What do you spend a lot
of time thinking about? Really! Many folks spend a lot of time thinking about
depressing things. And some think a lot about spirit, relationships and
health. I read this what Paul says--Paul’s
list of the fruit of the Spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Virtues—and their
opposite, vices—are not passive manifestations. They are the result of the
choices we make to pursue godliness (moral excellence) or not. JoeBlow says—What you think is what you’ll
be.
Rafael Badziag, who studies the
psychology of entrepreneurship, interviewed 21 billionaires and found they all
had the same six core habits: (1) They wake up early; (2) they keep healthy and
exercise regularly; (3) they are avid readers; (4) they take time to
contemplate and think; (5) they develop routines and rituals; (6) they practice
discipline and self-control. Some think
being a billionaire is overrated. I
really don’t know and never will. But I
do think that folks who have adequate income have options compared to those who
don’t (i.e. that is the way it looks to me). ANYWAY, it appears that folks who
have an acute desire about anything seem to succeed in their desires more that
folks who don’t. I think they live in a
different world. What do you think? That is what I thought.
JoeRich told me—erv, I don’t have
to work for a living as I’m rich. Yep, my parents were independently wealthy and
passed their wealth onto me. They were
in iron and steel; mom ironed during the day and my dad would steal at night.
While eating my oatmeal with
half a banana on it, I read this--Being established in “a different World”
requires continual reading, studying, pondering, applying, and sharing. Little
happens without steady habits, and habits are hard to sustain unless we work
energetically to establish them. Reaching goals requires commitment and
consistency. To live a godly life, we must diligently develop a heart of
devotion and engage the habit of godliness. OneSmartPerson said--Self-control
is the exercise of inner strength under the direction of sound judgment that
enables us to think, and say and do the correct things.
I try sometimes try to make life
perfect. It can’t be done; I know that,
but I still try sometimes. Maybe age
helps me get over that crazy thinking. ANYWAY,
I met some folks from Boston at the look out at Bryce Nat Park. They invited me to hike with them. They asked me—What are you doing coming this
far to hike. I said—great question! Happenstance,
na, I don’t think soooo. They were very
nice folks and we had a great conversation. They told me what I’m trying to do
will take some time.
Hugh Blair, an 18th-century
Scottish minister, wrote, “He who every morning plans the transaction of the
day, and follows out that plan, carries on a thread which will guide him
through the maze of the most busy life. But where no plan is laid, where the
disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidents, all things
lie huddled together in one chaos.” Now
that is what hiking can do to me; put me in a different world. Yes it can. CoachB says—If you want to get
out of your hole, you need to put down the shovel.
Look at the beauty of life and my
surroundings and not the negative stuff that appears has and does affect my
subconscious; gradually can and will change my mindset a.k.a. the space between
my ears. If I can execute better, I
think I will be going in the right direction (i.e. changing my mindset—some
mindsets are easier to change than others—are you an easy one).
I have been trying to teach our grandkids
to look me in the eye when talking to me (i.e. not just me but everyone). They seem to be in a different world. The
other morning at breakfast I was talking to Rookie; Rookie, look at me, I’m talking
to you. He said—Grandpa, I can hear
you! After our 3-mile family hike, I got
the grandkids’ attention by taking them out for ice cream. It works. Every time. Never fails. Guaranteed success and results. No question.
I read this early one morning --Some things
naturally go together—salt and pepper, bread and butter, pencil and paper,
needle and thread, hiking shoes and hiking. When it comes to direction in my
life, I must have a devoted heart and disciplined habits. LuckieEddie says—erv,
it’s hard to be of strong mind all the time.
It sure is LuckieEddie; it sure is. You either have to be very smart or
really dumb or go hiking!
I have read Viktor Frankl’s
book Man’s Search for Meaning several times. Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who was
taken to one of the death camps in Nazi Germany. All of his family and all of
his friends were gassed and murdered. He talks in his book about a day he stood
in front of the Gestapo stark naked. They’d taken away the prisoners’ clothes and
even Frankl’s wedding ring. As he stood there with nothing at all, he suddenly
realized there was one thing the Nazis could not take away from him: his choice
of how he would respond. Dr.J says--When you stay focused on your purpose
instead of your problem, you can be happy even when life seems to be falling
apart. That can be hard to do sometimes; yes it can. BUT it really does produce good results (i.e.
my opinion). It can and will put you in a different world. Folks, that is exactly what my trek to CO and
UT hopefully does for me. I need to
refocus.
MissPerfect says—Sooooo erv, what’s the “big
deal” about changing your perspective?
There are some others, many others, or maybe all folks who are in this
same situation at some time in their life with a poor perspective. MissPerfect, I’m not a “big deal.” It’s just that I want to modify my
perspective. Others might also want
tooooo and many maybe don’t want toooo.
I’m not special in any way. I’m
just erv; I realize that. It’s an
individual thing, I think. It’s like a new adventure; a new challenge. I think
it’s an opportunity and a choice. I think it might make my life better. What do you think? That is what I thought. My new tee shirt about says it all.
You ever waddle through the mud and the next day you get up and waddle
through the mud again. You do this every
day for a long time. It gets pretty ugly
folks; it just ain’t no fun. My trip to
CO, UT, and then back to CO is getting me out of the mud for a number of days;
more than a short respite. Some folks
tell me it takes a week before you start to unwind (i.e. get rid of my stinkin’
thinkin’). We will see. Maybe it will be a whole different world for
me. JoeBlow says—erv, first things
first! Don’t get the cart before the horse.
A friend told me recently that I have to get tougher. Hikes! When Erin and I did a 2.5 mile hike together
in CO, I found that she was tougher than me.
Hikes
Onesmartperson said—The universe is like a safe to which
there is a combination, but the combination is locked up in the safe. Figure out that combination we can change our
world alright. That is what hiking can do for me. I want and am debriefing myself and also,
hopefully, decompressing myself. I have
been compressing for tooooo long. I want
to change what I spend most of my time thinking about (i.e. not good, my
opinion).
They say that these rock formation are maybe190
million years old. When I think about
that and look at them, well now, that is a different world for me. Did some side by side 4-wheeling and hiking
in the Kanab Canyon. I was told that these trails in the Public Land will take
me to three other states. Wow! Now that is a different world; that is huge
massive. I stayed in UT, I think!
I talked to Matt in Kanab. He was from England and his girlfriend is
from OH. They are traveling the world. He writes traveling articles and his
friend writes for a magazine. They live in this van. That is their water
storage. He said some paint them black to warm the water and shower out the
back. Now that is a different world.
I love the story about the man who
sized up God in prayer one day. “God, how long is a billion years to you?” God
said, “A billion years is like a second.” Then the man asked, “How much is a billion
dollars to you?” God said, “A billion dollars is like a penny.” The man smiled
and said, “Could you spare me a penny?” God smiled back and said, “Sure, just
wait a second.” Saturday question—How
long is eternity? C’on erv, every Tom, Dick and Harry knows that answer!
Soooooo how did my hiking affect me?
Really God only knows. I might thing it
did in a certain way but maybe it affected me in many ways. I don’t know for sure. BUT, I do know it’s
good for me to get away from my normal environment and think. It has to be, doesn’t it! We went to Bear
Valley Church last Sunday. I agree with
the pastor who said—The Hope in Jesus gives us endurance. The Holy Spirit gives
us Joy that strives in midst of suffering.
Those assurances can put me in a different world. Oh ya.
Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans! (:-
erv
MyFriendJean says—In life, the review mirror is always
clearer than the windshield.
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