Monday, September 03, 2007

good things come to those who read

"Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, desires & things that repel us. These areas are quite rightly our concern because they are directly subject to our influence. We always have a choice about the contents and character of our inner lives." - Epictetus (Greek philosopher)

"My actions are my only true belongings." - unknown

As part of my 'back to school resolution' (akin to a new year's resolution), I began my discipline of reading again this morning. These quotes come from a book I bought at the leadership summit by John Ortberg (whom I love). They are worth building your life around, I think. Especially when taken in conjuction with Jesus' words, "This is my command: Love each other." Not a lot of flourish in those words. Not a lot of qualifiers. Love each other.

They are revolutionary in their simplicity. And far-reaching in their impact - perhaps devastatingly so. Are my actions, the foundation on which I stand, driven by Love? Not just love for lovely people, for my friends, for people I like. But a restless love, driven to express itself in all my choices, to the whole populace of my life, every day? What is the content & character of my inner life? Is it informed and influenced by that kind of love? The truth is, sometimes. A little bit. Some days more than others. But today, I am going to write those words down somewhere I can see them, and I am going to try to learn what it means to live them a little bit more tomorrow than I did today.

One foot in front of the other ... life is a journey, not a destination.

3 comments:

Sarah said...

This is great. But I always thought life was a highway...

kristine said...

as someone who is having a hard time finding that love i guess i should start trying to give again to find.

Anonymous said...

This has been a theme in my life lately! Thanks for the great post and another good book suggestion ;0)