Self-Enrichment by Unselfish Means
by Val John Jennings
Truly the answers to our greatest needs are near. They are WITHIN OUR GRASP!
As a boy scout I remember being taught that stinging nettle was an edible plant. To brush against it lightly was uncomfortable and irritating, but to boldly grasp it and pull it out of the ground would result in little or no discomfort. I had to learn the truthfulness of that council by trying to gather nettle myself. My faith in the understanding of others was not disappointing. I was able to gather nettle without gloves or fear.
Getting rid of poison ivy, however, was a different matter. Any direct contact to the skin was to be avoided at all costs. It didn't matter that some who seemed to "bathe" in the stuff went without ill effects and others were contaminated by merely touching one so exposed.
Many of life's choices carry their own poisons. Cigarette smoking, sexual promiscuousness, greed, hate, envy, covetousness, fear, reinforced failures, etc. can harm not only ourselves but have a residual effect on others.
The proper treatment for poison ivy contamination is to cleanse immediately. Proper washing of both person and clothing can reduce the effects of the poison and reduce or remove the consequences. Perhaps the greatest aid in preventing contamination is identification of the offending plant. The saying, "Leaves three. Let it be." and field trips, where an informed leader points out the plant in its natural settting, have saved many a hiker from exposure.
Why do so many young people ignore the wisdom of their elders and rush headfirst into potentially damaging and foolish adventures? This question has been asked by parents, friends, and observers throughout the ages. Perhaps we all have a part of that impatient desire to enjoy the fruits before the seeds are planted.
Patience is a virtue. We need to stop and smell the roses. To await the instructions of the informed before heading forward into new adventures can reduce the possibility of contamination and is effective poison control.
"My mind is made up! Don't confuse me with facts." is a mental set based on impatience. Truth is stronger than error. It withstands inspection. It is worth waiting for.
Waiting patiently is much more than wishing for good things to happen. Much time is spent, often wasted, just standing around, waiting to see what happens. With no purpose, motive, ambition or direction, many of us are drawn into the first activity that attracts us. Too often it becomes a mad rush through the fields of poison ivy.
When eating out we usually ask to see the menu. We may have previously learned the selections and have our choice made. We do know that there are choices involved.
America has been called the great land of opportunity. Many have gone from ordinary to successful, from rags to riches, from dispair to hope, by capturing the American Dream. Those who made the best choices first waited patiently to see the menu.
This book is intended to invite the reader to ponder; to prepare before imbarking on an ongoing adventure; to warn of distractions, hazards, and false paths observed by earlier travelers; and to help chart a healthier, more satisfying, and purposeful course.
We do not need to do everything. To do it only because it is there to do it is folly. To act without purpose is to react to our impatience. Wait! Wait until you are prepared.
Let's read the menu, select the course, prepare, and then begin. May each journey you select enrich your experience and give you lasting satisfaction.
Reading the Menu
We don't order pizza in a chinese restaurant, nor do we usually order cake and ice cream for breakfast. Creating our own menu may satisfy our individual desire for self-expression. It may not provide for all our needs unless we also own the restaurant. If we find choices unsatisfactory, we can always go somewhere else. Even when selecting, dining, and digesting our selection, we are free to choose whether to repeat the experience or look further for a more satisfying one.
Unless we have committed to a grand adventure such as marriage, employment, religion, etc. we are free to vary our selections and choose our next experience from the unexaustable variety of untried opportunity. To be disatisfied when the food is delicious, our stomach full, and our host pleasant and agreeable requires us to ask ourselves, "Why?". Are we impatient? Hunger does not go away immediately with the first bite nor does anxiety go away immediately when the cause is remedied. We must savor the taste and learn to enjoy the experience.
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." is a strong incentive for hungry cattle. It is folly for a wise man to give up a grubstake for a mistake. To make the best of the adventure around you may ultimately lead to new locations and exotic places. We can travel in the security of inner peace or the discontentment of lost dreams. We can always hope for a better tomorrow and still make today the best experience it can be.
Someone once remarked that no one should ever starve in the desert because he can always eat the sand which is there. Seriously, we should not depart our oasis until we have mapped out the next watering hole.
An excellent plan for mapping out a new adventure is the PIER formula. It is to:
P L A N
I M P L I M E N T,
E V A L U A T E
R E V I S E
No plan is adequate that does not involve pondering. We should seek to discover cause and effect and the counsel of God before making a final decision. Man is finite, but God is infinite. We should counsel with Him to uncover all the possibilities.
