Mid-week Inspiration,                                                             

Nothing is as it appears to be. 

Sometimes I think it would be nice to take the occasional event literally, but having a mind such as my own, that would appear impossible. 

The problem for me, or challenge if you prefer, is that I have beliefs, opinions and feelings.  This means that literally everything I see is filtered by said beliefs.  There is no way around this for me or for any other living person.  The greatest cause of intolerance of any kind is blindness to this fact. 

In the same chapter of the bible, Matthew 7; Jesus goes on to say that we will know them by their fruits.

We can take this same directive on an inner level.  It may be that our deeply held beliefs are the ‘false prophets’ at work in our lives.  It may be that we should not take our personal opinions as law.  Possibly if we are having challenges in our lives it is because we are adhering to old and dysfunctional beliefs.  Maybe it is time for us to look at the fruits of our beliefs.  To do this we must look at the beliefs of our society from the perspective of the outcome. 

The present day outcome appears pretty critical, most people would agree.  This would mean that all of us who so strongly believe that we are right (most of the world, east and west) have been mesmerized by false prophets.  Again, I will suggest that those ‘false prophets’ are not particularly any persons out there; rather they are within us. 

One of these beliefs that is promoted rampantly is that more ‘stuff’ is better.  My job is not to nod my head at this statement and point to other people to prove it.  My work is to look at myself and see where I do this.  In what areas of my life do I pad my vulnerability with more ‘stuff’?  What is that stuff?  Is it more money?  fancy clothing?  a bigger house?   Is it popularity or approval?  How might I be addicted?   

So what are the fruits of your life?   Do you like what you have and where you are?  If not what are the ‘false prophets that you have been worshipping?  And in every area of pain and suffering in your life, big or small, you have been clinging to your own false prophets. 

We must let go of those old opinions.  We must seek new ideas in order to have new results.  Where do we find them?  In the results or fruits of those who have discovered joy in their own lives.  Behind every genuinely joyful feeling is a fruitful belief.  In looking at the successes of another person it is important to emulate, not the person, but rather the behavior which has brought forth such joy.  The behavior might not be obvious in the first success story that we see.  

Yet if we continue looking we will start to see tendencies, those tendencies will lead us to new ways of looking at our own lives and new ways of living.  In time as we prove by the fruits of our lives, we too shall be the guiding light to others who are seeking answers. We will slowly become less of the problem and more of the solution.
May you find fresh fruit in your relations this week.

Blessings,