Articles from December 2010

I went to a restaurant today and saw an elderly gentleman cleaning off tables. He walked with a limp and didn’t look like he had much money. When he walked by, I gave him $20 and wished him well.

His reaction surprised me. His face lit up like he had won the lottery. He was so thankful for the gift. He then asked if he could get me some iced tea or something more to eat. He wanted to give back to me in any way that he could.

I was deeply moved by his appreciation and his eagerness to return the favor. In that moment, I felt like I had won the lottery. I made a difference in his life. I have spent lots of money over the years doing things that I thought would bring me happiness, but nothing has brought me more joy than giving this man a $20 bill.

I’m sure the money was important to him, but more than that, I suspect that he was appreciative for having been recognized as a human being. He felt loved.

As you go through life, look for ways to empower people and have them feel loved. It’s amazing the difference we can make in someone’s life with such a small amount of effort.

Life is like a giant monopoly game. The problem is that we weren’t given the rules. Not only that, we were given a set of instructions that are totally opposite of the truth. This sets us up for serious suffering.

We are taught that happiness and upsets come from outside of ourselves. We then go through life trying to force our circumstances to be a particular way. We fight, resist, hang on and withdraw. We think this will bring us the happiness we seek, but it doesn’t. Instead, of bringing us happiness, it destroys happiness and creates a state of fear, upset and suffering.

This is the wilderness of illusion that we live in. When you are in this state, all the focus is on the circumstances. This is the realm of darkness. This state is also called the separateness, being of the world, and the realm of circumstances.
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I have often heard that if you have faith, God will take care of you and you will have a great life. At the same time, horrible things happen to good people. I wondered if these statements about being taken care of are the absolute truth about God or just positive points of view.

Positive points of view are extremely valuable. They shape our reality and determine our actions. When we act in a positive way, we produce a positive result.

Positive beliefs and points of view are very important, but they are still nothing more than beliefs and points of view. So what is the truth? Does faith create a positive reality that has life work better, and we call this God, or is there some kind of spiritual magic that comes from faith? Do we create our lives or does God?
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