PLAN
All truth is centered in the author of truth. It has been said that God plus one is a majority. Certainly no parent has greater insite into the needs of his children than does our eternal parent.
God has given us the perfect example of planned preparation in his Son, Jesus Christ, who was with the father from the beginning. His will was to do the will of the Father.
Obedience to precept is a new concept for some. In this modern age of do your own thing one soon comes to realize that no one can do everything and that we are all unique. Each of us can, and should, contribute to the good of all. Christ taught us to magnify our talents. To know thyself is the beginning of planning. We then begin to realize that, in sharing, we magnify our talents and enlarge our opportunity. When we give of ourselves, we increase in others without diminishing our own store. Love multiplies when it is divided. To understand faith, hope, charity, and love is to embrace the tools of the divine planner. No one can plan farther than they can invision. God helps us with the eternal perspective.
An excellent planning tool used by many is the Benjamin Franklin method. It helps us to look at our concerns from contrasting perspectives. Used properly, it gives us the necessary forethought to effectively ponder and pray for that eternal perspective.
Problem Statement:
Pro (list all possibilities, on left below the line ) Con (list all concerns, and center below the line)
All problems are not solved by an appeal to common sense nor to rational thinking. With eternal perspective we can see beyond the obvious to the reality that is truth.
Generally, satisfactory choices bring satisfactory feelings. Bad choices bring anxiety and uncomfortable feelings. Great choices bring joy and enthusiastic feelings. "'Tis not ours to reason why. "Tis but ours to do or die." is a false standard. Blind faith and unreasoned action usually lead to heartache, misery, and death; a slow death by poisoning. Dead ideas like dead leaves need to be raked away for us to see the green grass of renewed opportunity.
If a plan's properly made we can face, unafraid, our journey into tomorrow. But plans, delayed, or hastily made most often lead usto sorrow. Fortunately plans can be altered, adjusted, tested, and trusted in a mental sense before we actually carry trhem out. Once our mental set is established and our course determined, we can embark with faith in our new adventure.
A sign along a muddy country road read: "CHOOSE YOUR RUT. YOU'LL BE IN IT FOR THE NEXT TWENTY MILES!". Fortunately, there is a process to correct, adjust, and compensate for poor or inadequate planning or just plain wrong choices. But first we must test, or impliment, our plan.
IMPLIMENT
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
My father used to say as we pulled out of the driveway, "Well, were half way there! Because getting started is half the trip."
A carefully planned trip is one in which we are prepared for any eventuality. What do we do if things go wrong? What backup plan is available? If faced with difficulty, do we abandon our plan or regroup and try again?
Some decisions must be instantly made and the consequences determine the response. It is far better, when possible, to have designed and engineered the outcome. When we survey the possibilities, we are likely to survive the catastrophies.
Acts of haste create waste and an unplanned reaction could put us in traction. A thoughtful plan, well carried out, usually succeeds. We can usually finish the trip when a small leak occurs along the way. Stopping for repairs slows us and causes delay. But we're up again and on our way. A blowout usually occurs only when neglected and undetected damage is stressed. The consequence can be fear, injury or death.
Trite but true is the saying, "Plan your work, then, work your plan." As we carry out our grand designs we can see where our faith is taking us.
EVALUATE
When I was learning how to drive, the instructor gave me this advise, "Aim high in steering!" This meant to look down the road and to anticipate what was coming toward you, not to just gaze across the front of the car and on to the roadway.
When moving forward we check our speed, observe our surroundings, keep a lookout on the path ahead, and anticipate outcomes. Unexpected or unscheduled variations require adjustments.
we need to keep before us our final destination. Joy riding, as unplanned traveling is sometimes called, can loose its joy if harsh and brutal comsequences occur. This is more likely when unplanned, poorly planned, or dangerously inflexible action occurs. We need to be prepared to modify, adjust, improve, or cancel when things first begin to depart from our planned objective.
REVISE
As I approached the first half century of life, I began to notice that my arms had become to short when reading or holding the songbook in church. The remedy came with my first pair of reading glasses. As trying to read became harder and progressively more out of focus, I gradually came to realize that my visual sense was not adequate to all conditions. I had to make adjustments or suffer the consequences. At work, I found that using a magnifying glass became a necessary tool to accurately record certain data. As we evaluate our progress, we need to be certain our vision hasn't become blurred, or if it has, we need to magnify our perspective. Adjustments should be made to bring us back into focus, to be measured according to our original premise or plan. Unless we determine that our original plan was faulty or no longer applicable, we revise to compliment the plan. After revision, we are again subject to continued evaluation and revision.
