Here are my thoughts: First, creating a vision for my life requires I set my ego aside. When I say ego, I mean controlling my emotions and giving up my need to be right so I can initially think strategically. For me casting a vision or re-aiming my life starts by looking for the Truth in any given situation. I failed many times in this endeavor and allowed my emotions and my need to be right to control my thought process or the conversation with less than desirable results.
I believe the Truth is absolute. It's non-negotiable. My search for the Truth starts in the design of our world, our environment, and human nature. I believe the Truth is different from a person's need to be right. My highest definition of the Truth is: The highest Truth is any Truth that's universally 'real' or 'factual'; if it’s True, then it works. You don’t have to believe the Truth if you don’t want to, but it’s still Truth.
Gravity is a great example of a Truth. Every day all over the world, in every culture, people test the Truth of gravity in more ways than can ever be written down. Getting out of bed and walking to the kitchen for coffee, then spilling that hot coffee on your leg because your not awake and that coffee burns you. Let’s call that a Gravity Truth Fail. Trying to keep my little dog Yogi from jumping off the bed because he is getting old and the impact from him landing on the floor is too hard on his legs, Gravity Truth Fail. Boarding a plane and successfully flying through the air and landing safely at your destination, Gravity Truth Success. I could go on and on; gravity is a Truth we can take for granted, but anyone who tests it and makes a mistake pays the price. Truth exists and is reflected in every race of people on this earth and inside every culture. The Truth is despite your age, your race, your sex, your politics, your ideology, religion. I believe that every human being is subject to the Truth.
Here is a universal Truth that popular American culture has ignored with perilous results. Character comes before culture. We must first judge a person by the content of their character regardless of culture, age, race, sex, politics, ideology, or religion. Once we give up the need to be right or defensive, this Truth is actually really easy to see, but it’s difficult to consistently live because it conflicts with the desire for freedom and the right to choose that’s also hardwired in the heart of every human. This conflict is what makes us uniquely human and is undeniably a reason why character matters in humans.
Think about all the different cultures around the world, all the diverse perspectives and different ways of living life. It’s universally True inside each culture that there is a war. There is light and the dark inside all cultures and traditions, and the light and the dark compete daily against each other. The culture reflects its identity and values (strongest beliefs). That identity and those values are on display through the traditions and the stories of its people for everyone to see. Here is another Truth of human nature. Within every culture, there are good people, and there are bad people. People within the culture have different personal values, and those values also compete. It’s just True that the character of the people inside the culture matters. When personal character is sacrificed for culture, the Truth eventually exposes that entire culture. No matter the culture, the Truth of human nature still applies. When a society or culture becomes dominated by evil people or the dark side of the culture; when the people without personal character lead, oppression of the majority by a minority will be the result. That Truth applies whether we want it to or not.
Here is how the Truth crushes our lives as individuals like a Gravity Fail: The TRUTH continually exposes us when our responsibility level in life or our platform grows faster than our character development as a person or when our need and desire to be affirmed or belong is so strong that we compromise our personal Identity and values in the attempt to fill the hole in our heart (a universal Truth of the human condition) that yearns to be enough.
More Random Thoughts:
1. Culture isn’t necessarily good or bad; people are.
2. The Truth doesn’t favor people or culture; the Truth simply is.
3. The desire to be free and to get to make your own choices is hardwired in every human heart. Character, values, tradition, and culture will determine how many people get to choose for themselves and live free.
4. Being traditional can be a curse if the people inside the culture quit developing their personal character.
5. Societies who are led by people who lack character over many generations damn their culture from the inside out.
6. Needing to be right and telling the Truth are both important, but are two very different things.
7. We need to know who we are as individuals first before we can hope to understand how to live inside our culture.
8. Choose wisely who you serve and who you serve with.
S&H
Keep Coming Forward
Jim Hensel
