Identity

Identity!... One small word with a powerful meaning.  The dictionary has several descriptions for it but this particular one stood out - "oneness, unity, quality of being united into one".  We are part of the human race - that much we can identify with.  Within the human race lies a multitude of variables within the realm of identity.  This can range from a country origin, family, race, religion, vocation, politics, to name a few.  This identification can unify within that particular entity.  However, it also has the power to destroy when it comes in conflict when identity is not the same.  

Tolerance  is the capacity for recognizing and respecting the beliefs and practices of others.  Within tolerance lies charity and has the ability in understanding  the diverseness of human nature. There are many opposites of tolerance that cause not only disunity but destruction, among them discrimination and bigotry.  An extreme example is annihilation, which seeks to obliterate those who are not "like them in their ideology".  We have present world fanaticism that illustrates this point.  Obviously,  lessons have not been learned from world history in annihilation attempts.

If we turn our eyes to a higher realm, we also find out that we are spiritual beings, made in the image of God and having free will.  We are imprinted with God-like characteristics.... we create - we make things according to our gifts and abilities from the provision of the earth.  We are spirit as God is spirit - we are more than our physical nature.    We are relational beings because our God is relational built for intimacy between the Divine and the human spirit.  As we become awakened to the Presence of God, the scripture John 17:20-26, shows identity in the most ultimate form.  Captioned, Jesus prayed that we would all be one in the identity of Agape Love.

As we are fashioned to be part of a whole in oneness, we are also fashioned to be individual in identity.  As it is with a snowflake, there are no duplicates; you are the only you there ever has been or will be.  Psalm 139:1-3 says  "Lord, you have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.  You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways"......

Join  me at The Turn-Up Patch on Monday, February 1.   Until then, here is a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson to ponder on....  "What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you."

 

"Today is the First Day...."

"Today is the first day of the rest of our lives!"  What a true statement this is as we roll into 2016.  January 1st brings the usual resolutions that are either set up for success or failure in any given situation.  I like to think that each day we wake up to is the beginning of a fresh start.  Here in eastern Oregon, we are privileged to witness some beautiful sunrises and sunsets; each can give off different hues of colored treasures.  What transpires in between accounts for our day and night of 24 hours in living experience -  moment by moment, hour by hour, each in its own hue of color. 

Recently I found the following poem entitled "Today is the Very First Day of the Rest of My Life".  

                                                      This is the Beginning of a New Day.
                                                       I Can Waste It... or Use It For Good.
                                                       But What I Do Today is Important,
                                                       Because I am Exchanging a Day of My Life For It.
                                                       When Tomorrow Comes, This Day Will be Gone Forever,
                                                       Leaving in It's Place Something That I have Traded For It.
                                                       I Want It to Be Gain and Not Loss, Good and Not Evil,
                                                       Success and Not Failure, in Order That I Not Regret the Price
                                                       I Have Paid For It.
                                                       I Will Give 100% of Myself Just For Today, For You Never Fail
                                                       Unless You Stop Trying.
                                                       I Will Be the Kind of Person I have Always Wanted To Be...
                                                       I Have Been Given This Day to Use as I Will.  - Author Unknown
     

This is a great song by Matt Maher called  "Hold Us Together".  The song compliments the above reflection in the reminder of the Invisible Lover who is ever present with us in each new day.  I hope you will take time out to listen....  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2PJBoN2VLE

Join me in two weeks on Monday, January 18th at The Turn-Up Patch.  Until then, here is a meaningful quote by Steve Maraboli... "There is beauty laced within this day... be courageous enough to find it, be kind enough to share it, and at the end of the day, be wise enough to let it go."