Tracks In The Dust

A Father's Advice About Learning the Mission of Life

Archive for the tag “Lying to Yourself”

06 Mar 2014

Be True to Yourself

There is a very long story, from a very long time ago that I have rarely shared.

Over ten years ago my first-born son left home to go out on his own. He had met someone on the Internet and became friends with her during his early teen years. When he turned 18 he decided he wanted to move away to be with her.

Perhaps a classic story of the prodigal son. Perhaps something that would have ended up on one of those hyper-active sensational TV talk shows [did I say it was a long story?]. It was painful as my wife and I and the rest of our family watched our son take what seemed a drastic 180 degree turn in his life and leave home with someone who we had never realized existed to that point.

There were a thousand things we wanted to say to him. There still are, though I doubt he’d listen. Yet over time and a highly emotional roller coaster of feelings, he has been out of contact with our family for over 10 years.

In reality there is only one thing to say to him. It was something that struck me the other day [another long story]. It is something I have to believe that my other three children have learned. Perhaps even because of their oldest brother, perhaps just because we had to live it with them again and again.

Be true to yourself. Don’t lie to yourself, but be honest to what you know in your core are the right things to do and be.

Sure, you will make mistakes, you will find yourself doing and saying things that aren’t really part of the inner center you have come to know. But in the end, be true to who you know you are. Use compassion and forgiveness and the awareness that you are part of the human race and God’s plan for it. Make peace with what you are. But don’t sell yourself short. You have the potential to be the person you know you could be. I am not talking about riches, or fame. But be the “person” that defines your spiritual inner self. God will be your guide.

So to my three wonderful kids, I give them this advice. Don’t deny it. Be true to yourself, to who you are.

To my long-lost first son. If there was one thing to say…

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Be True to Yourself, Compassion, Family, Lying to Yourself, Postive Thinking, Reality Check, Self-Awareness, Slow Down, Truth

05 Mar 2014

Life Priorities

Your life’s priorities. If you had to list them you may find it easy or it may be harder than you expected.

I’m guessing that day-to-day however, you probably don’t allow much time to reference that list. Time starts to consume the day and like most of us, it can divert attention elsewhere. Maybe it’s the work deadline we have to meet, getting the kids to school, housework, watching your favorite TV shows, making dinner, networking on Facebook or walking the dog. Whatever it is there seems to be things that get in the way of the “real” priorities in our lives.

There are things we let become priorities over the fundamental things that should count. Things like money, being noticed in the big world we live in, even our friends and family distract us from the most important things.

We have to remember the joy we get from the grace of God. I am certain that right there someone reading this interprets that as something “religious” and stops reading. I know over my life I have fast-forwarded by the simple messages because I think that someone has an agenda about God. But is it NOT a bible-thumping Jesus message that was going to get lost in all the rules and regulations that we humans wallow in to justify our beliefs.

It isnt that way. It is more of the message and less of the rules.

Everyone I meet is searching for something, although some of them will deny it. Striving for adjusting their priorities in their lives so that they can be better, have a better life, be better parents or be better people. Finding that elusive center in their lives can be consuming. Money, friends, possessions, power, travel – whatever seems to validate the life we live. We can simply miss the priority. The center.

Many people have found it. They are settled in their lives. I can tell you personally that priorities get away from me. I know that those “other things” in my life have taken over the simple core value of being settled in my life. It should be the priority of Him.