Disillusionment

♫The Price of a Mile♫

"Disillusionment means the illusion is over and you are closer to the truth."  --Alan Cohen

What you are supposed to be looking at in this photo is that small black mark on the bottom edge near the spine of that book lying on the top of my desk.  It's a mark that identifies the book as a "remainder", meaning the book did not sell well enough to keep the extra stock on hand.  These books are marked so that can't be returned to a bookseller for a full-price refund.   Stores like Ollie's and used book stores purchase them in bulk from the publisher and sell them at a discount.

Have you ever felt like a "remainder"?  That you are no longer sought out?  That you're no longer worth "full price" because of it?  

This is when many of us become disillusioned with life, but as Alan Cohen reminds us, "Disillusionment means the illusion is over and you are closer to the truth."  And just what IS that truth, you may ask?

That our worth is not based on what others think of us or even how they treat us.  It never was and never should have been.

God has told us in his Word and by His Word--Jesus--that we are worthy to become sons and daughters of God.  We are precious in His sight.  That He sees us night and day.  We are never out of His thoughts.  Let this be the truth that is revealed to you through your disillusionment.

Father, thank for the Truth.  For the love that always wins out.

Link to scripture:  John 1:1-14

Take action:  Read the scripture (John 1:1-14) in the above link then spend the rest of the music being quiet and asking God to reveal your worth to you, based on His love for you.

What the World Needs Now

"One thing the world needs now is people who can tolerate ambiguity, people who are challenged, not threatened by the state of the world."  

This was said by Elizabeth Watson, a Quaker theologian, in 1980.  She had several suggestions of what might need to take place first in order for this to happen:

First:  "Do not seek security in things, nor yet in status....they can be taken away from you..."

Second:  "Don't rest in intellectual security....Wisdom is not amassing facts..."

Third:  "The only real security in the end is the love we have given and the love we have received....so pour out your love and friendship and do not hoard it..."

Lastly:  "Cultivate the light touch.  Develop a sense of humor.  Learn to light up a room with joy when you enter.  Accept the challenge of our chaotic and dangerous world with a sense of adventure, of gratitude that our time is now."

This last one caught my attention because it expressed the desire of my heart--to be able to light up a room with joy amidst so much chaos in our world....without feeling guilty about it AND without needing to hide it for fear of being labeled idealistic or worse. 

We, I, can maintain a joyful attitude, if we accept who we are and our place in this world and live our lives expressing the love that God has given us.  As Alan Cohen has said, "Because you carry the spark of God with you, you have the power to illuminate any time, any place."  This should be all the encouragement we need to accept the challenge.

Father, thank you for loving me and enabling me to love others.  Help me to view life as an adventure to be lived with gratitude for who You made me to be, not being afraid of what others may think.

Link to scripture:  Proverbs 12:20

Take action:  What the World Needs Now