What Will Today Bring?

Today is not about where you've been; today is not about what you have already done; today is not about the people you have known, or the person that you have been; rather today is about what you are going to do right now? What are you going to do today to better effect your tomorrow? We all come from somewhere, we all come from something, and we have all had our share of hurts, our own failures in all facets of what failure can become, but what makes us all so uniquely different is not what those failures have been, but what success we will derive from those failures and how will they carry us forward? There is no guarantee of something better in the future, there isn't even a promise of happiness in this world, because this world can be and is an evil place far too often. More than we would like to think, we have an ability inside of us that, if we tapped into, could help change the shape, not of this world, but of our world around us. What do I mean? We all have a world of our own; in each one of those worlds are other worlds that come in contact with ours and they become combined, they become compounds of one another by our own choice. So what we do in our world can directly effect those that have combined with us to share their own. How will we effect those around us? What message will we send from our world to those around us? See, it's not about what has been or what will be, but rather, what will we do right now? How will we live right now? Will we submit ourselves to ego, pride, arrogance and ignore the finer things that are lasting in our lives? Will we submit ourselves to chasing false idols, these false idols that we are so willing to give EVERYTHING for? Will we give up our families, our kids, our spouses, our friends, our love and compassion for these false idols that, in the end, we can't even take with us? We all, and I saw WE ALL, are guilty of finding pleasure in self gratification, finding worth in title and status, and the amount of friends we have on our Facebook page, the number of contacts we have in our phones, how many emails we might receive in a day that, for some twisted reason, is our definition of our own self worth. These, outside sources, that seem to confirm our identity in our world and make us feel as though we are relevant because of the number of "eyes" we have staring back at us in our own worlds. Maybe it's because we all want that acceptance of, "hey, man, I've made it!", "hey, man, look at the new car I bought, it's brand new; what do you think of me now?", "hey, man, see how hot my wife is?", "hey, man, see how rich my husband is? We're going to Cancun next month for a week." The common thread of those statements are founded in this simple phrase, "Look at me, look at what I have." The idea of possession is redundant, tangible items, regardless of how new or how clean all have a shelf life. Eventually, these things are going to rust, and rot and fall away, but even before then something newer, something better, something faster, something more sleek than the previous version, will come out and then what do you have? What do we have when there will always be something out there that will ALWAYS seem better if we are consistently chasing title, and status, and our own definition of fame? It's a simple answer that is summed up in one word; EMPTINESS. When we get so caught up in chasing the materialistic things in this world we lose sight of the beautiful thing that this messed up world has to offer. Unfortunately, in this pursuit we lose site of the things in our world that provide true peace and contentment, we also lose track of the things that we CAN take with us when this crazy ride wraps itself up and calls it quits. The emptiness will never be filled when we are chasing the titles, the things, the toys, the gadgets of this life; there will always be that NEXT thing and when you get that the next thing, right around the corner is the NEXT thing and the NEXT thing and the NEXT. It is a vicious cycle that is never ending and is like drinking salt water - never quenches, but just for a second, before you're thirsty again and have to quench that thirst. My perception of title is one that has taken me many years to figure out, many nights of asking, "What do I want to be?" Every man wants to leave behind a legacy; many of us want there to be statues, buildings and songs named in our honor so that we can reach that level of, essentially, IMMORTALITY. We want people to sing OUR praises and remember our name because we are so deathly afraid of becoming irrelevant, of not feeling as though we are not important, we are caught up in pursuing our "legacy" that we, typically, are searching for it in all the wrong places. Until recently I have been doing the same exact thing, I've got to have my name on a building somewhere, or a street sign, or have ballads written about me, have my name on a book somewhere, or millions of books in a lot of "somewhere's" so that I can feel that I have mattered in this life on some level bigger than myself so that I have established a LEGACY. But, all these pursuits have led me to one, repetitive, end; EMPTINESS. I keep trying to feel the void because I keep asking that same question, "What do I WANT TO BE??", "What in Gods name do I WANT TO BE?", and I keep changing the answer because I keep finding that next best thing because the next best thing won't stop coming up, it won't stop changing for me because the world doesn't stop changing in it's beliefs and it's morals and what's sociably acceptable that it will make your head spin, it's made my head spin. But, there is a way to answer that question, I can assure you of that. The answer though is one of a quite nature and it may not be one that is appealing or one that will bring you great fame and fortune and you may never get to see the tides on the shores of Cancun, but it is a profound answer that you will, in the end, be able to take with you. So I, like always, ask myself, "What do I WANT TO BE?" It's good that I have kept asking that question, because the revelation that has come from constantly asking that very same question is that it made me realize that it's not about "What do I WANT TO BE?" But rather, "Who DO I WANT TO BE?" The answer for me is as simple as this, "A godly man". See in being a godly man, I will eliminate the need for chasing immortality because it is already provided for me, it will eliminate the need for titles, because I will already have one, it will eliminate the need for the tangible things to fill me up because I will already be filled. My legacy will not be one for buildings, or songs, because I'm already apart of a greater legacy; that of Jesus Christ the Lord Our Savior. I will no longer have to pursue happiness, because it isn't granted to us, it isn't guaranteed, but I will find contentment in knowing that I am not alone, that I need not be afraid because He is on my side. So what will you do today? How will you work today to fill your tomorrow with love and faith? Which legacy will you chose to pursue? The beauty of this life is we have all been granted with the gift of free will of choice; so we can do, literally, whatever it is we chose to do. What it comes down to is a choice of questions, but which will you ask yourself, "What do I WANT TO BE?" or will it be "WHO do I WANT TO BE?" I believe there is a significant difference in both. I hope and wish the highest of blessing for all of you (all three readers of my page) and that you find the contentment in your life that you're seeking.