Life here is short, and then you die.
All that you can be absolutely sure that you have is now. There is no guarantee that you will ever make it to the future and the past has already passed you by. In an eternal sense, our entire lives are but a vapor and will quickly fade away as time moves on.
For this reason, I think that we must be intentionally about how we invest our time and effort, and how we interact with others. Personally, I want to impact the lives of others… positively.
For many years, I made a very destructive lifestyle look very appealing to many others, and I cannot undo that damage. That truly happened, but now it is the past. Effects of my actions back then exist in the present and may play a detrimental role in the lives of others in the future, but it is my present actions that I must focus on so that history does not repeat itself.
IMPACT
Every time that we share thoughts or information we have the opportunity to impact the lives of others, for the better… or for the worse. Each action that we take has the same potential.
In my daily life and online I try to play a positive role in the lives of others. Whether friends, family, or strangers, I can potentially play a role in the lives that I interact with. Below are just a few of the areas that I desire to influence others in.
HEALTH
Ultimately, we get one chance here on earth and many people wind up making poor dietary and physical activity choices which ultimately lead to poor health. This life can be hard and painful enough without bringing more grief and suffering upon ourselves.
I am a believer in the health benefits of being more active and enjoying time outside. I also promote having a trustworthy food supply that is full of raw, organic foods rather than over-processed chemical concoctions from the local laboratory that line the shelves of many grocery stores.
With very little time and effort one can grow many nutritious foods, which is why I enjoy gardening and even give away free seeds to others in the US. I also really enjoy hunting, fishing, and foraging, because there can be free food in it for my family and myself!
FAMILY
If you would have known me before, you’d know that I cared very little for anyone else, including family and “friends.” These days, though, my heart and focus has been redirected and I take my role in my family very seriously.
If you are married, I believe that you have a real role to play in the encouragement and edification of your spouse. Ideally, there are things that you can provide for your spouse that no one else in the world can. My commitment and devotion to @mama-pepper is a huge focus and investment in my life, and I appreciate the sincere, honest, and monogamous relationship that we have. I fully realize that not everyone is interested in marriage or monogamy, but it is such a relief to have a committed relationship that I do not need to question or doubt, or worry about others or STDs in.
Since we now have four @little-peppers with another one on the way, I have a huge focus on my children as well. I’ll share more about that in the next section.
LEGACY
Ultimately, not everyone will have their own children, but we can all still have a lasting legacy. Investing in others and especially the generations behind us. So much information and knowledge is not exactly promoted in the world these days, or the government schools. Critical thinking and logic are rapidly disappearing from many areas of society, and creating ignorant, emotional and irrational citizens seems to be the goal of some these days.
I’d rather not encourage others to allow themselves to be treated like uneducated serfs or pawns, and that starts with myself and my children. Those growing up after this only have one chance at life on earth as well, and damage done early on in life can set them up for decades of failure as they continue to age.
When it comes to my children, I also try to impart wisdom and a realistic understanding of the world around them, as well as a real concern and care for others. For me, this starts with teaching them about God and Jesus too. Again, not everyone will agree with that choice or do likewise with their own children, but I have my reasons. After all, if I teach my children to choose not to lie to others or steal from them, and if they heed that instruction, life will be much better for them, and for others around them too, won’t it. I’d rather teach them that they were incredibly created in a magnificence and marvelous way than that they are just the end result of billions of years of random mutations and chance. I also believe that the latter is a lie, so I’d rather not teach them to believe lies either.
A LIVING EXAMPLE
Words are not enough in these endeavors. Those teaching others or attempting to impact them must be credible as well, or their words are likely to fall on deaf ears. No one really appreciates hypocrites, so whatever we desire to tell others should also be demonstrated and lived out in their sight.
I don’t desire to just type words or state sentences. I desire to inspire life and integrity. So many in the world these days seem to be greedy, selfish, and unconcerned about others. This is not the life that I desire to live or the lifestyle I want to model for others. We should strive to be honest and trustworthy individuals who genuinely care about others.
Honestly, we all seem to have a default setting that we must overcome to achieve this. Even small children demonstrate a selfish greed and self-centeredness. If this is left unchecked, or if we do not care about attempting to manifest something else within us, the world can become a very cold and harsh place. To realize that we are no better than anyone else or no more deserving of anything than anyone else is an important lesson to learn. It has taken me years of not focusing on myself as much to become the husband, father, and friend that I am becoming, but I still have a long way to go.
