Clearing the Table

While I can

This has been an extremely tough year for me, but as we know from the news, there are people having infinitely tougher years. But don’t worry, I’m not going to talk about that in this offering. On the contrary, I want to talk about refusing to stay in the muck.

One of my iniquities is procrastination; heck, I’ve had this essay almost done for a week. In the specific area of reading, I have several unfinished audio-books on my Audible app and I guess you could say that my pre-New Year’s resolution is to finish them.

Done:

The Gift of Rejection by Nona Jones

Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

World Without Cancer: The Story of Vitamin B17 by G. Edward Griffin; some may recall that Griffin is the author of The Creature from Jekyll Island

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

In the last few weeks, I finished the first three books, and I’ve restarted 48 after many years. I listen to them while I’m on my walk, but only in one ear because when you’re walking down the street, you need to be able to hear what – or who - is coming at you before it gets too close.

Is there a pattern in this material? I think so. In the wake of all the bad things that have befallen me – not just in this year but since about 2014 – I want to level up. These years have seen my life go up, down, up, and then down again. Crazy “accidents” and I’ve had several people who claimed to care about me, even to love me, enter my life then leave it.

However …

I have many steadfast, loyal and trustworthy friends. That list is much longer than those who were temporary and treacherous.

And then there is the One who will never leave me nor forsake me.

Both Goggins and Jones suffered from horrific upbringings and both experienced lots of rejection and failure. But their messages are identical: keep pushing. And I think it’s more than just the action of pushing forward.

94-year-old Griffin has dedicated his life to exposing the many secrets held by the world’s elite class. Wikipedia calls him a conspiracy theorist, and I bet he embraces the moniker. He was warning the public about the ascendance of communism in the U.S. in 1961 - the year I was born.

I don’t have cancer that I know of, but it is certain that the topic is relevant to all our lives. Aside: it is my opinion that God has provided healing of all diseases and conditions and that the medicine is all around us.

Goggins puts forth many ideas that spoke to me. One of them: that many people die and leave incredible amounts of potential on the table; things they were capable of doing but never tried.

Goggins would know. He went from a 300-pound KFCEMF who could only run a quarter of a mile to a Navy SEAL that routinely takes part in 100-mile races. I have no intention of doing any such craziness, but I have upped my daily exercise game and seen some great results.

Thinking about this idea of tapping into previously unknown ability potential, I realized that I did this too when I wrote my novel and had it published. I’ve always been a reader and, one day, after finishing a novel by Octavia Butler (I think), I said to myself, “I can do this.” And I did it. It was over a course of years; more time than it should have taken, and I let it go a few times. But when I moved in with my great-aunt to care of her in her declining years, I finally finished Tale of the Tigers. I was already a well-known blogger by then and, because of that I got some publicity and cover design by one Chris Muir.

I had stopped reading 48 way back when because of its inherent amorality. It was very early in my life as a Christian and I was cautious about reading material that could lead me astray. Now, however, I’m much more secure about trusting God even as my life has seemed to worsen. But I do pray for discernment whenever I ingest any material into my consciousness.

Honestly, I do feel responsible for some of the bad things that have occurred in my life, but if I’m responsible for those things, doesn’t it follow that I’m also responsible for powering through the bad and, further, for making good things happen? I think it does.

There’s another book I have in my queue entitled Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispensa and another one entitled Unf*ckology by my old blog friend Amy Alkon. I think that Amy’s book is next in line since I’ve been promising her that I’ll read it for a while now.

By the way, all of the books have Amazon links and if you use the link to buy one of them, I’ll get a few pieces of change.

The bottom line is that I’m tired of allowing shit to happen to me and I want to listen to others on how to make shit happen. Of all the books on this list, only one is Christ-centered, but I’m not worried about that. My view is that God often rewards effort whether we serve Him or not, but there are two things to keep in mind.

With Christians, it’s a matter of faith, acting on that faith, and being confident that the Lord is their provider. And, as for non-Christians - even atheists – it’s a matter of how they will think/feel after their efforts come to fruition. Will they feel grateful/happy? Will they lord it over others who are not as successful? Will they discover that worldly success alone is not as fulfilling as they thought it would be? Will they be afraid of losing what they have gained?

Will they have peace? I theorize that is the primary difference.

Of course, I’m only guessing. Let me see if I can find out if these things are true. I’ll let you know.

Merry Christmas!