One of my favourite stories is the one of the Good Samaritan. For those who don't know it, Jesus tells the story of a man who is beaten up on the road to Damascus and left for dead. Three people see the man but it was only the third person who helped - the person who you would least expect. The first two religious men just walked passed him.
In this day and age, there are lots of opportunities for us to help others who may be in need or may be less fortunate than ourselves. I would like to think that I would help someone in need - that I would be the third stranger going out of my way to help someone. While I studied Psychology at uni, I heard of a story where a woman was attacked and killed on the street and no one did anything. It was just the other day that I read in the news that a woman was a hit by number of vehicles and no one stopped to do anything. We question - how can these things happen? We would like to think that we would step in. But today I had a very strange experience.
As I was walking back to my car after a meal, I could hear someone yelling at me. Being a dark, winter's night, my first thought was to rush back to my car. As I reached the other side of the road, I realised the person yelling was a man in need. Before I could do anything, I realised he was now yelling angrily at me. I asked him if he was okay and he yelled no and continued to call me names. I then chose to leave before the situation became hostile.
You see, in this day and age, you hear of stories where good deeds don't go unpunished. You hear stories of people who house people in need in their homes and then end up being killed by these same people. Or people who lend a helping hand and that friendship ends up being abused. So now a few hours later I'm wondering what should I have done. Should I have helped, possibly putting myself in harm's way? Or was I right to initially make sure I was safe first?
To be honest, I don't think there is a right answer. Not every good deed goes unpunished and sometimes the problem is we are unwise in the decisions we make when helping people. Or sometimes we do have to risk it all to help people. I know for myself, my help has backfired because I don't always establish boundaries. In any which case, we should never be afraid to help others but we need to use wisdom in doing so - remembering that it's not a perfect science.
We've all got dreams. We've all got visions. But what do we do with them? Do we pursue those dreams? Do we pursue those visions?
If I'm honest, I feel like I have hit a brick wall in terms of what I want to achieve. Not because I have obstacles in my way. Well not external ones anyway. The only thing that is stopping me is...me. It's not that I haven't got dreams and visions. Creating a vision board is my favourite part of the journey! But it is completing the task which is the challenge. Arguably, it is starting the task - but how hard is it to sign up to the gym when you plan to get fit? How hard is it to buy healthy food when you plan to change your diet? How hard is it to buy paint when you plan to redecorate?
It isn't necessarily starting the task which is the challenge, but keeping momentum. Consistency is key. Many of us, including me, do not see our dreams and visions take form because of consistency.
Before 2017 is over- what dreams did you start that you did not finish? Are there any that you have started that you can complete this year or at least create the momentum for next year?
Here are for a few things that can help you to build momentum:
- Start - Many times I don't start something because I fear i won't finish it. But you don't know until you try.
- Share - Tell somebody about your dreams and visions, but also ask them to hold you accountable. This has to be someone you trust who you know will tell you the truth - someone who will encourage you when you want to give up.
- Push - (I kept trying to think of something beginning with 's', but I struggled! - Keep going. Invest in your dreams everyday. It takes 21 days to form a habit, so keep going until your dreams are complete!
Some time ago, our school took the children to watch Brazil play England at Wembley Stadium. The children were filled with excitement and anticipation, as they clambered out of the coaches ready to watch some of the biggest names in football. As we waited in the car park, I could hear the children yelling excitedly. Thinking they were starting the chanting early, I didn't pay much attention to what they were saying. Then I saw them pointing to one of the apartment blocks surrounding the stadium. An apartment block?! When I asked them what they were doing, they said they could see a well-known YouTuber in the window of the top apartment. The top apartment?! Really, you could just see a silhouette, as I'm talking about the highest floor in the apartment block. When asked why they thought they could see the well-known YouTuber, they replied that it was because they knew he lived in an apartment block near Wembley. It could have been any of the apartment blocks...it could have been any of the apartments! But because they were convinced that the silhouette was the well-known YouTuber, they insisted it was him they could see.
I read a statement the other day that basically said that what we believe affects what we perceive. The children believed that they saw the YouTuber and so that is what they perceived. As crazy as it seems, we do the same. We believe certain things about ourselves, other people or our situations, and that affects what we perceive. That in turn affects how we behave. We might not find ourselves screaming at a silhouette, but we're not far from it. If I believe that I am unable to achieve anything, then that is how I will behave. We have to be mindful of what we believe. We have to mindful of what we give our minds to. That quote that says, if you believe it, you can achieve it, rings true. If we believe great things, what great things can we achieve?
What do we learn from this? We can apply this story to our belief systems. We have to challenge what we believe. Or we might spend our lives yelling at silhouettes instead of rooting for our potential.
