Thursday, January 21, 2016

I Think I Lost My Scope

The high tone Health Club to which I belong sends me a magazine every couple of months encouraging me to live a healthy lifestyle. In truth, it's not a bad publication. But I will not name it nor endorse it because they keep raising my membership dues. There's actually a story there. I would have NEVER joined this club. But they bought out the locally owned gym I belonged to and they have grandfathered my rates at a much lower price than new members pay. I digress....

In the recent issue, an article entitled "True Joy" features a Q&A with some hippie yoga instructor (not the Denton Yogi) that is trying to convince me the path to true joy is a path lined with yoga mats. I don't totally discount her assertions. But that's a whole story within itself. I might address that topic one day. I could have won the $100K on America's Funniest Home Videos if someone had ran tape on my attempts at yoga. In a "not so obvious" stifled laugh, the Denton Yogi finally queried, "Just WHAT is going on down there on the blue mat on the end?" I digress....

One of the statements I cannot get out of my mind concerns this lady seeking comfort in the stories of the strong and independent Greek goddess Artemis. She explains how she came across a prayer that said, "Artemis, huntress of the moon, make my aim true."

Needless to say, this request to a pagan god, has entered my mind, almost daily now, for three weeks. Lying in bed that night, I knew I had a topic. I just had NO IDEA how to address it. And I still don't.

Make my aim true. Make my aim true. Make my aim true.

Naturally, I get the most joy out of dissecting your aim and feeling oh so superior because, at least, my aim is not as bad as yours. Your aim, as mentioned before, is a veritable smorgasbord of shallowness and offers me great opportunities to practice silent scorn and hold contempt for you. Then I am reminded of "shared human experience" and I must dredge up at least enough humility to confess that often my aim is an exact duplicate of yours.

Our collective aim is so misguided and so SMALL. It's wrapped up in  relationships, kids, degrees, jobs, houses, cars, vacations, cabins, boats, hobbies. The list goes on and on and on. But just pick any one of the above. Make it your sole aim. Convince yourself that True Joy is found in that and that alone. Lacking is the only word that comes to mind.

The question is real and the challenge is monumental. Just what are we aiming for?

I spent most of 2015 wondering if I made the right decision at the end of 2014. I got 100%, complete affirmation, that indeed I had, late last year. But where do I focus my aim in 2016?

The Preacher has said for years, that the literal meaning of the word "sin" in the original language means to "miss the mark." Some days, the scope won't come into focus. Other days, the scope seems broken. And on bad days, I can't even find my scope.

But in my heart of hearts, it is my sincere intention to AIM TRUE. Intention. Intention. It's been experience, that you guys aren't really looking at my intentions. You are only witness to my actions.






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