I think that we all have some serious shortcomings and that often others can see them easier than we can. I have been so blessed by the raw honesty of @mama-pepper over the years. She knows that conviction can encourage me, and when she sees areas in my life that require serious attention or undesired character traits beginning to take root in my life, she is quick, in a loving and sometimes gentle manner, to make sure that I am fully aware of them so that I can deal with them. Hopefully, you have at least someone in your life who can help do likewise.
CLOSING
As with many things, I could go on and on, but for the sake of time, both mine and yours, I’ll wrap things up.
I think that we live in a day and age where we have incredible opportunity like no other time in the history of the earth. We can instantaneously interact with all sorts of amazing people all around the entire globe. Also, a massive amount of information is literally at our fingertips at any moment we desire.
This means that our potential is greatly increased in many ways. Not only can we become very well educated on many subjects rather quickly, our sphere of influence has also grown exponentially. I like that there are enough people out there just using others for their own gain and there is definitely enough pessimism and negativity in the world, and it can be infectious.
Therefore, for those of you who choose to read what I write and share, I hope that you will find an inspirational and encouraging consistency of solid information and ideas that can have a positive influence and beneficial impact on your lives. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity and take it very seriously. Though I like to have fun and enjoy some humor as well, life is much more complex and diverse than simple pleasant distractions, so I periodically “get real” as well!
Just like a single domino in a long line of them, we all have the potential to impact others in a way that will inspire them to impact others as well. How will you be using that opportunity?
FULL STEEM AHEAD!!!
As always I’m @papa-pepper and here’s the proof:
proof-of-potential-to-impact (domino)
FOLLOW
Good post mate. I think more of this type of ideology needs to be shared and discussed through our community. Less consumerism and more focus on self-development. Our past was simply the lesson to our current self and the building blocks to our future. Seeking to be better is not selfish....it is necessary for our growth.
Excellent observations!
Genesis 1:27 And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 Further, God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many,
God created us mortally. We got the imperfectness from one sin that Adam and Eve implanted and due to that God had to send his only begotten son Jesus Christ to resurrect us out of this sinfulness and on that behalf we do have hope for everlasting life.
I am happy to come in contact with spiritual souls like you @papa-pepper. Awesome post.
Thank you!
There is a style of Japanese pottery called Raku. It was invented ages ago. What happens is they get a fire as hot as can be, and toss painstakingly molded pottery right into it.
Of course this sends all sorts cracks through it, warps the glaze, and even cracks it. But the Japanese (and others) appreciate this look. They say it is a form of wabi-sabi. Roughly summarized, wabi-sabi is the appreciation of imperfection.
In Buddhism, where wabi-sabi gets it meaning, we are said to know three things about existence: it is meaningless, it is full of suffering and it is impermanent.
But even with these deep flaws, we still find it beautiful. Just like the pottery. When we accept the universe as flawed but beautiful, we also accept our self as such.
Sometimes our cracks turn out to be the prettiest part about us.
When the cracks don't destroy or break us, it can be beautiful.
Thanks for the image to help illustrate the beauty that you spoke of.
My pleasure.
Thanks for sharing a piece of yourself.
@catharcissism
Thank you :)
You're welcome.
Also see Leonard Cohen:
Thank you, I returned the gesture.
All credit to Papa-p for sharing his inspirational story.
great post!
Thanks!!!
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Practical, sound advice!
Thanks @daveks!
Excellent post, beautiful and deep words, thank you very much for these pensaminetos dear friend @papa-pepper
@papa-pepper Amen to mostly all :D
I like this part of your post the most cause I resonate with it and I so can relate to it. I agree that we should be positively influential to others. This is also one reason I try to hang out with just positive pips even here - it doesn't mean I'm outcasting the drama kings and queens - it's just that the more positive the people around you are, the more positive you could also be and it's possible that you (as a group of positive pips) could indeed make a great impact to help in many ways - not necessarily just cash. Just making someone notice and telling them the good that you see on their work or thoughts specially here - is actually a big deal. It could actually bring sunshine to someone who's life is focused on just facing comps. You could actually save someone who's possibly suffering from depression cause no one is talking to them in real life but here they found that. More so if this happens in real life.
I agree - like what you always say; "Steemit like you f..in mean it!" Cut the gaming the system crap and just give value - positive value please. Well, when I come to your post I sure get that even from the lii' peppers. Cheers!
Indeed, all things are possible.