It’s that time of the week already. Time to take a look back at what was and prepare for what’s coming next on this edition of “Becoming Today”.
So where to begin. Last week we started at the beginning so this week why don’t we do the opposite start with yesterday and work our way back to Monday. Maybe next week we’ll start somewhere in the middle. Only time will tell.
Yesterday was our first “Free Form Friday”, where I shared some random observations.
Change is an eternal constant in life. Even baseball since its work stoppage in 1994, its pandemic related challenges to carry on in recent seasons and this year’s delays due to labor disputes has caused us to change our perspective of the poignant words recited by James Earl Jones’ in the film “Field of Dreams”:
“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.
America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.
It has been erased like a blackboard,
rebuilt and erased again.
But baseball has marked the time.
This field, this game; it’s a part of our past,
tt reminds us of all that once was good,
and could be again.”
Change is inevitable and necessary. It’s not to be feared, rather embraced.
Change is a foundational aspect of our “Becoming”. We should constantly be seeking to continue the forward and upward momentum of an ever changing perspective, understanding and acceptance of what it is truly to be “Becoming”.
Hopefully these changes include “Becoming” a better person, a better friend, better lover, in a better world.
Something that caught my eye this week was a study of global happiness. They laid their results out on a map.
According to their findings right now the happiest place on the planet is not Disney World and yes the study was completed before this week’s protests there.
It turns out the happiest people on the planet are in Finland.
While the least happy reside in Afghanistan.
Included in their methodology were factors of:
Social support
Life expectancy
Freedom to make life choices
Generosity
Gross Domestic Product per capita
Perceptions of corruption
Positive and negative affects
“The report takes special considerations to track how COVID-19 has impacted aspects of our daily lives, and how it’s affected global happiness levels”
In summary they found we are happier in the first quarter of 2022 than we were a year ago.
On an eight point scale, the world average is 5.6.
Finland topped at 7.8 plus “for the fifth year in a row. Finland is one of five Nordic countries to place in the top 10. Denmark comes in second place, followed by Iceland in third”.
By contrast Afghanistan as the least happiest place on earth scored only 2.4.
In Europe they moted a statistic that was heavily influenced by recent events. Ukraine was the least happy on that continent with an overall level of 5.1.
Interestingly still in the middle of the ranking factors, despite what the researchers noted as a contributing circumstance, quote, “ Events in the country have recently taken a turn for the worse, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022”.
Yes it has been more than a month now since the evil intentions launched against the people of Ukraine. At the time those responsible for the ongoing atrocities declared they expected to battle there for two days.
This again points to the strength and “Becoming” nature of the Ukrainian people as their resolve remains reigning.
Thursday we spent our time together “Shining Light on the Lights”. In part one of our ten part weekly series, we’ll spend the fourth day of our shared week revisiting some revelation knowledge I first shared last August.
This idea of the 8 Points of Light is among those. While it builds upon and expands some concepts we’ve previously talked about along our shared journey, it also introduced me and now I will introduce you to some amazing concepts that are already improving my life and overall levels of joy.
Contentment, rest, peace and happiness are in far greater supply and more readily available since I accepted this knowledge and leapt forward in Faith with it.
So that you will have the time and space to fully digest and reflect upon each of the points, I’ll be sharing them over the course of the next eight weeks, on Thursdays.
I have visualized the idea as a multi-colored flower, with eight petals. One for each point of light we have available to use and can be radiating within our environments. In the following weeks we’ll touch upon an individual petal and explore it’s beauty and significance.
As you can see by the opening graphic here, I am not yet naming the points, each day beginning next Thursday, I’ll focus on a petal and like the Sacred Hoop, continue on clockwise as we keep our circles of lives in forward momentum.
The discovery, learning and the ongoing process of coming to an increased understanding of each of these eight points of light, for me, certainly has been enlightening.
I’m hopeful and praying that it will be for you as well.
