Thursday 8 May 2014

If I Should Die

Okay I've only one minute left to live...
This is what I want you to know. All I've learnt - worth passing on. You are my child and this is what I want you to know, to increase the odds of your happiness. Not long now, it's all going fuzzy.
Jesus
Learn about Jesus. I studied the arse out of the New Testament and I still don't understand a lot of the theology, but He is real. There is noone like Him. Read what he says about life. It is safe to open your heart to Him. He often does surprising things. The trick to open yourself up to Him, let Him know your need, trust Him and then stop looking for the answer. It will come when you are distracted and in a way you didn't expect. He loves surprises and to be unorthodox. That's been the way with me anyway.
Mindfulness
The secret of life is to learn (it must be learned) how to live moment by moment. Harder than it looks. You must learn to not be controlled by your butterfly mind. Whatever effort it takes to become an observer of your mind is worth it. Live in the crow's nest watching the thoughts sail by.
Religion
Being sure of THE truth is not the point of religion. Learning to be sure of God is. Religions attract people who are looking for security and there's usually a system that promises security. There is no security except in God. No matter what brand of faith you go in for, no matter what the claims for having found the true interpretation of the bible, in the end, it's you and God. On your deathbed, your theology will not be your hope. You will be holding on to God. Any religion that tells you that God's unconditional love is conditional upon some interpreted truth is wrong.
Compassion
The secret to peace, joy and healing is compassion. Firstly compassion for yourself and then for others. Without the first it's hard to have the other. When you feel critical of yourself and perhaps a little self loathing, learn to be kind to yourself and talk to yourself as you would a lost child at the funfair.
What Other People Think
Don't worry about others think about you. As much as you can ,let it wash over you. Honestly the ones you fear don't care that much about you and what you do. The only opinion about you that matters could not be more supportive or positively disposed to you. Learn (it must be learned) how to tune in this frequency every day. Learn to pray. Let it imbue your moments.
Circumstances
Most people get this one wrong. They go through hard times and think that this means that God's love is wavering. They get into a reward and punishment mindset about God. The trick is to see that there is no such connection. Is God involved in the circumstances of our lives. Yes, why else would we ask Him for things? However the links are not understandable ,most of the time. The miscarriage, the argument, the lost job, misunderstanding friend, do not have anything to say about God's love for you. This does not change. You are loved extravagantly always, mindblowingly. It is His nature to love. It is this love that helps us to endure the harder times and to turn the broken world around.
Trust
There are no sweeter words to God's ears than the words, "I trust you God". Especially when the circumstances in which they are said are difficult. Try this when you are in a tricky spot (or indeed when it's all sunshine and roses) "Lord I don't know how this will play out, for good or ill, but right here, right now, for the record ,I want you to know that I trust you because I know that you are good and all your plans and intentions for me are good". It's not a trick to get what you want. It a stance in life. It's a way of looking at the world. It's called faith, relationship. Trust.
That's it. Time's up. See you!

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