Heart of a Gentleman

Harold Camping’s prediction about the Rapture has garnered a flurry of news stories, Facebook posts, tweets and blog posts. While there are many who do not believe his prediction, there seem to be thousands, if not millions, who do. This prediction has created an opportunity to make jokes and clown the “absurdity” and “insanity” of such a belief especially when the words attributed to Jesus in Matthew 24:36 clearly state that “no one knows” when this will take place, not even “the Son”.

As I read through posts on Twitter and Facebook today I remembered a simple truth: “Life is a mirror”. Another way of saying this is “As within, so without”. Whatever we see or experience outside of us is actually a reflection of what’s going on internally (whether we are conscious of it or not). Remembering this, a question came to me:

What insane or absurd beliefs about my life and I holding right now?

If i am able to see that Harold Camping and his followers clearly believe in something (with their whole being) that is actually not true, there must be something within me holding an equally false belief. Knowing this, I am compelled to search within myself and examine what false assumptions have I made about my life.

• Maybe I believe I deserve a life without ease and full of stress.
• Maybe I’ve made an agreement with struggle and believe that this is the only way to live.
• Maybe I have made an agreement with frustrating relationships that always crash and burn.
• Maybe I have chosen to believe in lack, limitation and poverty and so my life reflects that belief.
• Maybe I believe that sickness and pain are supposed to be a part of my everyday life.

Do you see what I’m getting at?

While my life is good and getting better all the time, I have been challenging myself over the past few months to believe in a bigger, greater, healthier, more whole life for myself than I previously imagined. What is becoming clearer to me is just how vast, open and amazing our lives can truly be if we allow ourselves to consider that even in our “good lives” we may still believe in smallness and limitation. With that belief we create our own glass ceiling. In my eyes that is just as absurd and insane as believing tomorrow the world will end.

Thankfully, every belief we hold can be changed. When that belief is changed, we experience the fruits of our newly held beliefs. The beauty and challenge of the journey is that no mountain peak lasts forever. Once we reach the “peak”, a voice within us says “Look up!” and we realize there is a new journey and a new mountain peak to ascend to.

Today I challenge you as I challenge myself to consider what limiting beliefs you hold about your life in this moment. Even as you are experiencing good in your life be mindful not to create a ceiling on that good.

There is more. Life is more. The Universe is more. Your good is more. God is more.