| Commentary and Philosophy Non-Fiction posted September 29, 2008 |
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Follow the string through the maze
Get Up Every Morning
by Annmuma
Contest Winner
One of my mother's favorite maxims was: "Grow where you are planted, Olevia. God made a space for you right where he put you."
As a child, I chafed at that admonition. I heard, "Be satisfied. Squelch your ambitions. Don't ask for more." I've grown into a deeper and more spiritual meaning of those words. There is a string to be followed through the maze, and that spot where I've been planted changes regularly. My job is to concentrate on following the string wherever it leads.
I must live in this day, this minute, because everything else is either the past or the future. If I handle the current step to the best of my ability, the next one will happen without any further encouragement from me. If my goals are to learn to love all, tolerate differences by searching for common ground and uplift my neighbor, I'm more apt to receive those things in turn. That is the Golden Rule of life, but there are no guarantees of it working every time.
I recently watched a newscast in which a reporter interviewed a woman who had been brutally raped twenty years ago. The perpetrator was up for parole. He had been twenty-one at the time of his conviction, had a rap sheet a mile long and seemed dead set on wasting his life. While in prison, he had obtained a college degree, though I don't know in what. Chosen by those in authority within the prison, he was active in the management of several prisoner rehab programs. Just based on what I heard and saw, he appeared to be living his life as productively as possible. The victim had difficulty seeing anyone other than the person who committed the crime.
"Ms. Morrison, what do you think about Mr. Griffin's appearance before the parole board?"
"I'll fight as long as I live to keep that monster in prison."
"I understand he has sent written apologies to you?"
"Apologies? That doesn't change anything! I can't go before the parole board to get rid of my insecurities, my fears, my lack of trust."
"Can you ever imagine a day when you would be willing to see Mr. Griffin's life sentence commuted or parole granted?"
"No. He took something from me that can never be returned. He has no right to his freedom."
As I listened to the exchange, it occurred to me the woman had chosen to relive the worst day of her life, every day. She was lost in a toxic sea from which she refused to be rescued. She could not see that her freedom, her happiness, her life of joy depended upon her ability to forgive. She was more tightly imprisoned than the rapist.
So, how should we exist? I suggest our task is to do more than just exist. It is to aspire to a life of spiritual growth, to leave the world a better place because we lived, and to realize we hold the only key to our own happiness. We live when we realize no one is as bad as the worst thing they've ever done, nor are they as good as the best. We live when we do the things right in front of us in a way that improves our surroundings. We live when we realize we are better than no one, nor are we worse. God is no respecter of persons, and we cannot truly know the circumstances of another.
Say I love you every chance you get. Hug a child. Buy someone's lunch. Smile. Share a good conversation over a cup of coffee. Listen. Take a walk in the woods. Pray. Say thank you. Write a story. Tell a joke. Get up when you fall. Ask for forgiveness and grant more than you ask for. Stand up for what you believe, but not so tall that you can't see there's another side. Accept responsibility, but also give it. Be no one's doormat, but hold the door open for the guy behind you. Pick up after your dog. Call an old friend. Plant a rose bush. Give a full-day's work for a full-day's pay. Realize that life is what happens while you are planning for it.
In short: Grow where you are planted. God made a space for you right there.
One of my mother's favorite maxims was: "Grow where you are planted, Olevia. God made a space for you right where he put you."
As a child, I chafed at that admonition. I heard, "Be satisfied. Squelch your ambitions. Don't ask for more." I've grown into a deeper and more spiritual meaning of those words. There is a string to be followed through the maze, and that spot where I've been planted changes regularly. My job is to concentrate on following the string wherever it leads.
I must live in this day, this minute, because everything else is either the past or the future. If I handle the current step to the best of my ability, the next one will happen without any further encouragement from me. If my goals are to learn to love all, tolerate differences by searching for common ground and uplift my neighbor, I'm more apt to receive those things in turn. That is the Golden Rule of life, but there are no guarantees of it working every time.
I recently watched a newscast in which a reporter interviewed a woman who had been brutally raped twenty years ago. The perpetrator was up for parole. He had been twenty-one at the time of his conviction, had a rap sheet a mile long and seemed dead set on wasting his life. While in prison, he had obtained a college degree, though I don't know in what. Chosen by those in authority within the prison, he was active in the management of several prisoner rehab programs. Just based on what I heard and saw, he appeared to be living his life as productively as possible. The victim had difficulty seeing anyone other than the person who committed the crime.
"Ms. Morrison, what do you think about Mr. Griffin's appearance before the parole board?"
"I'll fight as long as I live to keep that monster in prison."
"I understand he has sent written apologies to you?"
"Apologies? That doesn't change anything! I can't go before the parole board to get rid of my insecurities, my fears, my lack of trust."
"Can you ever imagine a day when you would be willing to see Mr. Griffin's life sentence commuted or parole granted?"
"No. He took something from me that can never be returned. He has no right to his freedom."
As I listened to the exchange, it occurred to me the woman had chosen to relive the worst day of her life, every day. She was lost in a toxic sea from which she refused to be rescued. She could not see that her freedom, her happiness, her life of joy depended upon her ability to forgive. She was more tightly imprisoned than the rapist.
