It Just Knows How

I'm always telling everyone that they have the answers they are seeking hidden inside themselves. Some things are naturally learned through living, experiencing and recording those results in our memory. Once learned that knowledge builds upon itself to form a basis for making future decisions.

But I believe that from our conception we are programmed with a basic knowledge or instinct for decision making. Prominently placed within that knowledge is an image of what we were created to be. In its perfect and purest beginnings that image was a positive and beautiful portrait of all that we were meant to be. Somewhere along the way we began to lose that image. Like a file in a computer, new connections and images bury it and the original program gets corrupted.

How does that happen?

We do it. By tinkering with the programming, we begin to accept new ideas and input from other resources. Much like a computer virus, the world introduces enticing images and events that challenge our thinking. Once introduced into our system, the file that we willingly accept opens up the negative and self destructing virus that attacks who we really are. We permit ourselves to accept that corrupt file because on the surface it looks good, easier, or quicker. Deep inside we know better but override the system and accept it.

Once vibrant and excited about life, we suddenly hear ourselves bemoaning our own existence and criticizing the work of others. In the very beginning of that change in attitude you may even question yourself, "Why did I say that? That's not like me."

The negative image can easily take over at this point when you begin to hear yourself say, "I have every right to feel this way! This kind of thing always happens to me!" The connection has been made and the virus multiplies itself and spreads into every part of your life.

But here is the difference. It's what I call the "Spiritual Connection."

The "Spiritual Connection" remains a part of who we are forever. In a sense it stays on our "hard drive" and cannot be removed or deleted. It's God inside each of us. In the darkest of days it's the little spark that ignites within us a desire for a better outlook. It causes us to reach out for that bright spot on the horizon or to touch the beauty of the moment longing for a return to happier times or hope for a better future.

While visiting a State Park recently I saw along the edge of the still ice covered lake, a red ladder, rope and a long stick mounted on two poles. At first I thought it odd. Could they be leftovers from summer days or maintenance tools for park employees? No, they were mounted there as rescue equipment for the possibility of someone falling through the ice.

As I looked further down along a shoreline I saw others located within easy access to the public.

This wonderful idea came to me. Wouldn't it be great if along life's pathways there were rescue units placed that were filled with knowledge and hope. Perhaps books, audio tapes and pictures that were there for us to ponder whenever we hit a bump in the road that forces us to question our self worth. Like filling stations for the spirit and soul.

But then today I came across the answer. It has been there all along. Each step that we take, in every direction we go it's there.

As the welcome warmth of Spring comes crawling back into my world I see all around me signs of rebirth. I first noticed it when I was changing the light bulbs in our outdoor lighting. There, beneath the leaves and decaying brush of last summer, I found flowers pushing through. Already a few inches high I knew they were struggling to reach the nourishment of the sun.

But how do they know it's time to grow when they are hidden beneath the earth, snow and dead leaves and cannot see the sun?

Simply because they were created to. Without question. Without hesitation, they begin to do what is natural and pre-programmed. They come into the fullness of what they were meant to be.

Look around you. The trees do the same. The birds return on time. Even the tiniest micro organisms respond to the need to "be".

So tell me how is it that you think that you cannot become all that you dream of?

The difference, my friend, is choice. The rose can be nothing but a rose. But look at what that is. Smell it. Touch it. Watch what joy it brings to both the giver and the receiver. Its power or strength is in its ability to be what it was meant to be.

The maple tree cannot produce bananas. But see the shelter it provides both animal and human being.

But you choose to deny your fullest potential. You can be anything humanly possible. You were created to be above all else in existence, but you think lower than the amoeba.

Stop looking for the red ladder and rope along the road way. You carry your own rescue center. The "Spiritual Connection" I speak of brings together all that we can be and all that tools we need to get there. They a located inside of us. It is called wisdom, knowledge, and instinct.

Go outside right now and dig around the deadness of yesterday. There underneath you will find new growth reaching for the warmth of the sun. Why? Because it's smarter than you?

No. Because it just knows how.

So do you.

~ Bob Perks ~
2believe@comcast.net

[ by: Bob Perks Copyright © 2008 (2believe@comcast.net) -- {used with permission} ]