cyberspace junkyard

Catharsis

I remember learning that rather large and heavy word during Year 9 English, when we discussed Hamlet's catharsis in Shakespeare's play of the same name.

I don't think I had one this morning, but I did have a bit of a "light bulb moment". I was thinking about selfishness.

Mind you, not in the petty, jealous way which is so often portrayed in movies and TV shows. This was more just a realisation of the motivation behind decisions I make and the things I plan for myself. People dream. They have goals, aspirations and objectives. They set out short term plans and long term visions of where they envisage their life to be. Have you ever stopped and wondered though, how all these grand dreams for yourself fit into the bigger scheme of things?

Sometimes, something will happen that makes you evaluate where you are going and whether or not God has something else in His plan for you. It could be as simple as a friend gently reminding you of something, or something you read. Other times it's more like getting hit by a 2 tonne truck. Whatever the method though, I was just thinking about how often I'm reminded that the things I do and say affect other people. It's all well and good to live life the way we want to but at the end of the day, it just doesn't work like that. We not only have to live with other people in this world, but also under the Creator of this world.

What a foreign concept to think that you don't put yourself first. Enough of those mantras about "loving yourself" or "how to achieve the life you want" or "how to gain power". It's about putting others before yourself - thinking about their needs and at times sacrificing what you want for them. That's what love really is. And it's about putting God first - not living the life you want, but the life God wants for you.