So, how should we exist? I suggest our task is to do more than just exist. It is to aspire to a life of spiritual growth, to leave the world a better place because we lived, and to realize we hold the only key to our own happiness. We live when we realize no one is as bad as the worst thing they've ever done, nor are they as good as the best. We live when we do the things right in front of us in a way that improves our surroundings. We live when we realize we are better than no one, nor are we worse. God is no respecter of persons, and we cannot truly know the circumstances of another.
Say I love you every chance you get. Hug a child. Buy someone's lunch. Smile. Share a good conversation over a cup of coffee. Listen. Take a walk in the woods. Pray. Say thank you. Write a story. Tell a joke. Get up when you fall. Ask for forgiveness and grant more than you ask for. Stand up for what you believe, but not so tall that you can't see there's another side. Accept responsibility, but also give it. Be no one's doormat, but hold the door open for the guy behind you. Pick up after your dog. Call an old friend. Plant a rose bush. Give a full-day's work for a full-day's pay. Realize that life is what happens while you are planning for it.
In short: Grow where you are planted. God made a space for you right there.
As a child, I chafed at that admonition. I heard, "Be satisfied. Squelch your ambitions. Don't ask for more." I've grown into a deeper and more spiritual meaning of those words. There is a string to be followed through the maze, and that spot where I've been planted changes regularly. My job is to concentrate on following the string wherever it leads.
I must live in this day, this minute, because everything else is either the past or the future. If I handle the current step to the best of my ability, the next one will happen without any further encouragement from me. If my goals are to learn to love all, tolerate differences by searching for common ground and uplift my neighbor, I'm more apt to receive those things in turn. That is the Golden Rule of life, but there are no guarantees of it working every time.
I recently watched a newscast in which a reporter interviewed a woman who had been brutally raped twenty years ago. The perpetrator was up for parole. He had been twenty-one at the time of his conviction, had a rap sheet a mile long and seemed dead set on wasting his life. While in prison, he had obtained a college degree, though I don't know in what. Chosen by those in authority within the prison, he was active in the management of several prisoner rehab programs. Just based on what I heard and saw, he appeared to be living his life as productively as possible. The victim had difficulty seeing anyone other than the person who committed the crime.
"Ms. Morrison, what do you think about Mr. Griffin's appearance before the parole board?"
"I'll fight as long as I live to keep that monster in prison."
"I understand he has sent written apologies to you?"
"Apologies? That doesn't change anything! I can't go before the parole board to get rid of my insecurities, my fears, my lack of trust."
"Can you ever imagine a day when you would be willing to see Mr. Griffin's life sentence commuted or parole granted?"
"No. He took something from me that can never be returned. He has no right to his freedom."
As I listened to the exchange, it occurred to me the woman had chosen to relive the worst day of her life, every day. She was lost in a toxic sea from which she refused to be rescued. She could not see that her freedom, her happiness, her life of joy depended upon her ability to forgive. She was more tightly imprisoned than the rapist.
So, how should we exist? I suggest our task is to do more than just exist. It is to aspire to a life of spiritual growth, to leave the world a better place because we lived, and to realize we hold the only key to our own happiness. We live when we realize no one is as bad as the worst thing they've ever done, nor are they as good as the best. We live when we do the things right in front of us in a way that improves our surroundings. We live when we realize we are better than no one, nor are we worse. God is no respecter of persons, and we cannot truly know the circumstances of another.
Say I love you every chance you get. Hug a child. Buy someone's lunch. Smile. Share a good conversation over a cup of coffee. Listen. Take a walk in the woods. Pray. Say thank you. Write a story. Tell a joke. Get up when you fall. Ask for forgiveness and grant more than you ask for. Stand up for what you believe, but not so tall that you can't see there's another side. Accept responsibility, but also give it. Be no one's doormat, but hold the door open for the guy behind you. Pick up after your dog. Call an old friend. Plant a rose bush. Give a full-day's work for a full-day's pay. Realize that life is what happens while you are planning for it.
In short: Grow where you are planted. God made a space for you right there.
Contest Winner |
 Recognized |
|
The other entries I've read are all poems. Hope I didn't misunderstand the contest rules!
The point I'm trying to illustrate is that life can be a series of 're-plantings' and our job is to make the best of wherever and in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. I've lived pretty much a charmed life, and I don't pretend to know the pain of a victim of a sexual crime. I can't even imagine the agony involved, and my heart goes out to anyone who has suffered such anguish. The scene described was real, and served only to illustrate the difference between lving in the "now" and being unable to do so. Life tends to be a series of "re-plantings" and the "grow where you are planted" is a reference to God being in that spot with you--regardless of its location.
Thanks for all of your help. ann
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. The point I'm trying to illustrate is that life can be a series of 're-plantings' and our job is to make the best of wherever and in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. I've lived pretty much a charmed life, and I don't pretend to know the pain of a victim of a sexual crime. I can't even imagine the agony involved, and my heart goes out to anyone who has suffered such anguish. The scene described was real, and served only to illustrate the difference between lving in the "now" and being unable to do so. Life tends to be a series of "re-plantings" and the "grow where you are planted" is a reference to God being in that spot with you--regardless of its location.
Thanks for all of your help. ann
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