If we have covered all the bases and our plan is in harmony with eternal laws, our effort to make it work ought to become progressively easier.
To quote Emerson: "That which we persist in doing becomes easire to do. Not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do it has increased.
Someone wrote, "DO IT!" as "DOn't quIT!" Most problems are solved by sustained effort. Too many people quit just short of success. Those who maximize their successes have learned to endure until they realize their goals. Achievement is a means to an end, not the end itself.
Mr. Anonymous also wrote: "When you're through trying, you're through!" If we truly desire to achieve, we see obstacles as challenges, not failure. Failure is surrender. Faith and action accomplish growth. Fear and indecision can keep us from obtaining the desired outcome. Loss of vision is a loss of eternal perspective.
Letting Go
I remember, as a child, visiting my aunt and uncle at a lake resort they managed. During my visit, my brother and I caught a chipmunk and put it in a cardboard box in the car. On returning to my grandmother's house, I anxiously went back out to the car to check on the chipmunk. As I opened the door, the chipmunk was emerging from the box. I grabbed the chipmunk and it bit my finger. I grabbed it with my other hand and it wouldn't let go of my finger and I wouldn't let go of the chipmunk. My dad, on hearing me yelling, rushed from the house and slapped me until I let go of the chipmunk, which quickly ran away.
Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts and well laid plans, we find ourselves holding on to the very thing that is injuring us. That is when we must let go. If we don't, the divine law of cause and effect will slap us about until we submit or suffer the abuse of unwise persistance.
Patience, persistance, and practice are essential tools used to cultivate the seeds of faith. Impatience can be the cause of negative action. Doing wrong does not produce right results. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. Eternal factors can also disable our efforts. Unless we can recognize the conditions affecting our difficulties, we remain helpless to correct or adjust. Pondering and prayer can help us reach beyond ourselves and discover the divine perspective which is truth. A friend or advisor can also serve to provide us with another viewpoint.
In map & compass field work, two seperate bearings can triangulate or cross each other at a specific point allowing for pin point accuracy. Too often we wander down the same road looking for solutions that may be past history or future opportunity. Without proper perspective, we remain confused and discouraged.
President Calvin Coolege said this about persistance: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistance. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccesful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not! The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistance and determination are omnipotent. The slogan, 'PRESS ON', has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
When we are sure of our facts, faith in our decisions dictates followthrough. To persist when common sense suggests otherwise, may be folly. It certainly is a time to re-evaluate and draw upon the eternal perspective.
Practice works toward perfection. As we improve in both ability and agility, we find it easier to accomplish our objectives. Even with new obstacles to overcome, our skills and our resolve have increased.
Repitition is not necessarily practice. Repitition can dull the senses rather than enhance them. As with memorized or prescribed prayers, it often serves as an excuse not to increase or renew our efforts. It is better to work harder and lengthen our stride than to establish a comfortable rut. Practice, like exercise, has a stretch factor.
The motto's I learned in scouting: "Do Your Best!","Be Prepared", and "Our Best Today For a Better Tomorrow", have served to remind me that we must be constantly striving to improve and that there is no standing still. If we stop moving forward, we are soon left behind.
My Mormon pioneer ancestors were a hardy lot. These pioneers who crossed the plains in covered wagon and handcarts had to let go. Many fine items of furniture and a large portion of personal goods had to be left behind as conditions demanded sacrifice and hard choices. Many let go of loved ones who died or were buried on the plains. For many, letting go means starting over. Unless one is willing to let go of the prejudices and improper habits that load one down and put their perspective out of focus, they cannot move forward.
To be truly able to grasp eternal concepts, we must be willing to let go. We must unload our prejudices, misconceptions, stressed relationships, feelings of anger, guilt, and despondant feelings. We must recognize that to grasp the hand of God is to let go of the worldly things we cling to so comfortably. Letting go is a change of attitude more than a change of circumstances. It is an expression of faith.
In order for a hot air balloon to soar, it must have more lifting power than ballast. Unloading sandbags is needed in order for our aspirations to be achieved. There is altitude in attitude. Repentance, release, reform, and redefinition help us achieve realization, reality, and reward. As we dump the restraints of our mental outlook, our desire to look upward increases. As we allow ourselves to soar heavenward, we become increasingly aware of the eternal truths.
The apostle, James said it best when he said:
"Draw nigh unto God and he will draw nigh unto you." James 4:10
To begin to know the author and finisher of our faith is to begin to grasp the reality of divine truth,
"...for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Hebrews 11:6
As we grasp the concept of eternal truth, letting go of personal restraints and doubts becomes an adventure in faith.
