I am not into New Years Resolutions, I never made one that I am aware of. However, I do see a benefit in reflecting on the past, and contemplating what the future may hold. Some thoughts may include developments that are seemingly out of my control, this can lead to feelings of frustration and helplessness, not exactly the kind of attitude that will put a bounce in a man’s step as he embarks on a new year. That is where I gain great comfort from the fact that it is ultimately God that is in control and not man. However, this does not negate the fact that we are required to do what ever we can and do it with enthusiasm. That is where my dreaming and planning kicks in. Trying to envision what I could get involved in that would provide excitement and enthusiasm.
This time around I am not really looking to initiate any new hands-on projects. Between my donkey drawn camper, several unfinished “home improvement” projects, and general upkeep around our hobby farm, I have enough fair-weather activities without planning anything new.
My Blog is an ongoing project, that requires/allows me to frequently contemplate all aspects of life, as it was, as it is and as it may become. Given that I have a few years to look back on, and the hyper-speed with which change is happening, I cannot see myself running out of topics to add my two cents to.
Looking back on my past two months of blogging, I made some interesting observations.
Feelings of frustration, helplessness, and right-out anger about the direction that our society and government is heading, have considerably calmed down. I expect that anger has vanished because I am spending more time considering issues from different vantage points. Frustration and helplessness have lost their teeth because I am actually doing something, even if it is only making my thoughts known. The blog exercise is proving to be therapeutic for me. As for any other impact, well it may not even exist.
My intended audience was (and still is) family members and friends. The aim is to spark self-analysis, possibly generate dialogue and encourage people to leave their psychological comfort zone.
As it turned out my self-analysis has become a more prominent part of my blog writing then I originally thought. I gained a higher awareness of, and become more analytical about, my own opinions. What if I find something out about myself, that I did not know before? This may sounds crazy, but is absolutely possible, and nobody is immune.
In the 1950s two psychologists, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, developed the Johari Window, a method to help people evaluate what they think about themselves in contrast with what others think of them. A Blind Spot, for instance, is something that we don’t know or think about ourselves, but others do see in us.
The Johari Window. Diagram by Simon Shek http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Johari_Window
A person does not need to be a psychologists or philosopher, to be taken on quite a ride, contemplating the outworking’s of the four “categories of knowledge”; how they impact our thinking, including the shaping of our unconscious biases and prejudices, that impact our decision making.
Thinking about how to deal with our shortcomings of awareness and comprehension, two approaches come to mind.
A person can start meditating (also known as navel gazing) trying to find answers within. However, operating without an agreement on what is right and what wrong, will lead to a multitude of opinions and ideas, culminating in total chaos, some of which our society is experiencing already.
Another, more orderly approach, is to follow established rules and benchmarks. Having been involved in the engineering field for most of my life, I am leaning towards empirical evidence, and testing.
If we could agree that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are virtues that our standards and laws should reflect, then most of our problems would be resolved. These virtues are verifiable, because, if they exist, they will manifest themselves in a person’s life. One may be able to cheat on an exam, but once on the job (life) the truth will quickly become apparent.
So, how do we go about meeting these standards? Well, as with any subject that we endeavour to master, we study the textbook, in this case the Bible. There is no other instruction book that addresses all of life’s questions as comprehensively as scripture. One may reject the authority of the bible out of hand, but the facts remain, that there are no other writings that have been more researched by historians, archaeologists, scientists, and theologians, and not only maintained but confirmed their relevance to life itself, as the bible. Despite forces trying to discredit biblical truth, it is being reconfirmed by new anecdotal and scientific evidence all the time.
Used the bible as my primary textbook for all of life’s questions, I can confirm intellectually and experientially, that the bible is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
Best intentions based on a wrong premise will not provide the desired results. The bible teaches that, like sheep, we go our own way and get lost. But God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, guiding us back home, if we want to.
It is my endeavor for 2021 and beyond, to test my life more frequently against the standards of the fruit of the spirit. Your help in addressing my “blind-spots”, is appreciated.
As life’s adventure continues, lets have a great 2021
Horstt