I asked him if it was this hard for him when he was my age.
He didn't hesitate to say "yes", but also explained that it was solely due to the fact that we are aware of more as we get older.
'More Aware' I thought...Hmm...That is why 'ignorance is bliss'...
That's why it's easier for people to hide their heads in the sand, or have someone else or some formed group to make the decisions for them, sometimes even when it's uncomfortable or within the boundaries of abuse.
That's why we have problems with gangs, cults and close-minded groups.
Its easier to not think.
It's easier to allow others to make the decisions for us.
But "why", may I ask, do we give over our decisions and choices to other humans.
When did we tell ourselves that we shouldn't think for ourselves any longer?
I think that this is the mistake that we have made since the beginning.
That's the first sin...the first reason for our separation from God.
We were so eager, as a human race to have the knowledge of the world by taking the fruit from the forbidden tree only to realize later that the reason that God forbid it was because He was trying to protect us.
We longed for this knowledge that was too much for us. We wanted to be
The knowledge of good and evil, the more I learn, is hard on my heart.
There is SO MUCH EVIL in this world!
To counter it, there is SO MUCH GOOD as well.
I feel that the problem in our society now is the lack of gratitude and the overwhelming idea that we need to take control over all aspects of our lives.
This recipe is only going to cook up stress, anxiety, a feeling of loss and lack of purpose, depression and doubt.
When did we stop loosing faith?
When did we forget that "yes, life is tough...but, we don't have to take it all on...we have a helper"?
I am totally and completely guilty of doing just this.
There are many times that I have thought that I am strong enough, clever enough, smart enough (and so on) to take on the stresses of life to myself. But in the end, I find myself myself emotionally drained and stressed out.
Every time I conclude that I just can not control it all...
I can not make things happen just as I want or imagine.
And actually, if you think about it...Nothing I have ever imagined has ever actually ended up just as I imagined it.
As a child I imagined what my life would be like as an adult...as I am sure that we all have; but, so far, not one thing has turned out as I imagined. That doesn't mean that I haven't enjoyed my life...not at all! There have been many things in life that have pleasantly surprised me, or turned out more beautiful and thrilling than I have imagined. There have also been some pretty horrible things that have happened to me, but nothing my imagination could have created, as my mind has seen worse than I have experienced, and thankfully so.
You see, I am "gifted"with an overactive imagination.
Some days it seems a gift and others a curse.
My imaginations sometimes seems to be what God has given me to cope with life, to help me get through the hard parts of life.
It has also helped me create and envision the things that make me who I am.
My heart and my mind are interlinked by my creativity and my imagination,
Just as my destiny and soul entwined with the faith and spirit world.
Even so, it's my imagination that has helped me be happy and content.
It has boosted my empathy and helped me have the ability to place myself in other's shoes.
It has helped me speak up when words needed to be heard, and the wisdom to be silent when words would go on deaf ears (even when those words need to said).
It has helped me become who I am and who I will be.
I am who I am because of the gifts (or curses) that have been bestowed upon me in this life.
But the great thing about having this over-active imagination is that I think constantly.
I think for myself.
My mind is constantly thinking about all that I take in.
I am philosophical and a deep thinker.
I take all knowledge handed to me and dissect it and analyze it;
And though I don't always know what it all means or what will come of it...I am slowly learning to pray about it all.
I yearn to know more, but I also am not rushing it. I know that knowledge come with specific burdens. The burden of knowledge what stated as such in the book of Ecclesiates 1:17-18 when it said
17And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realized that this also is striving after wind. 18Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.
but also, "Knowledge is Power" Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)
AND "If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest" Benjamin Franklin
There is no better wisdom than the wisdom of He who created us.
Be strong. Stay imaginative. Think for yourself. Always give into Faith.
