The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Enough

'Okay', let's be honest & call this what it is, 'a fucking rant'! I'm getting so fucking tired ( yup, there it is again ) of people, Christians especially, saying things like, 'I'm nothing without Jesus', or 'I'm just a sinner, saved by grace', based on Psalm 14:3, 51, 53:3, etc. Then, there's Jeremiah 17:9, 'The heart [ is ] deceitful above all [ things ],and [d]desperately wicked; who can know it?'. These passages, if one is careful enough to read them in context, have one thing in common, 'The sin of Judah'. Okay, so the Psalmist refers either to himself or 'The fool', but even though he never specifically points the finger at the Tribe of Judah, 'those that knows' know where he came from. Back to the former statements made by too many Christians, while I can almost agree with the first statement ( though not in the way you might think - back to that later ), the second is simply ridiculous. For one thing, in the context of Scripture, the 'sinners' in view are not those in the 21st century who have a difficult time remembering Who they truly are; no, the 'sinners' were those who failed to follow the instructions of their 'God' under the Mosaic ( Adamic ) Covenant. Yes, this could be the beginning of an 'exciting' discussion about how Adam & Eve were the Mother & Father of us ALL, but I, for one, am here to tell you that I was NEVER under any damn 'Mosaic Covenant' & neither were YOU! Suck on THAT 'can of worms'!

As human beings, are any of us truly enough? 'Interesting question', right? This one brings up others, though, most importantly, 'why are we, as human beings, 'not enough'?' 'The answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind.................' No, wait; wrong context..............or is it?! Are we not enough, or do we think/believe, for whatever reason, that we're not enough? From our spouses to our children ( though they may not vocalize it ) to our boss/manager at work, as well as our pastor/teacher ( if we sit under one ), we encounter people every day who are quick to tell us, even if they don't say it in so many words, 'you're not enough'! 'ARE we enough?! Read on..................

Here's a good question; 'what IS enough?' In a job/work situation, it could actually be said, 'you're not enough' & be somewhat credible. Just like a person can't actually sprout wings & fly off the top of a ten story building, so some people just aren't fitted for certain jobs. In the same vein, though, to use an example I've used recently, the Wright Brothers sure figured out a way around it, or to be more precise, over & above it! Similarly, children & spouses may tell you, in other words, 'you're not enough'. For reasons mentioned earlier, your pastor/teacher might tell you the same, or worse. You might even be so used to telling yourself, for 'all of the above', that you are indeed, 'not enough', that you take their word for it. Do not believe ANY of these LIES!

The common factor here is that they're all based on Perception. In a job scenario, it might look like this; 'you don't have the necessary qualifications'. That may be true enough, but with enough determination ( Will ), we can usually get the job done. Similarly, in a familial situation, we may initially hear/perceive them saying, 'you're not enough', but when we give it all we've got, sooner or later, they'll realize ( usually after we realize it ) that we ARE enough. The pastor/teacher? Well, that's kinda hopeless. But then, maybe that's just MY perception!

Everybody has a different, unique Perception of things, however slight or major; how they happened, why they happened, when they happened, indeed, if they even happened at all. Perhaps this is why we read a slightly different Story in all four Gospels in the Christian Bible. This, for instance, is why I remember certain things from my childhood that my siblings have no memory of. This also explains why we have so many different religions in the world. To use an analogy that I've borrowed previously, remember the four blind ( East ) Indians who stumbled upon an elephant for the first time? The first grabbed the elephant's whip-like tail & exclaimed that an elephant must be somewhat like a short snake. Another latched onto the elephant's large, leaf-like ear & said that, 'no', an elephant was like an umbrella. The third Indian grasped the elephant's thick, stumpy leg & likened it to a tree. The fourth found the elephant's long, sinewy trunk & decided that an elephant was like a snake, but definitely not a short one. None of them got the whole picture, but they each had a piece of the puzzle. Thusly, though our Perceptions are not necessarily wrong ( although they surely can be ), it is very rare to find a Person who has the whole picture, if such a Person even exists!

'As above, so below'; our Perceptions are not necessarily wrong. Much, if not all of it, depends on the Conditioning we have endured in our lives, however long or short. By 'Conditioning', I mean what we have been taught from day one, whether it be, 'this is yours, that is not', 'we are all Fallen human beings ( sin nature )', or, 'you are not enough'. Maybe you were strictly brought up to believe that 'possession is nine tenths of the law' & so today, you call an 8 X 8 cell 'home'. Maybe you were told, or made to feel, so often that you were somehow not enough that you took their word for it. Maybe your pastor/teacher drilled it into your thick skull that you were beyond hope unless you asked Jesus into your heart, so every time you 'sinned' ( which you really couldn't help ), you feared you would ultimately end up going to 'Hell' ( also a Perception ). Perceptions then, though not necessarily wrong, aren't necessarily right either; they are simply that, Perceptions. One Person may see or view events in one way, while another may have a much different purview of the situation. Religion is much the same, but that may be another Story for another Day.......................

The word 'Enough' can itself be taken, or perceived in several different ways. Anyone who was ever a child probably heard their parents say ( very loudly ), 'Enough!', when they were fighting with a sibling. If you were not 'Enough', that just meant that you had a lot to learn ( either that, or you were hopeless ). Growing up in a fairly poor family as I did, though we never starved, 'not enough' meant that someone was 'going short' ( usually Mom or Dad ). 'Enough' is a human perception, yes, but in a very real sense, it is More than that. As discussed in previous posts, it goes to ( or comes from ) the very Core of our being, Who we really are, underneath all the onion-like layers!

As Human Beings, yes, there is always room to grow, but when we realize that We are so much More than just human beings, then we will see that, while there are areas in which we could improve, We are full of Potential; in Essence, we only limit ourselves. Again, this is not to say that 'pigs can fly', but with the Will to persevere, we can come pretty damn close. Beware Icarus, though! 

As Sean Connery said when a book fell on his head, 'I can only blame my shelf'! But seriously, others, through Conditioning, may endeavor to show/teach us how limited we are, but ultimately, WE are the ones who accept those limitations & in essence, place them on ourselves.  I, for one, being in the handicapped situation that I find myself, realize that there are more limitations on what I personally can do, as opposed to say, a professional athlete. On the other hand, I know as well, that if I would just get off my lazy ass, so to speak, there are many more things that I could be doing, even with my limited availability. The Point is, because We are More than human, We ARE Enough; we are all different, with different abilities, but we must remember, we don't HAVE to do it all, that what we're all here for each other, to do for each other what we can't do for ourselves!

'I'm nothing without Jesus'! Well, not quite; I've said it before & I'll say it again, 'we ALL have the potential to manifest the Christ Within'! It can be as simple as 'helping a little old lady ( or man ) cross the street', as complex as delivering a healthy new baby into its mother's arms or even doing brain surgery, or transcending Time & Space like 'Nothing Else Matters', but the Potential that rests Within each & every one of us is Infinite; Divine, one might note! 

When we listen to all those who say we're not enough & believe them, we feel ( too often ) that we're not enough. On the other hand, even though we've heard all the arguments, even though we often face circumstances in life that make us wonder if we are enough, the Knowledge that We are More than Human & thus, More than Enough, will bolster us to accomplish great things. All one has to do is take out a History Book & read the exploits of the Heroes of Old!

Namaste' & Blessed Be.

Sage Charles