Hey Everyone,
What were your greatest ambitions in life? What did you plan to contribute in order to change the world? Are you still in the process? Are you in the midst of doing what you wanted to do?Or did something stop you... and do you ever plan to get back on the path? (I'm sorry this is long, but I wanted to give you a bit of a background story, as usual.)
Recently, in a half-hearted attempt to maintain a fitness routine, I invited my 4-year-old nephew to help me count while doing sets of pushups. I figured, He's 4... he'll count in sets of maybe 20 or so...
Never. Underestimate. A 4-year-old. Especially when his mother is an outstanding teacher. That was my first mistake. My little guy duly started counting... and by the time he counted to "34" and showed no signs of stopping, I collapsed to the floor in laughter at my own unanticipated ignorance!!! (I REALLY dodged the bullet because later that same night, he counted to 120 and needed only 4 prompts during that entire time.)
I thought about this for a while on my (child-free) walk the next day (just imagine what might have happened if I had asked him to count laps!) All my sibling's kids could write and recite the alphabet, as well as read and put together simple sentences even before they started preschool, let alone kindergarten. But I know many kids these days are quite accomplished before entering school, and even those who start at different paces either take off in later years or are just as smart in other areas. I know a guy who always struggled in school but can literally fix anything you put in front of him.
I've never believed that our world is in so much need due to a lack of intelligence. I'm struck all the time by the incredible talent so many people harbor.
So, why aren't we all out there engineering and pioneering greater technologies, medicines, and methods? Why isn't our society in much better shape than it is now with all the resources at talent we have at our disposal?
What was is that stopped you from doing what you wanted to change or save the world?
For myself, I struggle with whether I've completely missed God's path... Or if I'm just plain lazy. To be honest, it's probably a combination of both. I try to use the excuse that real life finally kicked in and killed my ambition. I started out with an interest in criminal psychology because I had hoped to be a part of interventions that would prevent the next school, mall, or theater shooting... My interest was in trying to get to people BEFORE they set off on a rampage.
But the realities of what I had to do to get there proved too overwhelming for my own tolerances. Between writing a Master's thesis, assisting doctoral students with their dissertations (amidst my own personal turmoil at home)... and then later having conversations with guys in their 20's who had committed crimes like rape and murder without showing remorse, nor signs of stopping... I was done. Torn up, burned out, and hung up to dry.
My parents convinced me to just work for a while and that's what I've been doing ever since... Working at jobs that "serious career" people would shake their heads at... Finding new purpose in serving my co-workers... and trying to brush off others' insistence that I need to throw myself back into that (impossibly expensive and soul-draining) atmosphere. They don't understand that I'm far happier and more at peace in this menial life than I ever was at school.
And all my ambition to "make a difference" is like a shadow that appears only every now and then in some distant memory.
I worry about not living up to what God wanted for me. But yet, I'm so much more content with this life... and the nagging part of me wonders... Is this a major reason as to why the world is the way it is? Instead of God's plan for edification and bringing His will to earth, as it's done in heaven, is my apathy simply contributing to the further decay of society? And if so, how does God plan to deal with me because of it? *Disclaimer*: I am certainly NOT trying to criticize those who enjoy academics and higher learning. I wish I could be one of you. I LOVE to learn new things, just not in the higher-education setting. I am simply just trying to present a different point of view.
And, I don't mean for this to be a thread about me at all--I'm just using myself as an example. I would rather hear YOUR story... What was YOUR great ambition? What got in your way? Did you find something else, or do you still plan to fulfill it? Do you ever worry that you're not living up to your full potential, and what do you plan to do about it?
What were your greatest ambitions in life? What did you plan to contribute in order to change the world? Are you still in the process? Are you in the midst of doing what you wanted to do?Or did something stop you... and do you ever plan to get back on the path? (I'm sorry this is long, but I wanted to give you a bit of a background story, as usual.)
Recently, in a half-hearted attempt to maintain a fitness routine, I invited my 4-year-old nephew to help me count while doing sets of pushups. I figured, He's 4... he'll count in sets of maybe 20 or so...
Never. Underestimate. A 4-year-old. Especially when his mother is an outstanding teacher. That was my first mistake. My little guy duly started counting... and by the time he counted to "34" and showed no signs of stopping, I collapsed to the floor in laughter at my own unanticipated ignorance!!! (I REALLY dodged the bullet because later that same night, he counted to 120 and needed only 4 prompts during that entire time.)
I thought about this for a while on my (child-free) walk the next day (just imagine what might have happened if I had asked him to count laps!) All my sibling's kids could write and recite the alphabet, as well as read and put together simple sentences even before they started preschool, let alone kindergarten. But I know many kids these days are quite accomplished before entering school, and even those who start at different paces either take off in later years or are just as smart in other areas. I know a guy who always struggled in school but can literally fix anything you put in front of him.
I've never believed that our world is in so much need due to a lack of intelligence. I'm struck all the time by the incredible talent so many people harbor.
So, why aren't we all out there engineering and pioneering greater technologies, medicines, and methods? Why isn't our society in much better shape than it is now with all the resources at talent we have at our disposal?
What was is that stopped you from doing what you wanted to change or save the world?
For myself, I struggle with whether I've completely missed God's path... Or if I'm just plain lazy. To be honest, it's probably a combination of both. I try to use the excuse that real life finally kicked in and killed my ambition. I started out with an interest in criminal psychology because I had hoped to be a part of interventions that would prevent the next school, mall, or theater shooting... My interest was in trying to get to people BEFORE they set off on a rampage.
But the realities of what I had to do to get there proved too overwhelming for my own tolerances. Between writing a Master's thesis, assisting doctoral students with their dissertations (amidst my own personal turmoil at home)... and then later having conversations with guys in their 20's who had committed crimes like rape and murder without showing remorse, nor signs of stopping... I was done. Torn up, burned out, and hung up to dry.
My parents convinced me to just work for a while and that's what I've been doing ever since... Working at jobs that "serious career" people would shake their heads at... Finding new purpose in serving my co-workers... and trying to brush off others' insistence that I need to throw myself back into that (impossibly expensive and soul-draining) atmosphere. They don't understand that I'm far happier and more at peace in this menial life than I ever was at school.
And all my ambition to "make a difference" is like a shadow that appears only every now and then in some distant memory.
I worry about not living up to what God wanted for me. But yet, I'm so much more content with this life... and the nagging part of me wonders... Is this a major reason as to why the world is the way it is? Instead of God's plan for edification and bringing His will to earth, as it's done in heaven, is my apathy simply contributing to the further decay of society? And if so, how does God plan to deal with me because of it? *Disclaimer*: I am certainly NOT trying to criticize those who enjoy academics and higher learning. I wish I could be one of you. I LOVE to learn new things, just not in the higher-education setting. I am simply just trying to present a different point of view.
And, I don't mean for this to be a thread about me at all--I'm just using myself as an example. I would rather hear YOUR story... What was YOUR great ambition? What got in your way? Did you find something else, or do you still plan to fulfill it? Do you ever worry that you're not living up to your full potential, and what do you plan to do about it?
