as some one living in this world of endless wonders, possibilities and things that the human mind could yet fathom, it's crazy the amount of stimulations and influence we get from the things we experience around us.
and if you were some one who realised the importance of keeping your life real and true to your beliefs, perhaps there are many things in this world that you don't believe in, and choose not to be a part of.
i realised that i grew up with the luxury of having everything i needed in front of me, provided by a pair of parents who clothed and fed us lovingly as they perceived love to be. but on the other hand, they were pretty tight fisted with luxuries that we could well have afforded. sometimes i am really quite thankful for the values that we were brought up to possess, even albeit all the grumbling of knowing that we could have led an even more comfortable life.
but herein lies this dilemma. in this life, one could choose between 2 choices- to be of this world or not of this world. to be of this world, is to accept and feed importance to the things that society values or accepts, like pretty clothes, branded things, power to control, money, sex before marriage.. there are many more.
but if you refuse to accept these social norms as part of your value system, you are less of this world. of course there might still be the more positive social norms that you could accept like good grades, and a stable job which allow for adequate functioning of the individual. but when rejection of certain values start to occur, it is a dangerous life you are leading, because you run the risk of being anti-establishment. looking at the way values in society are slowly but surely morphing for the worse, you'd either go with the flow and be disgruntled in the long run, or you recognize where it is headed towards, thereby catalysing the process of disgruntlement. you might not think it is much at first. you might even try to create your own filter mechanism- let's all accept the good values of society and reject the bad.
it sounds easy, but it wasn't for me. it spilled over to other areas of my life, and even the things i was passionate about, i started getting disillusioned with. my course in university was amazing, but i just couldn't keep in step because i was just so engulfed by the fact that life was too scary to be handled. i had no idea where i was headed towards. there was nothing of this world i wanted to hold on to other than love, and even the very concept of love in our society had been reduced to the self-satisfying, unstable, ill-dependent types that threw me in a state of disarray.
being not of this world, initially something positive because it means you are grounded in your own beliefs, could potentially poison one into a bitter person full of angst and hatred for the world. it's hard to function like that, because you wake up with no idea where you're headed towards, you see people who are successful and joyful and jealousy seeps into your very soul even as you attempt to shrug off all these ill feelings of contempt, wanting to stay true to your very roots.
so i'd like to ask- where are the roots in which you ground your personal beliefs?
is it your conscience, of which its entirety depended upon your emotions and state of being? is it in a person- a lover, a sibling, a parent, or a friend whom you look up to and wish to model after?
i tell you now, these things fall away. because the very nature of humans is such that we are deceived by our own experiences. we form our ideas and values and beliefs based on the subjective human experience. it may have been fine if we went through a perfect childhood with perfect parents who never fought a day and whom loved us unconditionally. it may have been fine if we went to school and never got bullied, never felt like a lousy student because all we got were straight As, and never went through setbacks and failure. but obviously, who am i kidding?
modeling after a person we desire to be- i ask you, have you ever been the person people wanted to model after? have you always felt worthy of that title? the deep dark secrets of our hearts, even though unrevealed most of the time, we know that there have been times that we've failed, that we've been prideful, envied, angered, lusted and let gluttony, greed and sloth get the better of us. really, to have your hopes and world crumble when we discover the person whom we desire to be is just human after all. it is a painful experience.
we could be conscious of the fact that we're being moulded by our experience. we could repeat it a gazillion times in our mind- "i will never ever repeat the same mistakes that my parents did. i will never get my heart broken, i will never get attached emotionally to any one ever..etc." as we go through these experiences, we are hardened outside, but ultimately, there is a part of us slowly crumbling inside. and then one day, what is left of us is a hardened and hollow heart, too tired to give anything to even the ones we love.
humans are made to form attachments. i learnt that the hard way. holding on to the transient- music, people, interests, astrology.. you name it. nothing ever fulfilled that inner most longing to know something even higher, some one whom i eventually realised was the creator of all of earth, heaven, and above all, Love.
i set my firm foundation in Jesus. it sounds like something silly, cliche and abstract, especially since He existed what, 2000 years ago? but here's the deal. no one, even the historians and Jews and Muslims could deny His existence. the only disconnect lies in His claim as the son of God. so let us beg the question for a moment (seek for answers to your questions and you will find.). He is the son that our loving God sent to this earth to teach us the ways of living. and this is the reason why i seek to be like Him all the days of my life.
just like how we form attachments with the people we love because we desire to be like them, that's how i form mine with Him. you know why?
because He is infallible. because He is the constant, never ending, never failing, steadfast and sacrificial source of love and light in my life. He is the reason why i can look upon all the darkness and sadness in this world with that peace and joy because i know there is hope for every one of His people as long as we get to know Him. He is the perfect love, and that is how i want to live my life.
