Henry woke up excited and energised. He had things to do which were productive, and by the end of the day, he should have achieved some good things.
Getting ready for the day, he set out.
He kept recounting all he had to do, and by noon he was overwhelmed with how much he had to do.
Feeling panicky, he chose one of the jobs to work on, but he couldn’t go far because his mind kept reminding him that he was ignoring the other jobs, and he had to move to another.
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By five o’clock, Henry gave up trying to achieve anything and went home, promising to do better the next day.
The next day, he woke up determined to get productive and before long, he was busy... doing nothing. He just didn’t know where to start.
The next day it happened again. So, day in, day out, Henry woke up with plans of things to achieve and he found himself doing things, but not achieving much. He realised that he was doing many things, but could see little or no effect in his life.
With how much he was doing, one would expect him to be at a higher level of loving than he presently was.
By the end of the year, he was close to depression and knew he needed help. So he asked his brother why he was not moving higher. His brother was one of those people who had a way of observing things without being conscious of it, until asked.
“I work hard, harder than most people I know, but it seems God doesn’t want to bless me,” Henry said to his brother.
“What am I doing wrong, why is my life looking stagnant, or at best having little progress?” Talking about it made him see how bad the situation really was.
His brother was quiet for some seconds and then asked a simple question, “If you are asking God to bless the work of your hands, what exactly are you asking him to bless?”
Henry opened his mouth to speak, and realised that many things came to his mind at once. He tried to pick one, and realised again that there were too many things he felt tied to, and he couldn’t just pick one without feeling bereft of the others.
He realised that there were too many things in his hands at the same time, and so the blessings are spread thinly across them and so they appear nonexistent.
He was the cause of his problem, in fact there was no problem, but he had to work not just hard, but smart too. He had to focus on one thing.
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His brother saw the light in his eyes and smiled, knowing Henry finally understood where the issue laid.
I was twelve years old when I first heard the phrase, “Keep a level eye”, but I was 18 years old when I got the true, inspired meaning of the phrase.
I heard that phrase as one of the laws of my club in church; The Pathfinder Club.
The club is mainly for ten to fifteen year olds, but since I officially became serious in the club at twelve years, that was the time I got to know about the laws.
These laws are eight in all, and “Keep a level eye” is the fourth.
So, the reason this law stands out for me is because I realised that the instructor got it wrong when interpreting to us what it means to keep a level eyes, and I only found out at eighteen what it means, because by then I also became an instructor for the Friend Class, which are the ten year olds.
So, here I am taking my kids through the laws of the Pathfinder Club, and I am feeling like one good student who still remembers what she was taught by her instructor about six years ago, then I pause when I realise that what I know about the fourth is not what is written in the manual which I have opened in my laps, and I thank God that I decided to study before I teach my children.
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So, as I read what it really means to keep a level eye, I summarise it to mean many things which can be fused into one; FOCUS.
The manual, using Jesus as the point of focus, talked about living life in such a way which you can look Jesus straight in the eyes without being ashamed because of some misbehaviour or wrong thoughts. It also talked about not allowing distractions take your mind away from what is actually important, and instead dwell on the other minor things which only take our time and energy and everything we should have used for working on the important subject.
That's what I am going to talk about; the later meaning.
Focus.
This word has been used, misused and abused over and over again, without apology, but all its users want the person it is directed to, to pay attention on one and only one subject, and none other. This word is kind of a wake-up call, an instruction, or even a reprimand.
But it is rarely practised. Many people, yours truly included, think that by doing many things we can attain many things.
But we realise, sometimes too late, that we were only sharing our energies across too many things and attaining mediocre heights when we could have focused it on one thing and attained something great, and then maybe moved on to another achievement, nurturing it until it is also another great achievement.
The thing about focus is that without it, rarely is anything worthwhile achieved. Focus leads to persistence, and persistence leads to achievement.
Keeping a level eye means that you look not to the right or the left, but focus on your mission, except it is for your own good, or the good of the mission.
Keeping a level eye means that you won’t major in the minor.
Keeping a level eye demands that you always keep in mind where you are headed, and what you want to achieve, so you don’t get distracted.
Keeping a level eye means that you don’t go hunting for an elephant and allow yourself get distracted by a rabbit.
Keeping a level eye means that you discipline yourself and train yourself to aim for the best and nothing but the best.
Keeping a level eye means that even if you fail, you can look anyone and everyone in the eye and say, “I did my best.”
Many people don’t attain much because they don’t give their best. They try, they do some work, they put in some effort, and they even have results to show for it, but they don’t hit the bull’s eyes because they didn’t give their best.
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Keeping a level eye means you keep at it until you get it.
Finally, I will show you what keeping a level eye (focus) does by these saying:
I saw inscribed on a T-shirt, "Persistence is no fun, but it's the reason we won."
Here's another quote by Jim Watkins.
“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”
So...
Persist.
Focus.
Keep a level eye.
Wow. I feel lectured. It was really smart of you to have figured out the true meaning of keeping a level eye. Sorry you had to unlearn.
Thanks for sharing.
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thanks for share the club activities /gracias por compartir las actividades del club #adventishive #conquishive