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Finding My Own Way, My Perfect Path

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Go quietly on the path you have chosen

That was the topic for a group discussion I attended tonight.

It was a good talk.

Especially, I was fascinated by how the participants identified with and emphasized different parts of the idea we were examining.

Some were taken by the word “quietly.”

Their path, to date, had been anything BUT quiet. Several exuded a certain sense of pride in that accomplishment. “I came out of the womb screaming, and I’ve not shut my mouth since.” Others expressed a desire to BE quiet — to find solace in mediation and prayer.

Some lamented about “path.”

How can one choose a SINGLE path? How can one choose a path at all? Isn’t the best approach to life to “take it as it comes” and not try to force my will at all? We were tempted to make choice versus non-choice the new topic of conversation… but somehow resisted.

I was one of those who landed on “you have chosen.”

For me, that’s a HUGE realization.

 

I know who put me here

Wherever I am, whoever I am, I can put the responsibility (and the blame) on others — or I can embrace my freedom to choose.

To claim that I would be happy if only YOU (or she, or it) would change is to deny my personal power. It is to make myself a willing hostage to your every whim.

Moreover, if I have chosen my own path — then I can change the direction I’m headed or the path I’m on.

If people and situations have chosen the path for me… I’m stuck.

How about you?

How’s your path today?

Has life dealt you a terrible hand?

That certainly happens.

[clickToTweet tweet=”The final human freedom: http://bit.ly/1E2DFsV @donsturgill” quote=”Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way (Viktor E. Frankl, Dachau Concentration Camp).”]

Not every path is pretty

Some are born in horrible poverty. Some are mistreated severely. Some are maimed and suffer from maladies you and I can’t comprehend.

I think Dr. Viktor Frankl was on to something when he observed (from the Dachau concentration camp during WWII) that the “final human freedom” is the right to choose our own attitude in any given circumstance.

We can survive anything… if we will to.

We will fail immediately… when we give up.

Whatever your circumstance right now — whatever your pain, your grief, your loneliness, your complaint — don’t stop trying.

Keep going.

Get up.

Get a new plan.

Go at it again.

Choose YOUR path… and walk it “quietly.”

Freedom: Priceless.

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Happy Independence Day, USA! May God continue to bless and keep you. May your number one export be Freedom. “Yankee go home,” says the sign…”and take me with you!”

This day is much more than the 4th of July; this day is a symbol of Freedom, Liberty and Self-rule. It is a day of release from bondage. It is a day when those who crave [Read more…] about Freedom: Priceless.

Liu Xiaobo: Jailed Nobel

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Some stories are tough not to notice, and Liu Xiaobo’s saga is definitely one of them. Brave enough to stand up to the Chinese regime, Liu has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize… only he won’t be able to attend the ceremony. He is imprisoned for telling the truth.

A good treatment of Liu’s plight may be found on the NPR website. Here is a blip:

The country detained hundreds of other dissidents — including Liu’s wife — and warned other countries of potential repercussions if they sent representatives to the ceremony in Norway. China also blocked access to the websites of the BBC, Norway’s NRK and other news organizations ahead of the ceremony.

My prayer is that Liu Xiaobo finds peace, even in his suffering… and that we all get a taste of the courage he has shown. Good choice, Nobel judges. Thank you.

How to get what you want…

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I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

You have a dream, and you know what it is. Most of us do. In the months that I have been speaking to groups about the Dream Into It concept, I have met only one person who claimed that he had no dream. The truth was that he believed his situation impossible. He was afraid to dream.

It may be helpful to ask yourself a few questions that can stir up a dormant dream. Take a look back, even to childhood. What was it that captured your heart then? What have you “always” wanted to do? What is it that comes easy to you, but that others find difficult? What would you love to spend your time doing, if only you didn’t have to work all the time at something else?

There are two important considerations here. First, don’t think that you have to come up with your absolute-all-time-best dream ever. Any dream will do to get started. Chances are that it will change as you go. The important thing is to begin. Next, it is absolutely crucial that your dream be your dream. Someone else’s dream won’t do. It won’t be able to sustain you through the rough spots. If you choose your direction, based upon what would impress other people, the end result will be resentment. Don’t do that to you. Don’t do that to them.

Spend a little time with it. What is your dream? What is there that seems unreachable, but that you just can’t let go of? What would make you happy and fulfilled. It is not money. Money may be a result of finding and living your purpose, but it is not your purpose.

If you have questions, write to me. I’ll see you on the Road to Freedom.

Freedom for Aijalon; Kudos for Carter

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It appears that this may be the day that sees Aijalon Mahli Gomes released by North Korea. The Telegraph and others are reporting that former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, is in Pyongyang and that the DPRK leadership has agreed to release Aijalon Mahli Gomes.

It may be that Mr. Carter, a man of peace, could play an instrumental role in helping to tone down North Korea’s war yelps at a time when tensions are running high. The plight of Aijalon Gomes has set the stage for more than the release of a trespasser. Here is a blip from the Telegraph article:

The Foreign Policy report said Mr Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, would be travelling as a private citizen, similar to the mission carried out by former president Bill Clinton last year when he secured the release of Americans Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two television journalists who were also jailed after wandering across the North Korean border with China.

Mr Carter made an unprecedented visit to Pyongyang in 1994 when the United States came close to war with North Korea over its nuclear programme. He helped defuse the crisis through talks with then-leader Kim Il-sung.

Often maligned for failures during his term of presidency, Jimmy Carter has had a tough go in the press. Say what you will, though, it would be difficult to find anyone on the planet who has done more for the protection of human dignity than the former president. I salute him for going to bat for Aijalon. God bless Jimmy Carter, Aijalon Gomes, all the prisoners of compassion… and God bless you.

Welcome home, Aijalon Gomes. I hope you choose to speak out about your mission and your discoveries.

Update: It is official; Aijalon is free and is on his way home. Thank you, Lord. Thank you Jimmy Carter. Thank you Kim Yong-Nam. It is a time for rejoicing, for thankfulness, and for reflection on the preciousness of freedom. Aijalon, we prayed for you and held you dear in our hearts during your imprisonment. You were not alone. The Father moved in the spirit of many to not forget his son, Aijalon.

20 Bibles, 10 sets of Hymns and Tortured to Death…

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Those of us who were born in the USA and have always enjoyed the freedoms that our birthright provides are prone to take our freedom for granted. I know that I often do. Then, I hear a story about someone like Brother Yun or Aijalon Mahli Gomes, and I am reminded that freedom is both rare and costly. Freedom is not free.

Now comes another name to remember–that of Son Jong Nam, who escaped the North Korean police state by crossing over to China in 1998. In the military, he had served a ten year stint as a presidential security guard, and his loyalty to the state was intense. Something happened, though, that changed his mind. [Read more…] about 20 Bibles, 10 sets of Hymns and Tortured to Death…