Seeking enlightenment is essential to our journey here. After all, what I’m talking about each day is much closer aligned with “Becoming” as a noun: ‘’the process of coming to be something or of passing into a state”. Coming to be always, “Becoming”. Growing, developing and shifting into an attitude and daily practice of always, “Becoming”.
join us as we continue this series next Thursday, here on “Becoming Today”.Then we’ll undertake an exploration of the first of the 8 Points of Light, which is ….
You really didn’t think I was going to let that one slip through the crack… yet, did you?
On Wednesday we also in our week of revisions and firsts here on “Becoming Today” Began a search and rescue mission for wisdom. We began at the beginning of the Book of Proverbs and will now take one chapter each week for the next 3O weeks.
In “Searching For Wisdom”, I noted, “Now as I am apt to do, even if you have studied Proverbs before, our undertaking may be a bit different, as we’ll be adding some passion to it…
Yes, a play on words because I am being called to focus this teaching around the The Passion Translation® book of Isaiah and New Testament with Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs translated from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts.
Done so by Dr. Brian Simmons who believes the” message of God’s story is timeless; the Word of God doesn’t change. But the methods by which that story is communicated should be timely; the vessels that steward God’s Word can and should change.
One of those timely methods is Bible translation. Bible translations are both a gift and a problem. They give us the words God spoke through his servants, but words can be poor containers for revelation because they leak!
The meanings of words change from one generation to the next. Meaning is influenced by culture, background, and many other details. Just imagine how differently the Hebrew authors of the Old Testament saw the world three thousand years ago from the way we see it today!”
As there is no such thing as a truly literal translation of the Bible, “the purpose of the Passion Translation is to reintroduce the passion and fire of the Bible to the English reader. It doesn’t merely convey the literal meaning of words. It expresses God’s passion for people and his world by translating the original, life-changing message of God’s Word for modern readers”.
With these explanations out of the way, now I hope and pray you will choose to actively join us along this portion of our shared journey.
The opening of this chapter aptly titled , “The Prologue” give us the reference to who and why of this brilliant book as as verses 3 through 5 explain, there are rewards for us coming to know these teachings:
3
Those who cling to these words will receive discipline
to demonstrate wisdom[d] in every relationship
and to choose what is right and just and fair.
4
These proverbs will give you great skill
to teach the immature and make them wise,
to give youth the understanding of their design and destiny.
5
For the wise, these proverbs will make you even wiser,
and for those with discernment,
you will be able to acquire brilliant strategies for leadership.
Wisdom, understood in verse three as “righteousness”, is a great internal compass point to help set the course for our paths.
This is developed upon in verses 8-19, where instruction, timely and relevant still to this day is given for children; but is also extremely important for parents, guardians and grandparents as a reminder of our responsibility to raise up the next generations in the ewyas of truth, enlightenment, peace and Divine Love.
These instructions for us are also echoed in the Book of Titus, where we are given instructions that change as we do, taking us through the responsibilities of wisdom throughout our development and aging process.
As it is written in the first five verses of Titus 2, from the New Internal Version (NIV):
“You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.”
Tuesday became “Turning Point Toosday”
So this is something I’ve done for a while in my life. I alter the spelling of the day to give it a little more significance and often use it as a motivator for certain tasks or ideas. You see this second day of our week, commonly referred to as Tuesday, can become so much more.
Do you even know why it’s called Tuesday? It’s named in honor of a Norse god of war. Linguists race the word back to the “Old English”, word Tiwesdaeg. Interestingly enough when I type in that word, spell check wants to automatically change it to Tuesday.
Tuesday which I’m told makes perfect sense when spoken in Danish has the meaning ‘day of Tiw’ is named after the Anglo-Saxon version of the Roman god Mars. Not something I’ve ever thought about however as I mentioned for a while I’ve noted this day of the week to myself as Toos-day.
Playing off the similar sound of “Toos” and “Tues”, my motivational meaning for this day is “this day too, shall _______ (fill in your own blank).
