The clich?s that unfold when people are caught on camera unawares are funny, even when one finds that it is your self on the screen. We have no idea how we act, behave, or even what we communicate! Sure we remember, but we always remember through the haze of intent, motive, and the web of our minds. Reality usually escapes even the most reflective and self critical.
Being candid is a hard thing to do. Looking back on oneself is always problematic so the real solution appears to be learning from the mistakes of others. There are plenty of examples. “Observe the people who always talk before they think—even simpletons are better off than they are.” (Proverbs 29.20) The question that often remains is our own state. Are we learning or merely having a laugh at their expense? Do the lessons of today change the shape of tomorrow? Do we have an anchor of self esteem founded on something greater than we do so we can continually rebuild the entity we call our souls?
Holiday seasons are opportunities to step back and take a look at the real sights and sounds around us. Too often we get caught in the rush of doing things that we lose even the glimpse of our souls that we came into the holiday with. Pausing, really slowing down, forcing the breathing and movement of one’s life to take on patterns of intense deliberation is a very difficult thing to do. Yet it seems that we risk life itself if we fail to take on this challenge.
Today is a fresh day with a clear, although it is a bit gray and damp outside, window of opportunity. You and I have an open opportunity to do something different from yesterday. It does not automatically require us to skip work, break promises, or even vary what we have for breakfast – however it does call us to do whatever we do differently! Stop, accept the gifts of grace, compassion, and mercy, and grab any and every chance you have to use them.
