Sometimes I wonder why as an adult things are so difficult; and then I realize this is life, and this is the test. We have been allowed life's experiences, been given the materials, either taught or written, and had the chance to internalize them. That is the course. Alphabetically everything from the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, to the Bible, to the Constitution, to the Koran or even Zig Ziglar's books on everything from ethics, to marriage, to becoming a better person, and more are all there to show us how to enhance our lives. Yet how many of us have taken the time to read and study them, internalize them, and live by them? We all have been given the materials and the experiences to internalize. That is the course and now this is the test.
The rules we learn in childhood often get morphed, rationalized, and remodeled into alternate shapes to justify our current behaviors. Instead of allowing them to bend and mold us into better human beings, we tend to continue buying new books and looking for theoretical models that validate our own actions and beliefs, keeping a lot authors working and a lot of other's in business. The answers don't change yet we keep looking for new solutions to validate the way we want the world to be? We often ignore the course, and then deny the test.
We drive down the road at 85 miles an hour and get stopped. Then we get angry with the officer; the person we actually pay to protect us, at times from ourselves. We get mad at the person holding us responsible; when we are the ones failing to adhere to the laws that bind us together as a civilized society. This is the test and not the course.
We often get frustrated when we see people acting contrary to the rules of social living, and at the same time, we fail to model responsible behavior for our own children. We wonder why our children have too many things as we continue to give them more and then we call them entitled and disrespectful. We model the behaviors so what do we want them to do?
Often there are simple solutions to complex problems. Diabetes, heart disease, and many other ailments could easily be reduced if we would just stop eating so much junk food, include more vegetables and fruit in our diets, walk a little more, drink a bit less, respect ourselves and heed the advice of the medical community. All of the information is out there in multiple forms, but we often don't apply it. I guess that's because we don't recognize that this is the test, and not the course.
Throughout our lives many of us have been taught things that we've failed to follow, and we still wonder why we struggle. I don't think we recognize that this is it; the test and not the course. I only hope I've learned, remember and used all of life's lessons, to make this a better place for my family, my friends and the world. We are all here with a purpose. Our job is to find out what our purpose is. By applying our lifetime of learning to making this brief life better, not only for ourselves, but also for those around us, I believe we put ourselves at the head of the class.
I don't know if this life is pass/fail, marked on a curve or if it is totally subjective. All I can suggest is that we keep studying and continually keep in mind that this life is the test of all we have learned in the course of it.
Be well,
John
