You ok?
Gotta little lost there didn’t ya.
What were you thinking about?
Nothin’!
That’s a dangerous thing to do with a perfectly good brain.
Because, if you leave it empty, how do you know someone won’t come along and pour a bunch of garbage in there to fill it up.
Mr. Danforth, in his book ‘I Dare You’ on page 54, talks about a young man who was let go by one of his managers because in the managers opinion he was, “just plain dumb’.
“He knew a little about about everything, but when he got right down to it, into a discussion of specific things, he just wasn’t there.”
The manager said, “only froth on top.”
Mr Danforth goes on to say, “It is so easy to get our thinking done for us,” it’s even easier now in our time.
That’s why I had you leave your phone back at the house.
He finished his sentence with this, “the big temptation is not to think.”
Take another look into the fire, but this time, don’t check out.
This time look intently into it, look past the dancing flames, look past the black charred larger logs, look past the fast burning pine needles and look deeply, intently into the very center of the bed of coals.
What do you see?
Yea, pretty cool huh!?
He explains, “we glance at the newspaper headlines and let them form our opinions, and neglect to read the scholarly articles in the monthly magazine that would give us meat on the subject. We listen to a few minutes of the radio and flatter ourselves that we know all about the Symphony. We read a review of a play and decide that we don’t need to see the play itself. These are the temptations of the average person today, “
Hear how that sounds a lot like our times?
How old are you, oh yea that’s right, did you ever read a newspaper, or is everything on your iPhone?
I think it’s worse today, nobody reads anymore.
Yep, that’s why I tell my kid’s all the time, “read a book would ya!”
Hey!, do you know there are comics in the Sunday paper?
I like the comic guys and comedians in general because I think they are smart. They use words to say something, but they are really saying something else.
“Sally’s name—(Sally Forth) and the name of the eponymous cartoon strip—is a play on words—”to sally forth” means to set out on an adventure.”~Wikipedia
Yea, like a knight. Like one of Charlemagne’s Paladin’s or a lone Samurai.
(Photo courtesy of The Last Samurai)
But it also means that when you do, you are leaving a place of safety and security, to have that adventure.
Isn’t that what Mr. Danforth is asking us to do?
To ‘sally forth’ on a dare! To leave the 95% and the herd mentality!
It’s not like we’re facing Ogres or anything, although I have heard of Trolls being on the computer in the comments sections.
We have to commit to an endeavor with a very specific, focus.
Ha! sounds like Passion again, I know, I know, but I have discovered, I think…
a way to pinpoint that.
Seems simple but here goes, as your walking with God, ask him what you are built for, remember the first thing your built for is to worship him, but how we do that with our life could be wrapped up in our ‘passion’ of life.
Take all the quizzes, read all the personality traits tests, read all the habits of success books and yada yada yada sis boom bata…
My color is Green, I am a Lion and a Beaver and I appreciate history, reading and people who, “endeavor to persevere”.
No, you don’t haaaave to…
but, if you’re really serious about knowing, you are going to want to turn over every leaf and look under every rock and yes, read a book.
I think that is how God prepares us.
So here it is, if your parents were not around or did not place you on a path, so when you are old you will not turn from it, here is what you look for…
…if the thing you are doing drains you at the end of the day in such a way that you feel numb, that is not your passion…
but, if the thing you do makes you feel filled up, energized, ready to go… still!, while you are doing it and at the end of it…
…that is most likely your passion!
Yep, filled up! Like when I write.
The next trick is to determine if there is a career attached to your passion, a guy still has to eat ya know!
On page 59 Mr Danforth states,
“No Man can give out unless he first takes in. You can not give what you don’t have.” ~’I Dare You’
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