Walsch, Neale Donald. Conversations With God Book 3 Virginia: Hampton Roads, 1998.

Walsch, Neale Donald. Friendship With God. New York: Putnam, 1999.

Graybar, Charles. Beyond The Broken Gate. Illinois: Serenity Hill Press, 2003.

Garth Brooks. Unanswered Prayers. Capitol Records. Nashville: 1995.

Warner Studios. City of Angels. California: 1998.

Twentieth Century Fox. Short Circuit. California: 1986.

Hanna-Barbera Studio. The Jetsons. California: 1962.

CBS. Planet Of The Apes. California: 1974.

E. W. Scripps Company. Food Network. New York.

The Scribe Described

This scribe did not intend to be, yet was somehow chosen. Destiny played its part, shifting me to we, from I to all. I have always had a great curiosity about God and had studied much on the subject, but my primary focus was my career. Learning about God took on a new twist when God inspired me to write the words heard. "Hearing" is not how the words actually come, for it is more of a "knowing." When the mind is quieted, the emptiness is filled with inspired knowledge.

I write as and when instructed, either with pen or keyboard. The vehicle does not matter, but the content is to be kept sacred. Always, I understand that I must keep the sanctity of the gift given. Regardless of my own judgments about the content, I understood that the content is not about or for me. The content is to be presented as received, for the benefit of those seeking to have their questions answered.

I cannot profess to be specially qualified, except that I am able to simply bring the words received to print. My credentials really do not offer credence to the work, except that they are verifiable and do demonstrate the normality of my life. I do hold degrees in accounting and education and have thirty years business experience.

K. C. Boone

