If you never have quiet,
You will never hear the things
That don’t make any noise.
A Time for Quiet
Transcended Life
One of the great quests of this life,
Is to find something that matters more to you than life,
Something for which you would give up your life.
For if you do not,
Then you haven’t transcended life.
Until You Love God
You may have learned to hate evil,
But you will still never know peace,
Until you learn to love God.
Only God Has Authority
The only one with the authority to dismantle your belief in God,
Is God, Himself.
Being Right vs Being True
There is a world of difference between wanting to be right,
Versus wanting to be true.
Seek to be true, even when it reveals that you weren’t right.
Paradox of Knowing Truth
The man who admits to being uncertain,
Is closer to the truth,
Than the man who insists he has sure knowledge.
Nothing Meaningful Without the Soul
No argument, or even well-meaning discussion, will accomplish anything meaningful, unless you get to speak to the real, authentic soul that lives within the other person. Glimpses of that genuine, vulnerable soul are very rare. It is almost always shut up behind a facade, which you will never make any serious impression upon.
Sincere Disagreement
I would far rather have a man disagree with my genuine beliefs, than for him to disagree with fabricated positions I have never held.
If you try to tell me what I believe to discredit my faith, then your disagreement with me is not rational, it is emotional.
Purposeful Pain
Much of what we call “suffering” is simply going through pain that we don’t think we’re supposed to. We had a plan or an expectation for life, and the pain is ruining all of that, and it can be a crippling disappointment that some never grow past.
Growth comes in accepting. It comes in saying, “Well maybe this is the right pain for me. Maybe this is here for me to learn how to get through it. Maybe this is exactly the path my quest was meant to follow.” Purposeful pain yields growth, meaningless suffering only yields agony.
What Really Matters
Often, that which we value most is not what we assume. The only way to know our true priorities is to observe what we compromise at the expense of what else.
Do we keep our belief in God’s commandments quiet when those around us oppose them? Then we value society more than God.
Do we pursue early sexual gratification, even though we know it will make us unattractive to a potential spouse? Then we value pleasure more than family.
Do we ignore our neighbor asking for help loading their truck so that we can have a nice evening to ourselves? Then we value self more than community.
And through it all, we may tell ourselves that God, family, and community matter to us most, but our actions reveal the truth of the matter. They do not. Social acceptance, pleasure, and self are our true priorities. But the good news is, our priorities can be altered, we just have to make sacrifices. Choose the commandments, the abstinence, the community service, even when we do not want them. In time, the heart will change so that we do.
Spiritual Wanderings 