Shades of Perspective

“What we see in life depends on the filter of our lens.”

-Mason Wooldridge

For many people life seems to be a game without many choices, without hope, without joy, without love, and without a consistent direction or path to follow.  But this is true for only one reason: because these same people have chosen to believe this.  Life is what we desire it to be, it’s forever what we choose it to be, and it all boils down to how we view the world around us; for what we see in life depends on the filter of our lens.

Above is a picture which shows a rock from three distinct viewpoints, all of which shed a different light on the same rock.  For each picture I used a different filter on the lens of my camera phone to capture a different perspective of the same reality.  In no way are these three pictures not showing the same exact rock, but in every way they show the uniqueness and complexity of the rock from different angles of light and effect.  Even in a simple rock there is truth and wisdom to be found if you but first choose to acknowledge this fact.

If we can see the variations of the rock in these pictures, capturing in each picture a different definition of what the rock appears to be, think about how many ways we can view our own life and its ever-changing complexity.

How many times have you looked at someone, initially judging that person, only to realize that your initial assumptions were way off base?

If we can choose to see a simple rock in so many different ways, why can’t we choose to see the world around us in a different way?

Why does life have to be how you currently see it?  What’s stopping you from seeing life differently?  What’s stopping you from looking at the world around you through a more beneficial lens?

We live our lives how we choose to live them, life doesn’t just happen by chance, it’s always a direct result of our thinking about it and our mental projections upon it.  Everything we think, say, and do, is a choice we make in accordance with how we view our current circumstances.

If life is not what you want it to be, maybe it’s because you’re the one holding progress back.  Maybe it’s your current lens and filter of vision that’s stopping you from having a better existence. 

In order to see life differently you have to start training yourself to be different, to act different, to think different, and to believe that there is immense beauty and perfection in all that you’re currently choosing not to see.

There's a whole other world out there waiting for you to notice it.

Peace and Love my friends,

-Mason   

The Meaning of Life

“For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment.”

-Viktor E. Frankl

When one thinks about the meaning of life there are so many questions that come to mind and with every question that pops up a myriad of answers are sure to follow.  So where is a good starting point when looking to tackle this monumental question?  Where is a good ending point?  And furthermore, where do I even get the authority to tackle such a question?  If you bear with me I’m sure you will find at least some of the answers you seek.

First, a starting point:  Why were we created in the first place? 

I think it all boils down to experience, ours and our creators, and their co-dependence.  If you were to stop for a second and think about the implications of life and the laws that govern those implications I think you’ll begin to see that experience is what unites us all and it’s our shared experience that makes up what some are calling the “collective conscious.”  This collective conscious is what many believe is the heartbeat of the creator, and since we’re the ones causing this heart to beat then we are all connected not only with one another but also with that which created us.  So it makes sense that in order for a creator to fully experience who the creator is then we have to live out all of our experiences consciously or unconsciously, collectively.  If I was not who I was, going through what I’m going through, then someone, somewhere, would not be able to experience who that person is relative to myself.  We all need other people to define who it is we are, and it’s through our experiences that we gain insight into just who that person is.  Think about it, were it not for another person in your life would you be able to define who it is you are?  It’s because of everyone that we can put a name to ourselves; because we all can claim ourselves as independents it’s obvious to me that through shared experience we are able to fully define the lot of us.  If we were not all to live on this planet in order to experience independent parts of a unified life, then what definition would we be able to give to life, to ourselves, or to a creator?  When I look at someone else I see aspects of humanity that define something other than who it is I am, I also see very similar characteristics that could unite us as one body if we needed them to.  So to answer the question posed at the start of this paragraph in very plain terms, we were created to experience whatever it is we choose to experience.  Our first purpose in life is to live so that we can experience all that living has to offer.  Because of this revelation it leads me to another pertinent question…

Can we choose to experience anything we want?

