Mantra

Mantras are both known and unknown.  You don’t have to know the mantra of a sports team – you can see what it is by the way they play the game.  Their uniforms, attitude, and actions on the field express what may never be expressed.  It is as if everyone knows the truth inside without having to express the obvious.  Yet it is in the expression that leverage, teamwork, and power come into full maturity.  When values and principles are known, discussed, and openly adopted those involved become truly intentional. 
 
As I look around me I wonder what personal mantra people see.  I’m not unique; a large piece of our consumer spending going into goods and services designed to improve what people see.  From self-help to cosmetics and on through to all forms of pampering, it seems most of us worry about how others see us.  This knowledge influences how we walk, talk, and reach out, yet the wonder of it all is how far it reaches inside of us.  Do we really care about what drives our souls?  Is there something bigger than simply impressing our neighbors?  Do we understand our individual purpose and mission?
 
The conundrum represented by these questions has haunted people across the centuries.  The struggle to know and understand continues to shape how we write history.  Yet through all this we seem to miss a fundamental point.  Our souls are always driven.  We leave impressions with everyone we contact.  We may not know or understand our purpose, yet others can see what it is.  With apologies to every clich?, we are who and what we are.  The simple fact rests in the choice you and I have in each moment.  What will we say?  Jesus’ advice resonates today.  The only unanswered question is our acceptance or alternative. 
 
“Let me give you a new command: Love one another.  In the same way I loved you, you love one another.  This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”  (John 13.34, 35)