Inspiraelevation

We are imperfect, but beautiful creations. We emerge, as was once said, “the birth of two souls in one” A single, beautiful, soul; a living manifestation of two dreams, two souls blended. We enter the world as a visible manifestation of all that has been before and that shall be; a convergence of generations.

We are born a perfect but incomplete work in progress.

Every individual begins life with an undefined beauty. When we are born we are born perfect in nature, pure, innocent, without the blemish or stain of the world. Yet, we are incomplete. We are imperfect in our knowledge of self, the world, and our relation to those factors. Our future is yet to be written and our path yet to be paved. We are a blank canvas, pristine, waiting for a masterpiece to be written, waiting for someone or something to give expression to our form. Every day we grow into the fullness of our selves. Every mar and scar inscribed  leaves its mark upon our form. It is the result of slight, the  carelessness of an artist not refined in his or her craft. The parent not knowing the depth of his or her role. The friend unconcerned with his or her level of influence. The teacher making meaningless impressions. Artists, caring not what the final portrait shall become. Unskilled with paint and brush, carelessly applying strokes of misplaced words, anger, frustration, silence, and sometimes leaving the portrait to develop on its own. Yet, how is it that some come to reach the state of metamorphosis, while other never break free. Perhaps, they have yet to find the artists who will paint them as they should be. Or  their eyes have been painted shut by millions of other brushstrokes so they simply cannot see. You cannot use other’s eyes to see who you are, or what you are to be.

A lesson in the story

There is a fairy tale that is written of a beautiful creation who found itself lost, and feeling less than, because of years of belittling. It was born into a world that defined beauty as that which was possessed by the majority. It did not fit the standards of which it was given. The creature had not been given the tools necessary to break free from its  mental mold. The vast world to which it grew in subdued its will through manipulation. The world painted its beauty as insignificant, although it was truly magnificent. The beautiful creature was different, for  its looks by comparison did not fit. Thus,its beauty went unrecognized and  eventually it gave in. Through all the years of its formation, the creature lived below its potential. It had accepted how it had been defined by the many. It accepted its state and resigned to live life as misplaced and a disgrace.

Sometimes we only discover truth through grace.

It was through another that the creature was able to behold its true face. One day there came another, who showed the creation that its beauty was like no other. It’s beauty had surpassed that of what it could imagine. It had never been monstrous as defined by the others. The problem was never its beauty, bur rather the world into which it was born. The creation had accepted the image that others had created. The only image it had ever seen or could ever see  is what others wanted it to be. In reality the creation was so much more. – (Adaptation of Han’s Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling) Each of us are beautiful masterpieces struggling to manifest itself from the mass of stone under which, our true form is hidden. We must surround ourselves with people who will chisel away the stone, not projecting how they desire us to be, but set us free to manifest who we truly are. Beauty is not in conformity or uniformity. Beauty is in the uniqueness of your nature. Beauty is the expression of your soul reflected in all that you are; movement, energy, and your spirit. Recognizing  your beauty is a growth process. We all have to go through our metamorphosis before we emerge as a butterflies. Not all can break free of their cocoon, they need a bit of help. Some never break free of the mass of ruble that surrounds their true form. That is where we who have been given fresh eyes need to hold the mirror up so that others can be all that they were meant to be.

We have all been conditioned to think a certain way, to respond a certain way, and to see a certain way.

Our conditioning begins long before birth and continues long after.

This is how we grow to learn our alphabet, to speak words, to see ourselves. We are conditioned through repetitive instruction, and engagement in behaviors that are either reinforced or broken through reward systems and systems of discipline.

This is how we learn. This is how we become.

“The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

The great illusion

Tell someone something long enough and they will believe it to be true. Once these ideologies have been grounded they are hard to break. We are conditioned over time. For some the conditioning has been so lengthy, that the chains remain long after we are free in body. This is the great illusion.

“If freedom is a requisite for human happiness, then all that’s necessary is to provide the illusion of freedom.”
― B.F. Skinner

Most of our conditioning occurs without our knowledge. The whole of our environment works to condition our behaviors. Visual cues and auditory cues all work to reinforce behaviors. Our emotion and desires stem from this conditioning.

It is our knowledge that drives our ambition, vision, and goals. Our experience with our environment teaches us well what is deemed an appropriate emotional response.

It is wise to cut off all those things which reinforce  behaviors you are trying to break. It is difficult to break a habit if you are around others who indulge in your vice. Your sensory cues reinforce the behavior, and war against you even when you work your hardest to break the hold. Thus, changing your environment and influences will ultimately affect your outcome.

It is difficult to break your conditioning.

The longer you have been conditioned the longer it will take to break. The more active you must be in trying to replace the old habits with new ones.

To re-condition yourself you will have to 

1. Break ties with anyone that embraces the behavior you are trying to break

2. Disengage in any activity that feeds your subconscious (such as music, media, and literature), and reinforces the negative behaviors

3. Replace the old activity with a new activity or behavior.

4. Identify the triggers that lend you to partake in the old behaviors

5. Whenever you receive the mental signal, deliberately, and as immediately as possible engage in the new behavior

4. Actively reward yourself for sticking with your new activity

5. Find a group of people who embrace the behavior you are trying to build (you will need support)

6. Keep a log (daily to chart progress)

Change the way you look at things

If caught in a negative cycle, you have to change the way you look at things. You are not that negative behavior. You have been conditioned to accept that behavior as an inseparable component of your make up.