The short answer is YES!  Please do, please choose to experience any aspect of life that you so desire, it’s what makes life interesting.  Nothing is off limits, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for our actions.  Don’t forget that there are some rules that we must all play by in the game of life, and one of them is that every action has an equal or opposite reaction.  I believe that nothing is off limits to us, made obvious by our ability to choose to do whatever we want, however, some choices will not produce a positive or desired result.  Since we can choose to do anything in life then it makes sense to me that everything we desire to experience is here for us to choose to do.  I do not believe in a universal “right and a wrong” in the accepted sense of the words; instead I believe in right and wrong being only definable and contingent upon our singular existence.  What’s right for me may not be right for you, and likewise, what’s wrong for you may not be wrong for me; that’s the beauty of life and where many people lose their way.  Just because something is wrong for you and not for another does not mean you have the right to make another person acquiesce to your definition of the truth.  If more people would live life according to their own barometers for right and wrong, without holding judgment upon the heads of others for not choosing the same definition, this world would be a much more beautiful place to live.  Even in the chaos of defining what’s right and wrong we have the ever-evolving experience of life to take into account.  Whatever may seem right or wrong to you today will not hold the same value a decade from now, so how can you justify judging another person based on the choices they make right now?  Live to be an example of what you believe right and wrong to be, but try not to live to be a tyrant for your beliefs.  From this idea we can draw upon my last point to be made…

Are we judged for our actions?

By a creator, a.k.a. God, no; by other people, you bet we are.  Many of you are probably strongly disagreeing with me right now because you believe the role of God is to create then judge his creation right?  “But Mason, my religion has told me for years that judging was the role of God and that we’re all sinners that need to be forgiven for our actions in order to get to this place called Heaven.”  Have you ever taken a minute to think that maybe your religion is wrong, I’m not talking about the lessons they preach but the overall declaration of needing to be forgiven for some reason?  Why would God, this omnipotent being, ever need to punish us for anything, in what world does that even make sense?  And for what reason would we be punished, especially for making a simple choice?  Does God need anything?  Isn’t God without need, or want, or desire?  I believe so, for the simple belief that God wants anything means that he lacks something… that doesn't mesh right?  The same people that will disagree with my statement are the same people that believe God created us and knows all about every choice we will ever make.  But if God knew every choice we were ever to make before our birth, including the “negative” ones, and still created us only to judge us because of them, that’s not really God, that’s a childish dictator, and also a being made up by superstition and misunderstanding of the word LOVE.  Every choice available to us was made by God, meaning that every choice is part of the ultimate reality of God, so how could any choice be any less “God” then another?  Think about it… let all of your bias towards a religion leave your mind for a minute and really think about it.  I could write thousands of words on this idea alone, but for the sake of this thought I want to just end by saying that we are not judged by God, based on our choices, but we will be judged by man based on what we choose to do.  Man is fickle, God is not, so don’t worry about the judgment of others when you have faith in your intentions.  Life will end where life began, with a re-connection to the source.

To wrap this up I feel it important to state one last time what I started this thought with, the reason why we’re all here, the meaning of life:  To experience as much of life as possible.

I AM WHAT I AM

"I am the greatest.  I said that even before I knew I was."

-Muhammad Ali

I AM WHAT I AM.

This statement is both the saving grace for mankind and its greatest, misunderstood statement.

So often in life we hear someone say as a means of justification for something, “I am what I am,” but the same people that make this proclamation rarely understand the power that’s found within the words. 

This statement is quite possibly the most powerful combination of words in the English language.  Let’s take a closer look at the implications of such a statement and why this combination of words can either be the downfall of a person or their greatest accomplishment.

Normally when someone says “I am what I am,” they’re saying it as an excuse for not being who someone thinks they should be; this statement is normally reserved for the context of making an excuse for a lack of effort or self-control. 

