On being blessed and being a blessing...

Have you noticed that Lions never go on a hunger strike! This post will tell you a bit more about that - you see it comes down to consciousness and choice. These are but some of the privileges of human sentience... Read the post below for more detail on these thoughts, and if you feel like it, download the audio recording for a different perspective on freedom, choice and mediocrity.

Being blessed and being a blessing! A sneak preview of my next Radio Pulpit broadcast. You can download the MP3 recording here (6MB).

So much of life is about choices. I find that I can so easily slip into mediocrity. Do you struggle with the same? I either slip into the routines and expectations of my context - simply responding to the most urgent and necessary things that are taking shape around me each day. It would seem that Newton's laws of motion apply to so many aspects of reality! Inertia is a very powerful force in movement. It takes a lot of energy to break free from the direction in which one is traveling (or not traveling) at any moment. My studies in neuroscience have shown a similar trait in the manner in which our brains (perhaps the most powerful organ in our bodies) operate. The brain is not only geared towards survival (see this post for more on the three basic questions that all human brains operate on). Rather, it is geared towards the conservation of energy as a means of survival. Since energy is a fundamental aspect of our physical survival our brains make all kinds of choices (some that we're not even aware of) in order to ensure our most likely survival in a world of pressure, choice, and obstacles.

Think about this, your brain will increase or decrease your body's temperature, slow or increase your heart rate, and at times even cause you not to hear, see or smell things in order for you conserve energy and survive (women call it selective hearing, us men call it survival! ha ha ;-) But there are many other examples of how our brains, a part of our own bodies, fit into the wider set of systems that make up life in and around us.

Of course unlike animals we humans have the power and ability to control our bodies and minds. Have you ever noticed that Lions don't go on hunger strikes? Only humans have the capacity to consider what is MORE important than the momentary urges of survival. So, we may choose starve for some greater cause - of course even that often comes down to the survival of the species (if not our own survival, then at least the survival of our kin and kind).

We can choose! We can choose to become conscious of what truly matters in life. We can choose to become conscious of ourselves and others, and we can adjust our choices and behaviour in order to do more than just what is necessary! We can do what is Christlike, and in so doing find blessing and be a blessing.

So, the reality is that it becomes easy to just 'go with the flow'. The Philips translation of Romans 12:2 says something like 'Be careful that you do not get squeezed into the mold of this world'.

Energy, that's what it takes to be more than just ordinary! It takes a few radical choices, a few small victories, and a couple of little course adjustments and changes to begin to gain mastery over your life, your context and the 'mediocrity' of the world. We can choose to be more than just ordinary.

In this radio recording for my radio show on Radio Pulpit I discuss this notion in more detail.

I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

Rich blessing,

Dion

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MAD dash!! But a happy dash!

Cape Town, JHB, Pretoria, East Rand, Soweto, Kempton Park, Durban, Boksburg, Bryanston, Soweto, JHB Central, PTA Central.... A total of 8 hours stuck in traffic in two days, about 16 hours just this week (between JHB and PTA - only 50km's!) A total of 11 hours waiting at airports.... AND, all this in just one week! Luckily I can send email, and make phone calls from my car.

Sometimes my life feels like a 'merry go round', lots of action, a fair bit of movement, but at the end of day I seem to get off in the same place I got on! I got back from the Airport late last night, was up early this morning to try and get a headstart on the day. The week is not over yet! It is off to Kempton this afternoon for ANOTHER meeting (after two meetings this morning), then a few hours in the traffic on the way home. Then once Megie, Courts and Liam are sleeping it is prep for tomorrow, catch up on some marking...

The weekend looks pretty much the same, Class groups at 7am, staff meeting at 9am, teach at 11am, wedding rehearsal in JHB at 3pm on Friday, Graduation in JHB on Saturday morning, Wedding at 3pm, wedding reception, then home to sleep at 11pm ish, sleep from 12 - 4am to get back to JHB to preach at Bryanston at just before 7am, then again at 8.30am, and again at 10.15am, back to Pretoria to change, back to JHB to preach at the evening service at 6.30 pm (just over 4 hours in the car in one day. That is of course if the traffic flows, which it does most Sundays), home by 10pm, sleep, wake up to get to Chapel on Monday morning by 6.45am...

Another week begins!

HOWEVER, on Thursday I leave the office (with the customary marking, some reading, and a small tad of writing), and drive to Durban for the long weekend with my fantastic family! Bliss, glorious bliss!

I often pray "Lord, I give my WHOLE life as a gift to you. Spend me generously and lavishly for the sake of your Kingdom". I don't mind being busy... It keeps me from distraction, it helps me feel that I am adding value somewhere, that I am helping to establish God's Kingdom in some places.

Of course I do jealously guard time with my family! Even if I travel somewhere in the Country, I always try to be home before Courtney goes to bed (even if it means that I must wake up at earlier to get to my destination earlier, in order to fly back earlier). I am also pleased to say that no matter how busy my day is, I still pray, read the scriptures, and spend some time in quiet (my friends Peter Woods, Peter Grassow, and Kevin Needham have taught me those disciplines). AND, whenever I can, I find the most creative and enjoyable way of getting to and from meetings - whether it means sadling up my Vespa steed, or listening to Top of the Pods (the VERY best podcast on the intraweb) on my iPod!

So, I am busy, but I am happy! It's the way I like it. If only I could do something about the TRAFFIC!!!