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AM I GOOD ENOUGH

by Ryan Middleton
11/9/2016

Am I good enough to be a friend?
Am I good enough to comfort the lonely?
Am I good enough to cheer the sad?
Am I good enough to show beauty to every eye?
Am I good enough to make others happy?

Am I good enough to help the needy?
Am I good enough to give hope to the hopeless?
Am I good enough to bring healing to the broken?
Am I good enough to spread love to every soul?
Am I good enough to bring peace to the world?

Am I good enough to please God?

When I am a friend,
When I comfort the lonely,
When I cheer the sad,
When I show beauty to every eye,
Then I make others happy.

When I help the needy,
When I give hope to the hopeless.
When I heal the broken,
When I spread love to every soul,
Then I bring peace to the world.

Then I know I please God.

CHANGE FOR NO ONE BUT YOURSELF AND GOD.

It is too much to meet the expectations of those who judge us. Especially when they don't have their stuff together. We must accept others as they are. People are more willing to change when they feel good about themselves and want to make others happy.

THE VOICES

Early 1983

I had a dream before I left for my mission in which I had some news that was so wonderful and exciting that I just had to share it with everyone.

I was walking down a road shouting out the good news to everyone who would hear. I proceeded for quite some time but then I was drowned out by a very loud voice behind me. The voice kept saying that what I was saying was not true. The voice was so loud that I could not be heard, and I became very sad. I wanted to share something important but no one could hear me. This sadness lasted for so long that I became very discouraged.

After a while, other voices behind me began drowning out the other voice, saying that what I was saying was true. It was a multitude of voices. I began to take heart once again, and had to see who this crowd was. I looked behind me and saw books, manuscripts, scrolls, stone tablets and metal plates rising from the ground as of voices from the past. All of them testifying of the veracity of my message.

I have since committed to speaking only the truth of all things, never doubting. I speak truth to power.

THE POWER OF ONE

CORRUPTED RELIGION

I CONTINUE TO BE AMAZED at the the complexity of corruption in the name of religion.  Humans have been on this planet for thousands of years, which has been enough time for nefarious individuals and groups to generate either outright lies and false belief systems, or to at least corrupt the good belief systems by degrees.

These have caused much division, bitterness and hatred between devotees of each religion.  The din and confusions drive many to doubt and deny the validity of any belief system. It is hard to believe that that which is to give us an upward direction in spiritual growth would actually tear us down.  We lose confidence in anything we were trained to accept. We despair, we resent, we rebel.  Everything loses meaning and purpose. Soon, we are left to wander with no sense of direction, much less destination. Signposts mean nothing.  Each fork in the road is just another fork in the road.

We seek answers that do not come, meaning that is not defined, purpose that is not disclosed.  All seems futile. Then, for some reason, we decide death is the solution to end our internal conflicts. Perhaps we will then cease to exist, and our bodies rejoin the cosmic elements. Yes, we falsely assume, that will fix things for me. False, because we think we do not know what really lies on the other side of death.

WE SHOULD NOT GIVE UP YET.

While alive, we still have a mind that can question, that can search, that can reason. We have wise men, parents or other leaders that have had the same questions.  They have experienced or observed the same turmoil as we have. They have come to grips with things and learned from them. They have summarized them into words of wisdom. They established behaviors that extended their lives. Their lives became journeys into new and greater realms of high purpose. They eventually realized that their purpose was to grow, to learn, to gather more knowledge and wisdom.

They also learned that to achieve this more effectively, they had to join with others in the same pursuit. When they joined, there was no more division, bitterness and hatred. They were of one mind. They cared for each other as of one body. They loved and were loved. They were selfless and not selfish. They were individuals in a Singularity.

They were powerful and indestructible.

SO HOW DO WE START THIS JOURNEY TO THE SINGULARITY?

Regardless of all the commotion and confusion around us, we just start with what we know:

• We exist. I think, therefore, I am.
• We did not create ourselves.  Therefore, something greater than us created us.
• We are nothing. The universe continues with or without us. It is also much bigger than we can ever imagine. Our existence is brief in the grand scheme of things.
• We are something.  For whatever reason, through cause and effect, we exist as intelligent living, breathing mobile creatures. We have self-determination.
• We feel pain and pleasure, sadness and joy.  We learn consequences of certain behaviors.
• We are not alone. Others co-exist with us. Many have come and gone and will continue to come and go.
• We are intertwined. What happens to one happens to all.
• Love is the most powerful force of all and knows no bounds.  It cannot be measured like electricity, magnetism and gravity. It is only felt. It is also the only force that binds all things.

When we come to these realizations, our lives gain purpose and meaning. We become wise enough to see for ourselves what good and evil men have wrought, We can discern right from wrong. We are no longer deceived, but enlightened.

HUMANITY IS OUR RACE
LOVE IS OUR RELIGION

"Instructions": The Short Introduction Video

Jon is a  friend from way back, and I loved his poetry then.

THAT WHICH IS TRUE IS THAT WHICH I SEEK

I am ready at a moments notice

to discard all my paradigms 

and replace them with the naked truth.

EPIPHANY

It is always amazing how understanding the small things enlightens us about the big things.
There is no greater pleasure than having our eyes opened and new understanding begins.
Things make sense. Purpose becomes meaningful.
Knowledge becomes a power unto wisdom.