Hi y'all!!!!
It's been a while since I have posted on here, so let's get crackin'!
Lately, I have been thinking about the word legacy. There might be a few different things that come to mind when you think about it. You might think about the legacy of a person, like mother Theresa or Adolf Hitler(obviously not the type anyone should have), or that of a sports team, a country, or a grassroots organization. Whichever the case, the legacy that you are thinking of at some point made an impression on you. Am I right?
What about your legacy? Do you have one? If so, what is it?Do you think it is good or do you think it is a bad one? Some people aren't proud of the things that they have done, or the things that they are known for. More than likely, many of you are in that category. My hope is that this post will change that position.
When I first thought about the word legacy, I was thinking about my own. As a single, young male who wants to have a family someday, I thought about what kind of legacy would I want to have for my spouse and my children to have in the future, should I get married and have kids.
Have you ever thought of that? For those of us who are single, I think it is important for us to grasp what our legacy might be now. I know as an adult I have gained more of an appreciation of the time that I have on this earth, meaning I now take more value in the moments I have in this life to maximize my time more than I have before. As a teenager I made decisions based on the feelings that I have about that particular situation without thinking about the future consequences my decisions would bring to me. For instance, when it came to pursuing girls, I would pursue based on the little feelings I had without thinking about having a future with them most of the time. Making decisions like that usually had a negative effect on me. As an adult now, I think about my future way more than I did as a teenager, and therefore wised up a little.
I believe that as I was thinking about the word legacy the first time, I was thinking of a way to encourage myself to do greater things than what I was doing in my life. One thing I'd like to be is a great author, and I think that is one way to leave a good legacy for my children and wife if what I write is meaningful and build others up. That is just one example. Another example is how you daily treat others around you in your community. That helps bring a good sense of character building in your life. When you do get married and have children, the way that you live will be closely read by your loved one(s), and will have a profound effect on them and their worldview. That is my opinion, which is based on the families I personally know and the testimonies of parents who have changed their lives for the better.
You might be someone who feels that they cannot build a legacy. You may have been raised by two bad parents, just one parent, or no parents at all so you don't have a blueprint to go by what it means to build a legacy. There's a lot to say about that, but I will just say this: you are not a mistake,and it's not impossible to build a legacy. You are someone who is wired to do amazing things. That could be something as owning a big company that the entire world would know, or that can be a small ministry in the local community that only few people might know that is operated by a lot of love. Speaking of, whatever it is that you do in life, do it with love. If your legacy is built without love, then your legacy means nothing.
As a final thought, think about what you're passionate about. Examine it, study it, and do it. That is of course if it truly is serving humanity better. That is what love does.
Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Sooo...my heart is broken
Have you ever had those moments when you find out something about someone that completely blindsides you?You had no idea that they were going through it? That just happened to me last night.
This past Thursday, night, we had a you leaders' meeting. The pastor of the youth asked how everyone was doing,so we just kinda updated everyone else what was going on with our lives. One of the leaders there had mentioned that he gathered with one of the youth earlier this week. He said that the youth was dealing with loneliness issues. So much so that he was crying before they met together. When I heard that, it broke my heart tremendously. I mean, I get to see this guy every Sunday and every youth service practically, and it never occurred to me that he was battling loneliness. He seems to be always upbeat, and he opens up to me pretty well when we do converse. I know it is not my job to know everyone else's problems and solve them, but I feel like I should have known about this predicament. It was not hard to notice that when I pondered on how this youth's interactions with people are like, I do not remember anyone praising him in a friendly way, asking him to hang out with them at all, or ever hear him say,"So and so just asked me to go hang out with them this Saturday." It seems like nothing really goes on with his life outside of church stuff and school. That is disheartening. I know.
In this meeting that he had with my friend, he mentioned that he literally has no friends. I do not know to what degree that is exactly,but I remember growing up with few friends. I did have two best friends back in VA, but there was a period of time when I didn't feel like I had real special friends, and this was during my adult years. No one would call me or instant message me to hang out or let alone talk. Numerous times, I felt like I was in a prison!This major extrovert here needed an out to have fun in life. When I was stuck in my room, there was times that I felt I was suffocating. That would happen when I had absolutely nothing to do. Now be it, maybe I could have made a better effort to contact my "friends" to show interest in hanging out with them but still, it would have felt good to feel wanted.
A few months ago, a friend of mine who is younger than me, said some of the most sobering words I needed to hear in all the seasons of my life. In the midst of these words, he said that I am afraid of being alone. I didn't know how to take that! I wanted to refute him so bad because I wanted to prove that that kind of insecurity did not exist with me anymore....but I couldn't. I was going to this family's house at least every other weekend to spend time with them and to get away from that which is so familiar in my surroundings where I live. When I go there, I lose phone signal so I practically am ghost to those who try to reach me, and I LOVE that. Granted, I can miss a serious situation back home if someone tried to reach me, but I do like to get away from it all. So I receive good perks when I go away, but the statement that my friend made, made me wonder,"Am I afraid to be alone? Do I try to band-aid the fear of loneliness with my friends?"- I think those are healthy questions to ask.