When I think of the situation that this phrase is most commonly used in I think of someone being questioned for a behavior they’re exhibiting, usually being one of negative connotation.  For example: when someone’s significant other catches them cheating, or catches them doing something that seems very out of character.  This phrase is primarily used at the end of a relationship or at the beginning of what could have been a friendship or meaningful relationship.  “I am what I am” carries a lot of negative residue because people through the ages have lost the knowledge and understanding of the power that can be found within this statement.

Let’s break down the first part of this statement so I can show you what I think it means…

I AM:  This portion of the phrase which makes up the first two words of the statement and the last two words of the statement is the meat of its meaning.  “I AM” carries the bulk of the weight here, it also carries the most residual energy from our past.  When you attack this phrase as something that defines a person because of their past then you've overlooked the underlying meaning of these words.  I AM is an ever-evolving, living and breathing statement of how things are for us, it’s alive in three succinct yet unifying parts… I AM me today, I AM me from yesterday, and I AM me for tomorrow.  In just these two words we see that the statement I AM has a threefold meaning:  past, present, and future.  I AM a product of my past decisions; I AM the product of my current environment, I AM the sum of my future choices… I AM ME.  

In all ways this phrase of “the great I AM” is evolving, fluctuating, and redefining.  Once we come to grips with the living nature of these two words we can begin to see just how powerful the phrase as a whole can be.

The key to understanding the significance of the phrase ‘I am what I am,” is to understand that it is not a final definition of who you are at any given moment, but a phrase that defines who you can be at any given moment.

If you believe this phrase limits the definition of who you are, think again.  This phrase is literally exploding with nothing more than endless possibility.  This phrase at its root level is the embodiment of who we are as a person… limitless.

Let’s take a look at the scenario from the beginning I referred to where someone is caught cheating on their significant other and when approached about it their retort is ‘I am what I am.”  In this case it seems like a cop-out huh?  What needs to come into account here is not after the deed of cheating is done, but the very act of cheating itself.  If this person who cheated thought for any moment that they were indeed not a cheater, then the action of cheating would never take place.  When you don’t know who you are you leave your life open for other people to define it.  If you know what I AM as faithful, if you make this choice to know yourself as faithful then why would you ever cheat?  Knowing who you are can be defined as the choices you make and the motivation behind them.  You are constantly making statements to the universe about who you are by the choices you make, but how often do you reaffirm to yourself the definition of “you?”

The very act of choosing who you are on a constant basis is the limit to which the power of this statement can hold for you.  When you realize that who you are is up to you and always open for rediscovery you can begin to let go of past programming that no longer suits your grandest vision of yourself.  Past heartaches, past trials, past bad decisions, your family, your hometown, they all become just another set of choices for how you NOW choose to define yourself.  Will you in this moment of now allow the sins of your father define you as a man today, or will you choose a definition that better fits who it is you desire to be?  When you see this phrase as the great liberator put into words, you begin to let go of the past issues that haunt your being and you begin to grow into the being that lies dormant inside all of us: a being of limitless potential, capable of moving mountains if need be.

When you believe that you are who you choose to be you see that the statement goes from “I am what I am” to “I am what I choose I am.”  How amazing is that to think about?  How powerful is that thought?…

I guess it’s as powerful as you choose to believe it is right?

This statement is freeing, it’s living, it’s limitless, it’s you at your greatest, or you at your least.  The statement “I am what I am” is your key to success and happiness beyond your wildest dreams. 

Be who you know you can be, be who you want to be, be who you choose to be. 

Think about these words and let them pierce the armor of your soul, for if you don’t you just might be someone else tomorrow who gives up control over your life, or one who gets caught telling someone for the worst possible reason, “I am what I am.”

What is Your Mission Statement?

Before we can really dive into the topic of mission statements, their importance, and how to form one, we need to have a good, working definition of just what a mission statement is…  Wikipedia defines a mission statement as: A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person, its reason for existing.

