“Truth is so great a perfection, that if God would render himself visible to man, he would choose light for his body and truth for his soul.” — Pythagoras
While you slither through your activities of this day, in how many ways or times have you lied to yourself, denied certain realities of existence in your personal life, and exacted any truth that is palpable in which you are able to make changes . . . now? Confronting this truth becomes an exercise in futility, when you are less than honest with yourself. Putting this off until tomorrow, often becomes 10, 15, 25, 30 and 40 years of distraction, excuses, denial, lies and perhaps a sub-conscious refusal to attempt correction or change due to a paralyzing fear of self discovery. William Shakespeare states in other terms . . . “Everyone should bear patiently the results of his own conduct.” Taking this one step further . . . becoming aware of your conduct, conscious of your actions and responsible for them takes courage from the deepest recesses of your being.
Our lives change in a flicker. Everything can be snuffed out in seconds. What remains and is distilled becomes the fabric and texture of who we are. Over a lifetime, we build character, integrity, principle, values, trust, loyalty, courage, humility and grace through conscious choices made over and over and over again. The sum total of our layers can be calculated through decades of conduct, behavior and consciousness. Simply stated by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar . . . “You have to be able to center yourself. Don’t ever forget that you play with you soul as well as your body.” And now you can ask yourself . . . what kind of game have you been playing?
The answer to the above question is important to only one person . . . YOU. Of course, those individuals around you might find your honesty refreshing, if you haven’t been up to this point. However, consciousness and present awareness don’t arrive easily . . . it takes effort, work, a willingness to begin and face the truth about yourself, and then the courage to do something about it . . . or not. Time will pass no matter what choice is made. And as we ultimately realize, how very quickly the years evaporate without notice for some of us. What side of that equation do you now find yourself? Waking up one day and having no time to fix anything is a rather scary thought, unless through some miracle of consciousness you become alertly present, actively engaged, involved and aware. Albert Schweitzer put it this way . . . “Truth has no special time of its own. It’s hour is now . . . always.” JLR