In validating change, one looks for indicators. Experience suggests that one needs to keep an open mind. What may seem to be an indicator may not be. Small events, often considered mundane and trivial, can be direct signals that change is or is not occurring. While keeping an open mind is critical, it is also important to see the evidence in context.
Understanding the context of a given situation is rarely as easy as it sounds. Context requires me to look at the situation from the perspective of the other. More than look, I need to understand it through their eyes and heart. Context demands that I am open to the reality of the moment. While a spin perspective may convince others, if I am to see context I will need to see it in context of my filters and bias.
There is an additional element that I often overlook. Context requires the perspective of time. How we got here is important. Why we got here is relevant. How the context has changed provides insightful texture.
As I look beyond the immediate, I find myself reaching to understand more in my life. Seeing the broader context is helpful. When coupled with a strong sense of my values and priorities, I find myself in an open door of potentially being holistically intentional.
In this place, the reminder I often forget is the context of my relationship with Divinity.
It does not, never has started with me. God started the process. An old writer described the context with words that make sense. “This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.” (1 John 4.10)
Life’s indicators are within our grasp. They have context that opens up possibilities. Today is an opportunity to see in deeper ways, aware of the context. The doorway to holistic intent is open for you and me.