For the purpose of this thought I want to focus on the personal aspect of a mission statement, why it’s important to have one, and the heightened sense of purpose that one can gleam from making one to fit their life.  The website, eHow.com, put it perfectly in their response to the question: what is a mission statement:

“A personal mission statement is a written culmination of values, roles, objectives, and self-reflection and self-evaluation. It has the flexibility to change as you change and the ability to keep you focused when you travel down a path that is not acceptable to your own morals and values. Creating a personal mission statement is the first step to a life of success and satisfaction, and anybody with a little time can create one.” By James G. Pradke, eHow Contributor

It’s very common in life to go through your days, your weeks, months, and the years of your life without every really knowing why you’re living, or for that matter, what you’re living for.  What a mission statement can do for you is give you focus and direction towards being a certain kind of person, and it can keep you in line with your highest ideals that you hold about yourself.

In a world where we as people are constantly being pushed from here to there without as much as a thank you from our calendars, it’s growing increasingly important to be able to say “no” to things that conflict with what we want most.  But what happens to the person who doesn’t know who they are or what they stand for?  They get lost in the commotion of life; they grow old and die, and all without reaching their full potential as a human being.

Have you ever wanted to be able to say no to certain things in life and yes to more of what you’d really like to explore?  Have you ever had the sinking suspicion that you were made for more than your current day-to-day?..  A mission statement can help you answer those questions and it can simultaneously help direct the course your life takes from the minute you create your own.

If you don’t stand for something as a person you will inevitably fall for anything.  If you are not grounded in an ideal or a desire in your life, then the wind will be all that’s needed to dissuade you from any course of action, worthwhile or not.

I found that by setting a mission statement for my life I was instantly aligned with what meant most to me, plus it made it a lot easier to say no to people and circumstances that did not align with my statement.

In order for your mission statement to be powerful it needs to be clear and concise, no more than a few sentences, and as much as possible, direct and to the point of your purpose and existence.  For example:  To live a fun life in accordance with my beliefs and values at any given time, and use my talents to add value to my environment in ways that I choose.  Kurt Schmitt (http://www.inspirational-sayings-in-action.com/sample-mission-statement.html) As you can see it doesn’t take many words to start focusing you towards being the person you were meant to be.

My mission statement is as follows:  Choose love and acceptance over everything.  Be the light for others to follow.  Never let someone else define how I view myself.  Your mission statement can be almost anything you want it to be, it can be more broad, or more concise, but in the end it needs to be powerful enough to guide your steps in all occasions. 

The beautiful thing about a personal statement of definition is that it can be done for any aspect of your life, but I believe that the most powerful statements are those that encompass your life in a nut-shell.  The thing to remember here is that you should be totally honest with yourself and the direction of your life, you need to be one with the statement you make or else it won’t be able to serve a true guide.

Once you have established your statement you can base everything you do and say on it.  If someone asks something of you that doesn’t fit your statement about yourself then you have the ability to say no to them, and feel good about saying no. 

A good mission statement will provide you with all the motivation you need to be successful in whatever pursuits you take on.  There’s one thing you must remember though:  life is in a constant state of change and evolution, so be open to allowing your mission statement to change with you as you grow into a different person with different views as time goes on. 

Let your statement be a light in your life that gives direction and motivation; a good personal statement should never limit what you want to experience in life, it should only be a bridge from who it is you are to who it is you know you desire to be.

Once you make your own statement, memorize it and say it out loud as much as possible; make sure the Universe knows just who it’s now dealing with.  The act of saying something out loud sends energy out into the Universe so that who you really want to be can start becoming a reality.

You might find that the statement you come up with does not vibe with how other people see you, that’s perfectly okay…  How often are we truly honest with other people about who we really are?  You’ll find that if you start living by your mission statement the people around you will never second guess who it is that you are again.

Thankfulness is a State of Mind

The key to happiness in this life is simple: enjoy the small moments when they present themselves.