just like He did.
and if you were some one who realised the importance of keeping your life real and true to your beliefs, perhaps there are many things in this world that you don't believe in, and choose not to be a part of.
i realised that i grew up with the luxury of having everything i needed in front of me, provided by a pair of parents who clothed and fed us lovingly as they perceived love to be. but on the other hand, they were pretty tight fisted with luxuries that we could well have afforded. sometimes i am really quite thankful for the values that we were brought up to possess, even albeit all the grumbling of knowing that we could have led an even more comfortable life.but herein lies this dilemma. in this life, one could choose between 2 choices- to be of this world or not of this world. to be of this world, is to accept and feed importance to the things that society values or accepts, like pretty clothes, branded things, power to control, money, sex before marriage.. there are many more.
but if you refuse to accept these social norms as part of your value system, you are less of this world. of course there might still be the more positive social norms that you could accept like good grades, and a stable job which allow for adequate functioning of the individual. but when rejection of certain values start to occur, it is a dangerous life you are leading, because you run the risk of being anti-establishment. looking at the way values in society are slowly but surely morphing for the worse, you'd either go with the flow and be disgruntled in the long run, or you recognize where it is headed towards, thereby catalysing the process of disgruntlement. you might not think it is much at first. you might even try to create your own filter mechanism- let's all accept the good values of society and reject the bad.
it sounds easy, but it wasn't for me. it spilled over to other areas of my life, and even the things i was passionate about, i started getting disillusioned with. my course in university was amazing, but i just couldn't keep in step because i was just so engulfed by the fact that life was too scary to be handled. i had no idea where i was headed towards. there was nothing of this world i wanted to hold on to other than love, and even the very concept of love in our society had been reduced to the self-satisfying, unstable, ill-dependent types that threw me in a state of disarray.
being not of this world, initially something positive because it means you are grounded in your own beliefs, could potentially poison one into a bitter person full of angst and hatred for the world. it's hard to function like that, because you wake up with no idea where you're headed towards, you see people who are successful and joyful and jealousy seeps into your very soul even as you attempt to shrug off all these ill feelings of contempt, wanting to stay true to your very roots.
so i'd like to ask- where are the roots in which you ground your personal beliefs?
is it your conscience, of which its entirety depended upon your emotions and state of being? is it in a person- a lover, a sibling, a parent, or a friend whom you look up to and wish to model after?
i tell you now, these things fall away. because the very nature of humans is such that we are deceived by our own experiences. we form our ideas and values and beliefs based on the subjective human experience. it may have been fine if we went through a perfect childhood with perfect parents who never fought a day and whom loved us unconditionally. it may have been fine if we went to school and never got bullied, never felt like a lousy student because all we got were straight As, and never went through setbacks and failure. but obviously, who am i kidding?
modeling after a person we desire to be- i ask you, have you ever been the person people wanted to model after? have you always felt worthy of that title? the deep dark secrets of our hearts, even though unrevealed most of the time, we know that there have been times that we've failed, that we've been prideful, envied, angered, lusted and let gluttony, greed and sloth get the better of us. really, to have your hopes and world crumble when we discover the person whom we desire to be is just human after all. it is a painful experience.
we could be conscious of the fact that we're being moulded by our experience. we could repeat it a gazillion times in our mind- "i will never ever repeat the same mistakes that my parents did. i will never get my heart broken, i will never get attached emotionally to any one ever..etc." as we go through these experiences, we are hardened outside, but ultimately, there is a part of us slowly crumbling inside. and then one day, what is left of us is a hardened and hollow heart, too tired to give anything to even the ones we love.
**
humans are made to form attachments. i learnt that the hard way. holding on to the transient- music, people, interests, astrology.. you name it. nothing ever fulfilled that inner most longing to know something even higher, some one whom i eventually realised was the creator of all of earth, heaven, and above all, Love.
i set my firm foundation in Jesus. it sounds like something silly, cliche and abstract, especially since He existed what, 2000 years ago? but here's the deal. no one, even the historians and Jews and Muslims could deny His existence. the only disconnect lies in His claim as the son of God. so let us beg the question for a moment (seek for answers to your questions and you will find.). He is the son that our loving God sent to this earth to teach us the ways of living. and this is the reason why i seek to be like Him all the days of my life.
just like how we form attachments with the people we love because we desire to be like them, that's how i form mine with Him. you know why?
because He is infallible. because He is the constant, never ending, never failing, steadfast and sacrificial source of love and light in my life. He is the reason why i can look upon all the darkness and sadness in this world with that peace and joy because i know there is hope for every one of His people as long as we get to know Him. He is the perfect love, and that is how i want to live my life.
just like He did.
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