What you might ask....
You really ask some vague questions don't you...
Of course I do! Vague is the new vogue?
Do we like to live our life with a certain amount of vagueness? Not sure if I can use the word vague as 'vagueness' but what the heck as I say, I can because this is my blog!
So why are we talking about the word "Vague"
Vague is safe, because the word means; uncertain, indefinite, unclear character or meaning. Now are you following.... Have you connected the dots from my last couple of post on the subject of accountability.
When I write I typically pick on myself. It is easy to do, I know myself the best, better than anyone else. I know my own faults and I even know my own strengths. Yes I have strengths! I have plenty of good qualities, but for whatever reason in my own programming I tend to focus on my negatives, my faults.
I wonder some days if that is a 'Christian' thing? Or a RC background? I won't touch that line of thought just yet, but it could be? [Well just a paragraph or so]
In our Christian faith, or at least the way we are brought up and taught our faith, we understand that we are sinful. Sinful in my understanding, is that we are not perfect. Our 'sins' whatever they are separate us from God. That started with Adam and Eve and continues to this day. Makes perfect sense to me. Look around and look at how we live and what we are capable of doing to each other. We are pretty imperfect and sometimes very evil people. Yet God for whatever reason wanted a relationship with us. So to fix things, He offers His Son Jesus to pay the price for our indiscretions [that is putting it mildly] our sins. So the bottom line is that our sins are forgiven, yet we live like our sins are still held against us and we bear that guilt and shame [subject for another day]. I like to think that I wake up, look in the mirror and there I measure myself against the Ten Commandments and realize how much of a screw up I actually am. That should bring me to my knees and should force me or at least make me see my need for someone to save me, to pull me up. That is my understanding of what Jesus does, who is my savior, my redeemer...
So, enough on that, but if you are brought up in that background of a faith that says you aren't perfect and you will never be perfect and as a matter of fact you are pretty rotten, why is hard to believe that we have some type of mental breakdown in our life? HELLO....
Let's get this ship back on course... Vague and accountability, I am not a rocket scientist but I don't think those two words can be used in the same line of thought, yet...
Examples
I love the statements; "I want to lose some weight" or "I wish I had more money" or "I just want to do better" or "I would like to be smarter" ..... Are you getting the idea. We have a goal, an end result, a desire of what we want, but are we willing to do attach more to the idea. Are we willing to put a number to something? Are we willing to attach something that can be measured and then in that sense be accountable? Or do we like to keep it vague...
Follow along
Losing weight, what does look like, one or two pounds, or twenty? How much change has to take place for you to accomplish your goal weight?
More money, daily, weekly, monthly, how much and what are you willing to do to make it?
Be better... better at what?
Be smarter, that's vague, am I going to go back to school, take online classes, read more books? Or am I traveling to the far east in search of knowledge?
So we have to move from vague statements and living life by the seat of our pants, to concrete statements that are definable and have the ability to be measured and accomplished.
I want to play in the NFL!...
[SIDEBAR]
Christians are famous for quoting "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". I would be willing to be you that this is not one of the "all things" that I can do because Christ lives in me! Don't be 'that' Christian who throws this quote around with Tom Brady or Drew Brees accuracy, leave it alone for the sake of goals like this... please
So, reality check time, I will not become a professional football player. So no matter how much I might desire to play in the NFL at the age of fifty something, it won't happen. I can quit my job, train every day and I will not, I promise you, I will not make the NFL. So you see the 'accomplished' part of that dream/statement/line of thought... is just.... silly because it will not happen [Unless it is a Make A Wish dream]
Back on track
So I guess what I wanted to say is that I think we need some type of system in place that challenges us to stay on track with what we want to accomplish. We need a daily app of sorts that reminds us and then we need a coach/mentor or group to follow up on how we are doing and..... wait for it............to keep us honest [remember that is a bad word]..... to......
HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE
Yes back on track, the subject for today and if you noticed the picture....
How hard is it to be nice? How hard is it to go the extra mile for someone other than yourself? How hard is it really....to love
Now you are thinking to yourself, I thought he was back on track.... but I am. What does our world, our culture need now? Do we need skinnier people, smarter people, richer people, or do we just need people who actually care about each other and are willing to forgive and to love one another?
I have not designed an app to remind us to be more loving, more caring or more compassionate. But there might be a market for that.
Can you challenge yourself to make a difference. Can you challenge yourself, your family, and even your friends to make a difference in the world. Can you be more generous with your time and your money?
I watch people all the time do the minimum and we wonder why we are so messed up. Would it kill us to go the extra mile for someone? Would it kill us to go the extra mile for ourselves? Interesting idea.... If you can't love yourself and be willing to go the extra mile for yourself, how can you be expected to love and go the extra mile for someone else...
We are conditioned to be normal [fit in] and not to step beyond the threshold of what society expects from us. I don't want to be normal and I don't want to settle for it!
I wonder....
Its the age old adage, it starts at home. Look around, the home, in the traditional sense is gone. We did that and we are now living with that. But closer to home, as in our own lives, those who think that we are not the problem or don't have any problems, a lot of our problems started at home. We tried to mask them, downplay them, avoid them and yet as my endless expressions and adages go "The Chickens have come home to roost"
Well I think I have to stop writing now.
Simple take away for today, be more loving and find a way to be accountable for it. But don't be fake about it, be sincere, people can spot fakes. Take time to be more caring and loving in this world. You never know the difference you will make in the life of someone when you go the extra mile for them... Love ya!
P.S.
It's funny, when I thought I about blogging, a seasoned blogger told me that you have to be consistent and relevant.... well as you can tell I am neither. No surprise there! But I pay the bills for this blog, so that means I write what I want and when I want.
Peace out, off to eat, ride and work
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| A not so long ago shot of someone who went by the name Dr. Love |