The subject of this blog is not the fear of loneliness, but how do people deal with loneliness. That youth I mentioned above deals with it by crying about it(I say that with sincere care) because apparently the sense of shame has consumed him to the point of tears. This person is also a teenager, so he is not a little kid. As for me, I have dealt with loneliness by going to other peoples' houses. I know there is nothing wrong with community and friendship(especially if it's deep), but what about when I am alone? Shouldn't I feel okay? I am a christian, and as a Christian, I strive to believe that God is always with me wherever I am.I don't always believe that truly in my heart and that's a scary thing. It's scary because it can make you vulnerable to always feel lonely when you're alone. I'll write that again. It's scary because it can make you vulnerable to always feel lonely when you're alone. 'Well duhhh Daniel, of course you'd feel lonely because you ARE alone!!' is what you may be thinking but hear me out. You may be alone but you don't have to feel alone. God is everywhere in the form of his Spirit. The bible promises that God draws near unto those who draw near unto Him. It also says that He is near the broken-hearted. However this issue might minutely sound, that young youth is going through something that has rocked his soul and so I hope I get to tell Him that truth about God before it's too late. I can't remember all the times I heard about suicide victims who killed themselves because of the loneliness they have felt. It's like they feel invisible and no one cares about them. I will make an effort to prove to this youth that he is important and a friend of mine.
Thanks for reading this. It feels good to open up about these sort of things, especially when I know others are going through it in the world. I want to strongly encourage you to be on the lookout for those who may be suffering from loneliness. Tell them and show them that they are important to you. If you are one who is struggling with loneliness, don't give up on humanity. Sometimes it takes you to take the initial step to introduce yourself to someone else so that they can see how awesome you are. I know the value of having real friends but I also know the struggle it is to maintain real friendships. It takes work, but often times we find that as we strive to work on our friendships, we enjoy out-of-the-blue moments that become lifelong memories. Those are good because even when you are not physically with that person, you can think on those memories and not feel lonely in your heart.
This past Thursday, night, we had a you leaders' meeting. The pastor of the youth asked how everyone was doing,so we just kinda updated everyone else what was going on with our lives. One of the leaders there had mentioned that he gathered with one of the youth earlier this week. He said that the youth was dealing with loneliness issues. So much so that he was crying before they met together. When I heard that, it broke my heart tremendously. I mean, I get to see this guy every Sunday and every youth service practically, and it never occurred to me that he was battling loneliness. He seems to be always upbeat, and he opens up to me pretty well when we do converse. I know it is not my job to know everyone else's problems and solve them, but I feel like I should have known about this predicament. It was not hard to notice that when I pondered on how this youth's interactions with people are like, I do not remember anyone praising him in a friendly way, asking him to hang out with them at all, or ever hear him say,"So and so just asked me to go hang out with them this Saturday." It seems like nothing really goes on with his life outside of church stuff and school. That is disheartening. I know.
In this meeting that he had with my friend, he mentioned that he literally has no friends. I do not know to what degree that is exactly,but I remember growing up with few friends. I did have two best friends back in VA, but there was a period of time when I didn't feel like I had real special friends, and this was during my adult years. No one would call me or instant message me to hang out or let alone talk. Numerous times, I felt like I was in a prison!This major extrovert here needed an out to have fun in life. When I was stuck in my room, there was times that I felt I was suffocating. That would happen when I had absolutely nothing to do. Now be it, maybe I could have made a better effort to contact my "friends" to show interest in hanging out with them but still, it would have felt good to feel wanted.
A few months ago, a friend of mine who is younger than me, said some of the most sobering words I needed to hear in all the seasons of my life. In the midst of these words, he said that I am afraid of being alone. I didn't know how to take that! I wanted to refute him so bad because I wanted to prove that that kind of insecurity did not exist with me anymore....but I couldn't. I was going to this family's house at least every other weekend to spend time with them and to get away from that which is so familiar in my surroundings where I live. When I go there, I lose phone signal so I practically am ghost to those who try to reach me, and I LOVE that. Granted, I can miss a serious situation back home if someone tried to reach me, but I do like to get away from it all. So I receive good perks when I go away, but the statement that my friend made, made me wonder,"Am I afraid to be alone? Do I try to band-aid the fear of loneliness with my friends?"- I think those are healthy questions to ask.
The subject of this blog is not the fear of loneliness, but how do people deal with loneliness. That youth I mentioned above deals with it by crying about it(I say that with sincere care) because apparently the sense of shame has consumed him to the point of tears. This person is also a teenager, so he is not a little kid. As for me, I have dealt with loneliness by going to other peoples' houses. I know there is nothing wrong with community and friendship(especially if it's deep), but what about when I am alone? Shouldn't I feel okay? I am a christian, and as a Christian, I strive to believe that God is always with me wherever I am.I don't always believe that truly in my heart and that's a scary thing. It's scary because it can make you vulnerable to always feel lonely when you're alone. I'll write that again. It's scary because it can make you vulnerable to always feel lonely when you're alone. 'Well duhhh Daniel, of course you'd feel lonely because you ARE alone!!' is what you may be thinking but hear me out. You may be alone but you don't have to feel alone. God is everywhere in the form of his Spirit. The bible promises that God draws near unto those who draw near unto Him. It also says that He is near the broken-hearted. However this issue might minutely sound, that young youth is going through something that has rocked his soul and so I hope I get to tell Him that truth about God before it's too late. I can't remember all the times I heard about suicide victims who killed themselves because of the loneliness they have felt. It's like they feel invisible and no one cares about them. I will make an effort to prove to this youth that he is important and a friend of mine.
Thanks for reading this. It feels good to open up about these sort of things, especially when I know others are going through it in the world. I want to strongly encourage you to be on the lookout for those who may be suffering from loneliness. Tell them and show them that they are important to you. If you are one who is struggling with loneliness, don't give up on humanity. Sometimes it takes you to take the initial step to introduce yourself to someone else so that they can see how awesome you are. I know the value of having real friends but I also know the struggle it is to maintain real friendships. It takes work, but often times we find that as we strive to work on our friendships, we enjoy out-of-the-blue moments that become lifelong memories. Those are good because even when you are not physically with that person, you can think on those memories and not feel lonely in your heart.
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