What is life? How does it progress?
I'm sitting at one of my most favorite places in the world, the Fort Worth Japanese Gardens and I'm in awe at what's in front of me. All I see are dead plants and barren trees.
The scene in front of me is void of life and happiness. The trees have no leaves on them, the once flowering plants are a dark brown. I wonder what happened to this place.
It used to be bursting with color. Varying greens, bright pinks, yellows reds and oranges. Sun shining through the vibrant green leaves of the trees.
And now its as if some curse has swept through wiping away all the colors and life that were once here.
As I continue to mull over the spectacle in front of me, I start to see the beauty of the Winter Japanese Gardens. Even though it appears the life has left this place in a matter of months it will be bursting with life again. It is just going through its cycle of the seasons and right now is its down time.
That's what the nature of the human life is. It is a continual cycle. There is no cycle that is always progressing, always rising. A cycle is exactly that. A cycle with periods of ups AND downs, highs and lows. But it is in the lows that transformation happens. It is in the lows that we grow and gather strength.
I am in a low period and have been for many months now. I have been sulking in it, allowing it to destroy me. Instead of realizing the blessing that lies in it.
How can we grow when there is nothing wrong? How can we change if we have no reason to change? How can we start searching for something when there is nothing missing in our lives?
That is the purpose of the lows in our life cycle to challenge us to change, to grow in ways that would not be possible in the highs.
It is here that we are able to gather strength, learn patience, endurance, persistence, but more importantly it is here that we find ourselves, that we find God and Truth. It is here that we begin our quest for true bliss.
I see the beauty in the barren Winter Japanese Gardens and as such I see the beauty in the down time of my life. The beauty in knowing that I'm growing. It may be hard to see clearly and put my hands on it, but I'm growing in ways that no one can see except soul. I'm growing and learning about my life, my path, myself.
So if you're going through a down time, what do you see? What picture is in front of you? If it is something other than beauty, I would challenge you to begin searching, to begin seeking and see the beauty in the cycle of life; its ups and its downs.
The scene in front of me is void of life and happiness. The trees have no leaves on them, the once flowering plants are a dark brown. I wonder what happened to this place.
It used to be bursting with color. Varying greens, bright pinks, yellows reds and oranges. Sun shining through the vibrant green leaves of the trees.
And now its as if some curse has swept through wiping away all the colors and life that were once here.
As I continue to mull over the spectacle in front of me, I start to see the beauty of the Winter Japanese Gardens. Even though it appears the life has left this place in a matter of months it will be bursting with life again. It is just going through its cycle of the seasons and right now is its down time.
That's what the nature of the human life is. It is a continual cycle. There is no cycle that is always progressing, always rising. A cycle is exactly that. A cycle with periods of ups AND downs, highs and lows. But it is in the lows that transformation happens. It is in the lows that we grow and gather strength.
I am in a low period and have been for many months now. I have been sulking in it, allowing it to destroy me. Instead of realizing the blessing that lies in it.
How can we grow when there is nothing wrong? How can we change if we have no reason to change? How can we start searching for something when there is nothing missing in our lives?
That is the purpose of the lows in our life cycle to challenge us to change, to grow in ways that would not be possible in the highs.
It is here that we are able to gather strength, learn patience, endurance, persistence, but more importantly it is here that we find ourselves, that we find God and Truth. It is here that we begin our quest for true bliss.
I see the beauty in the barren Winter Japanese Gardens and as such I see the beauty in the down time of my life. The beauty in knowing that I'm growing. It may be hard to see clearly and put my hands on it, but I'm growing in ways that no one can see except soul. I'm growing and learning about my life, my path, myself.
So if you're going through a down time, what do you see? What picture is in front of you? If it is something other than beauty, I would challenge you to begin searching, to begin seeking and see the beauty in the cycle of life; its ups and its downs.
