It’s been a while since I sent out a cast and it's a really hectic season. On the surface it seems like nothing has changed yet there is a sense that so much actually is changing.
The title of my new series is called “flawlessly slaying” and I am keen to translate a clear understanding of what this means to me although it may mean many different things to different people.
Flawlessly slaying came as I wrestled with the image God has of me. I was again seeking to know myself more and I found myself coming face to face with my creator and all His different facets. He always brings you right back to the beginning of it all. “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God…” Lol.
Everything that I am and ever will be, was first His word. His word is flawless and sharper than any double-edged sword. If I am a product of God’s word it means I am razor sharp, I have a precise landing point, making my existence effective. If I am this razor-sharp thing, I have ability to cut through, pull things down, to search and move things. In my quest to find myself, my maker tells me I am a warrior. Maybe nice to hear but truth be told, that frightens the crap out of me.
Being a warrior isn’t enough though. Time and chance play a huge role in this journey. I will tell you a bit more about that in this and subsequent casts.
The release of our words should have impact. It’s the same with swinging a sword we have in our hand during a battle, we need it to cut through something and not miss the mark. When we miss the mark, it is because we may have lost our footing, been distracted, were not focussed, we may not have had our eyes properly on the mark. The mark is anything that stands in the way of our fulfilment, and it isn’t always existing outside, sometimes they exist on the inside. Sometimes there needs to be a slaying in our personal appetites, our habits, our associations, our choices.
A milestone presents an opportunity. An opportunity for recalibration, restoration, review, rest, reload, reassessment...because there is still ground to cover on the journey.
Perhaps this is why we hear slogans like 40 is the new 20 because we have reached a milestone that gives us an opportunity to review our self-image, the image we have of ourselves, the journey behind and before us. The truth is 40 can be any age …you decide when you want that milestone to be but for many 40 is that age where they may decide to begin to look at life differently and explore the possibilities of doing some things they could have done in their 20s perhaps at the time, more physically fit, perhaps little or no family attached to their apron strings. A completely new vantage can be birth at a milestone like this or not, it is down to individual MINDSET. One could get to this age and simply just let it roll on.
We are creatures guided by “indicators”. Cars have indicators lights, roads have signposts, the entire human body is laced with nerve endings that send signals to our minds to tell us something – sometimes what is coming or what is about to happen and other times, what has past.
So as I approach this “contrived” milestone of 40 at which point I am 10 years from the halfway mark of 100 years, there are a few indicators going off in my mind perhaps more loudly than those which society has placed on it.
What are those societal expectations you ask? Generally speaking, could be the perception that you should have achieved certain things or done certain things for your life, it could be owning your own property or properties, could be having kids or getting married, some think you should have a striving career or business by that age, travelled the world, whatever we run after these days.
And if that is truly the case, I am definitely floundering on the scale of societal expectations. Definitely haven’t travelled the world! Still so many places to see!!! As for marriage, that’s a whole different podcast altogether. And how does that all that measure up in terms of my own unique brand of satisfaction and fulfilment, how does that measure up to my own physical, mental and spiritual well-being or isn’t that just as important anymore. Is it all about the chase? If I recollect my Father words correctly, “the race is not to the swift….. time and chance happen to them all.”
What is it that we potentially know now at this age that people of the older generation didn’t know? A lot!
What is it that we are aware of as a people as a generation at the age of 40 that makes us predisposed to think that we could be 20 and living the life of a 20-year-old? Google?
There are many angles to consider but for now I leave you with a few things I am learning or have learnt on the journey so far to this milestone, 40. Hopefully good tips for when you do decide you have reached a significant milestone.
1) Image vs enjoying the moment so for me I think in my 20s I was probably more self-absorbed or concerned with how I “looked” vs enjoying the moment and that creates a certain rigidity when you are more concerned with how people see you. It limits your performance significantly and keeps you from enjoying the moment fully. Don’t get me wrong I think presenting yourself well is important, looking good is great business but there needs to be a balance. Where your image of yourself overrides the experience and the learning you could get maybe you need to be thinking twice about whether the experience is really for you.