This is not true. If you have been conditioned you can be unconditioned. It starts with a change in perspective and how you see yourself.

How we move about in the world and interact with the world is so very important. This is often something we take for granted.

There are a lot of things in short supply, many which have given the world pause as the shortage threatens our physical survival within the parameters of this tiny sphere we inhabit. The looming threat of scarcity of food, water, and other natural resources in the wake of a growing population, paints a pretty bleak picture.

Our problem is much more far-reaching.

The scarcity of which, environmentalists and scientists tremble in no way compares to the diminution of the few precious jewels, which define the essence of our humanity; empathy and compassion.

No time like the present has the need for such been so necessary, but yet in such short supply.

What are these jewels?

A jewel increases in value the more scarce it becomes.

If this is to be true then compassion and empathy have tipped the scales of valuation.

If empathy and compassion are so valuable to the existence of a civilization what has happened?

The world has parched its lips with libations, libations of insolence, callousness, and hatred. It has become drunk with indulgences, leaching every ounce of humanity.

The world has lost its sobriety, choosing  fevered dreams and satiation of pleasures rather than virtue.  A world rich in its imaginations, without spirit, drowning in its conceits, vapid, lost, and reprobate. A world of automatons, humans which no longer resemble their former selves for they have lost that which has most defined them, their humanity.

Where does that leave us?

Until there is a desire to change, it leaves us a future of destruction and devastation, of ever-increasing poverty, famine, violence, wars, hatred, and death.

A successful nation an its people bear the markers of empathy and compassion. Greatness begins from within and radiates forth. A sick and hurting world is a manifestation of a sick and hurting people. When we as individuals begin to realize we are the solution to the change we seek, then shall transformation bloom like a flower reaching it petals to the horizon. When people begin to desire the fruits of virtue, then will real change begin.

Want to change world, become a person of character and virtue.

From the womb, we struggle.

Our entry and survival in the new, and foreign world is a triumph so rarely celebrated.

Regardless, struggle is a truth of life wherein we all must contend.  The path of a man’s life, from his first gasp ’til his last, is marked by struggle.

And, none of life is immune from this struggle.

The very seedlings in the ground struggle to break through the earth that they may see the light, and grow towards the sun.

“Seeds strive to become plants by forcing their way through the soil. We can learn from this and push through the struggles we face in life. If they can survive, we can do much more. Keep pushing and pressing forward. Your best is yet to come!”
― Kemi Sogunle

We, just as these seedlings, will encounter some struggle, whether it be with self, nature, or another. This is of no matter, for struggle is the precursor to success.

 Everyone needs help along the way.

You simply cannot make it through the struggles of life on your own. The Beatles said it best, “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

Some let their struggles shape their world and their futures. They let struggles define who they are, and who they are to become.

Life is so much more than what you are going through. Life is about how you become victorious over those things which seem to always disadvantage you, understanding this is growth.

Growth is an expansion of the person, from one state of being to another, marked by changes in stature, emotional state, intellect,  and in spiritual consciousness. And, one can not grow without first experiencing the pain of expansion.

Pain is necessary. 

Just as there cannot be a rainbow without rain. There cannot be growth without some pain. It is how we choose to fight that will always impact the outcome.

You may have no choice over what you are experiencing but you will always have a choice over how you experience it. You can use your power of choice to your advantage.

How you choose to overcome will always impact change, even if it changes no one but you.

“Those who overcome great challenges will be changed, and often in unexpected ways. For our struggles enter our lives as unwelcome guests, but they bring valuable gifts. And once the pain subsides, the gifts remain. These gifts are life’s true treasures, bought at a great price, but cannot be acquired in any other way.”
― Steve Goodier

Refusing to face your struggles retards growth, and retarding your growth will never change what is. At some point in time you will have to face what is, in order to invoke a change, so that what is will one day be no more.

“God has not promised me sunshine
That’s not the way it’s going to be
But a little rain
Mixed with God’s sunshine
A little pain
Makes me appreciate the good times” – Walter Hawkins

Always choose to fight with valor, looking forward to what can and will be.

How we live our lives is important. Our manner of speech, our body language, and our actions are all part of our influence. One can be sure that all the manners of ways in wish you choose to represent yourself has an impact on another.

There is always someone watching.

As sure as you live, you can be assured that, the way you live your life will impact that of someone else’s. This is inevitable. There is a saying “you may be the only book that someone will ever read”.

Use your influence well.

Use care in how you represent yourself. While there is an unfathomable power in the spoken word, actions speak louder. Align your deeds with your speech.

Always walk in the knowledge that your actions never impact you alone.

Your actions never solely impact those of your immediate contacts. All who you come in contact with on your job, at home, in the community, or simply passerby’s are touched by the impression you make whether positively or negatively.

Your influence can impact generations and the world.

The influence that you have on another will impact the interactions between them and their circle of friends, family, and acquaintances.

Be careful in how you represent yourself in word and deed.