The Only Mistake is to Succumb to Fear

If  you read the psalms daily, you will find certain ones speak to you at different times. Recently, reading psalm 25 struck a cord in my soul. It reads in part:

Make known to me your ways, Lord teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.

Early on in my life, I was concerned about the need to be perfect.Only later did a holy person tell me this verse, and suggest I make it my mantra. I did, and gradually learned the havoc such a verse can create in the soul. Truly amazing!

The psalmist here is crying out to the Lord, that he may to learn his ways. But to do so, he realizes he must be committed to truth. But what is truth? Here I'm not speaking of the doctrine of truth, but of the truth each one of us needs in order to discern that path we are destined to follow. Only the individual can find that truth, through earnest prayer, contemplation, reflection and discernment.

When I read this psalm, my own wondrous journey comes to mind, the the marvelous things that were planned for me, things I could not grasp until I let go of my concept of perfection. Once I did, I began to do courageous things, believing in God's guidance and forgiveness. And what amazing things began to happen in my life!

If you are restless, dissatisfied with your life, feel something is missing or that you need a change, take this psalm and make it your mantra. Then go forward with courage, knowing the only mistake you can make is to stay where you are because you've succumb to your fear of making mistakes.

Dissatisfaction and Desire

We all have times in our lives when we are dissatisfied with how things are, and seek for something different, something better. Sometimes it is just a stage we are going through. But sometimes it is an invitation to rise higher.

In Bernard Bro's book Happy Those Who Believe, we read Consider Zacchaeus, who struggled against the prison of his conscious; Mary Magdalene and the Samaritan woman, who struggled against the prison of their heart...All sensed a call. They were in a state of dissatisfaction...we would never have dared to imagine these preparatory cries of the Old Testament when God said to Daniel: "I came to you because you were a man of desire." And in Jeremiah: "I will put them in anguish so that they may find me."

I think the key here may be desire. Life can weigh on us, it can flatten us down, it can take away the sparkles we once had in believing all things possible. We become matured, we know we won't get everything we dream about, we accept fate, or circumstances as though it is normal to get that flat tire and drive through life on the rim. But we shouldn't. We should keep the flame of desire alive. How?

It depends on our spiritual life, how active it is, how deep it has penetrated into our consciousness. Such a life will fan that desire to continue believing, continue hoping, continue dreaming through the reality. We will know life isn't about giving up these things; but in letting them mature and become more realistic.

One thing we must never forget: we are called. We have a mission, and in all the chaos, we will  discover it. So never settle for that flat tire. Change it, and continue on. Show the world that all things can conspire to increase  our longing, that our dissatisfaction itself signals there is more to be had, and we can have it. Then will dissatisfaction work in your favor; then will you bring out of chaos something of your dream.