The other day my wife and I were coming out of a restaurant and a nice young couple held the door for us. As we walked toward our car, I turned to my wife and said, "Wow, I guess we are the old couple now that young people hold the door for..."
It's funny how time changes a persons perspective on life. So much of what was important to me when I was younger is not so important now. Lately I've been focused on "being real." I've always said that what you see with me is what you get, but I know in my heart that's not always true. I don't always say the things that I should, act the socially accepted way or do the things that I know in my heart are correct. Over the years, I've tried to be me but I know I was acting like someone else. Even after 50 years, I still don't know who that other person was that I was acting like.
Honestly, I'm not even sure that I know what is means to be real. I guess what I'm looking to do is to live a life that is spiritually authentic. To me, being real would mean changing the way I live so that it changes how I think about myself, the way I treat others and how I spend my time and my money. As I've thought about this, I've been wondering how different my life could be if I could strip away all of the false preoccupations of this life and connect with the true yearnings of an untarnished soul. I've wondered if it is even possible to "be real" in a world where the spiritual is seen as something separate from everyday life.
You know what I want? I want to live a spiritual life that allows me to express the true identity that God intended for me. I want to live a life where I can acknowledge and act upon my purest longings of being surrounded and connected to God. That would be my prayer.
Someone once told me that being able to be honest about our fears, our anger and our shortcomings is the beginning of maturity. Wow! A mature Bill Kirby...that would be an answer to a lot of people's prayers. The only thing is...I'm not sure the world is ready for it; but I think I'm getting close.
Be Well.
Bill