This day too, shall shine. This day too shall amaze. This day too shall inspire. Even on an off-day, I know, this too shall pass. The possibilities are endless, so I’d rather note the day as uplifting rather than war like.
Anyway, beginning today, on this Toosday, and for the next five, I shall attempt to inspire and uplift too.
That’s why we’ll be considering these days as possible Turning Point Tuesdays.
So we better begin by reaching a common understanding of what I mean by experiencing a turning point day.
Turning point days are ones you remember, they are “Becoming” catalysts for great change in our life. They can mark a time for breakthroughs, inspiration and transformative transition.
They are encouraging, enlightening and inspiring. Definitely life altering, though that may take hindsight to realize. So why wait for a turning point to just magically appear?
Why not set our focus to achieving them on a specific day, like say a Toosday, and maybe even today!
What is required to do so, well “Step One: Decide”. Then choose to put that decision into action.
Inspiration can be found in many places, sometimes it might even sneak up on you, when you weren’t expecting it.
I then shared an interesting journey I found myself on over the course of two days, that through many twists and turns led to these lessons over the next six weeks.
The most brief summary I can offer from this past Toosday is that we all make mistakes. We can all be forgiven. We must learn to forgive ourselves.
Choose to learn from our past, release it and then actively apply the new found wisdom to our npath moving ahead both forward and upward, beyond our shortcomings to a new point, a new place of “Becoming”.
The action I was inspired to take is right here. To have this conversation with you. To share what I have learned and pray that it can be of benefit to you and through you as well.
Then that leaves us returning to Monday when our focus was on “Reemergence: Blossoming and Becoming”.
Spring is a time of reemergence. It signals the shifting of life’s processes of reemerging from the “Depths of Dormancy” and causing us to blossom once more.
Looking at some of the traditional symbols associated with this seasonal change, it is easy to see why this time of year is ideal to “bloom where we are planted’.
Spring has generally been accepted as the start of something new, a time of new beginnings, a period of progress, the blossoming of new things, birth, growth and creating new life. All very “Becoming” aspects.
Throughout the ages, poets, philosophers and theologians have looked at Spring as a time to refocus on fertility, rebirth, renewal, creativity, rejoicing, self-expression, productivity and transition.
These are all forms of new beginnings like the ones we may envision for ourselves.
When we live our lives in faith we are “Becoming” our destinies as we comprehend and embrace the power in always trusting God. Our lives truly reveal their meaning and purpose when we rely on His wisdom, timing and goodness.
Much of “Becoming” involves embracing the need for change, it is the only way in which we can truly grow, develop and realize our destinies. Life is a process. A repetitive one. We learn, grow, become then question, learn, grow and continue “Becoming”.
With this reemergence of blossoming and “Becoming”, we are being granted the potential for momentous change and growth. Are you ready? Are you willing to accept this time of transformative transition”?
As I embrace this new spring forward in my life, I am already accepting the need for and implementing change in my life and this project.
The life changes we discussed as the week progressed, and just reviewed above. The changes here have already begun and will not be slowing anytime soon.
For the next six weeks, I’ll share Turning Point Toosdays. That’s when our discussions will revolve around a topic that I hope will inform and help to better illuminate our shared path.
Then on Thursday, we’ll revisit a very enlightening series I came to understand last summer during “My Revival”. It was as a result of this trip that I came to the revelation-knowledge of what I termed the “8 Points of Light”. As it can be quite a lengthy study, we’ll take one point each week for eight successive Thursdays. This week I’ll reveal the first of those points.
Fridays will be “Free Form Fridays”. A little different from our regular conversations, each week I’ll take this day to share random thoughts, observations and updates to a multitude of issues we may be encountering.
Growth is good. Change is constant. As for what turns up next, make sure you decide to stop by and join us come Monday on our next edition of “Becoming Today”.
Becoming Today with Rochelle Jeanette 