2) Maximise on the quality of your presence. How do people feel when they leave my presence as opposed to how I want to feel when they come into my presence. I think it is such an amazing gift to give people that you are listening and leaning towards them when they approach you in a conversation. I think part of that is also the being present factor. I always tell my son, let your words be attractive, gentle and gracious (are mine always so , no, I can tell you for a fact but I can also tell you the times were I have intentionally made that my objective in a conversation, it has completely changed the atmosphere around me and even helped positively with my thinking process.)
Your presence as a human being is one of your biggest assets, it is immensely powerful and I think we take it for granted, some for us are not even aware of it. The people we talk to, the friendships we cultivate, the odd connection we make each day whether at home, at work, in church, on the street, these encounters all happen in your presence (you were not absent from them). Your presence carries it own unique frequency and potential to attract or repel…
We want to keep our presence conducive and attractive to the right people and things to our lifes for our unique purpose.
When the climate of your presence is right you are able to tangibly make the appropriate connections in a conversation.
3) What the other party requires. This bounces off the last point which is about leaning into what it is the other party requires of you or you being present so that you're leaving them with something positive and I think this speaks a lot of the quality of graciousness, that you are putting them first in that connection and there is so much wisdom that comes from the passage in proverbs which says a man of understanding draws out the purposes from deep inside a person’s heart. This singular quality of what I perceive to be graciousness has the ability to gain you years. With the knowledge at your disposal, you are quickened to move in directions or paths one may not have conceived possible simply because of the knowledge acquired.
While my first 3 points have the intricate theme of relationship running through them, the next 2 and final points have the theme of opportunity being “Time and chance”.
4) We all get the same amount of time each day. It has been the same from generations to generation that has not changed so whether we have more gadgets or knowledge at our disposal our ability to live well is still down to self-discipline and prioritization of the things we ought to be doing. Some of us give ridiculous amounts of thing to surfing on the internet just looking for nothing, that valuable time gone utilizing a very powerful digital equipment. Guess what I am saying it, make it count!
5) A perception of changing seasons and this is a huge one because we know seasons are always changing in life and as we get older sometimes it's harder for us to learn, we keep thinking oh I know that I've been there, done that. As we get older, we still need to keep learning because the minute we stop learning we start dying. With the perception of changing seasons, we understand that we're not going to stay in the same place forever, things are not always going to be as they are and the minute, they start changing you need to start conditioning your MINDSET to be suitable for the next thing coming. It's almost like being in an ever-ready posture even though that posture is changing ever so slightly with the moving the landscape. Like when you are stood still watching the clouds and suddenly realise, they appear to be moving, not stationery. The truth is the clouds are not the moving object, you are because it is the earth moving ever so slowly, we could almost miss it just like a changing season that comes sometimes so subtly in our personal life we almost miss the step change required to flawlessly wade into the next rhythm.
It's the same thing that God has in mind for this huge tapestry that he's weaving with all our lives. He is conscious it is ever changing and through His spirit he wants us to stay aware of those changes and be ready as the seasons change even if it is “uncomfortable” or not what we imagined it would be still we are transforming our mindset to be able to work just as powerfully in those seasons as the seasons that have passed.
6) Dealing with fear and the unknown obviously coming into a new season you know where things change you are not exactly sure what to expect and so they is usually that element of weariness or fear possibly. My father says “don't be afraid” because His is cognizant of the fact that fear will arise as we come into certain situations. We can’t afford to sit in that fear rather we work with faith. There is something that God has given to you in that situation to work with and so we overcome that fear by working out with faith.
All these tips certainly position me a lot better for slaying some of those “giants” or “appetites” that keep me from achieving the things I need to on my journey, and I hope it does for you as well. Every single tip is fashioned from the flawless word and taking hold of it every day empowers us to create a movement that aligns with what we have spoken. Fear will just have to go away.
I love hearing other perspectives so I will be sharing even more on the thoughts of family and friends about approaching this milestone or any milestone just as significant and going beyond it as well. It’s always great to hear from a diverse group of people of different ages because that way we know how we must hold our sword, so we slay flawlessly. That way we may better translate knowledge to wisdom and make the right choices for slaying and banishing every fear that has ever said you are not enough because the truth is, you are!
And if your chosen path “free of fear” enables me to achieve those “societal expectations” that perchance may be one or two of your unique desires, well then, that would just be a bonus on your flawless journey added on!
Be blessed!
Comments