We as people are constantly being bombarded by influences outside of our internal nature, whether it be from the media, the demands of everyday life, bills needing to be paid or friends and family pulling at our attention strings.

We so constantly look around at the world and desire feelings of happiness or completeness, we do this so often that we can actually forget to stop and appreciate all of life’s little blessings along the way.

Whether it is a sunrise or a sunset, the soft breeze blowing against our face, the smell of flowers, the smile someone gives us, leaves falling around us, certain melodies in a song, and the list goes on and on; the Universe is always trying to direct us back to a state of knowing who we really are, it’s always giving us opportunities to be one with our true nature. 

The gifts of life often come in small packages and when we’re not really paying attention.  I think one of the biggest secrets in life is that we are always connected to everything and everyone around us, it just takes a deep breath and a ready heart to see this as a fact.

We were not made to be drones or lifeless beings that merely exist in a rat wheel of life.  We were made as creative beings with endless potential for love and prosperity; it’s when we forget this about our true nature that we start taking all of life’s little moments for granted.

Yesterday I was walking out to the meadow at our house to cut some firewood when along my first couple of steps out of the front door a little leaf fell from a tree and landed in my hand.  What a marvelous moment this was for me, but its meaning would have been lost if I wasn't ready to see its meaning..

As the leaf fell and landed in my palm I was reminded about how perfect everything around us is, how unique but perfect everything fits together.  For that leaf to fall at the moment it did, for it to die at the precise moment it took for it to fall, and for the wind to accurately have it land in my hand was perfection in an instant.  If I failed to realize at that exact moment what it took for this to happen I would have missed out on the universe quietly whispering in the ear of my soul: "we are all connected." 

The fact that we are part of this world and that this world is a part of us is what some would refer to as a divine dichotomy.  If you take a minute to stop throughout your day and let life bless you, you’ll be more ready to bless other people along the path of their day as well.

The leaf falling into my hand stopped me in my tracks and reminded me that the end result of going into the woods to cut some firewood was not the blessing, but the power of the moment was in the actual walk into the woods.  The journey of our lives is what melds us with our true being and our real potential.  It’s what we do when no one sees us that define our true character.  It’s what we take for granted or what we hold as precious moments in time that speak the loudest for our worth and our true nature.

The small moments in life that show us our true connection to everything around us add up to making us the person we truly desire to be.  If we can’t appreciate the little things that cross our path, how will we be able to truly be thankful for the major blessings?

If you allow the minute in detail to permeate your exterior and melt into your interior you’ll be much more content in this world.  Every small blessing serves to re-connect us and resurface the truth about who we are in this world.  Let the small blessings mount up, be present in all moments and your perspective on life will naturally start to change into one that is appreciative and positive.

If you find yourself being negative about life and the lot it has served you, look no further than to change the thoughts you have about your own life.  Keep an eye out for the small treasures; keep your eyes open for the beauty and connectivity that's all around you. 

Don’t allow yourself to be lost in the matrix, instead force yourself to acknowledge that you are the creator of your own matrix.

We are only as happy as the blessings we allow ourselves to receive. 

What is LOVE?

What is LOVE?...

It's an emotion, it's a feeling, and it's a way of life.

LOVE is a choice, it's a decision, and it's a direction.

LOVE is GOD and GOD is LOVE, LOVE is hope and LOVE is Joy, LOVE is the best of hope and joy combined.

LOVE is a response to an action and LOVE is the action itself.  LOVE is a memory of something beautiful remembered and LOVE is what spawned that memory in first place.  LOVE is the tide that rolls waves into our life and also the way we decide to surf those waves.

LOVE is the journey and LOVE is the goal, LOVE is also the road map for the success we want to have as our guide.

LOVE is a warm breeze and the refreshing rain after the summer's drought.

LOVE is the whisper of a child and also the soothing words of a mother.

LOVE is what guides us and also what holds our sails fixed within the wind.

LOVE is worth our praise and it's also what gives us our voice.  LOVE is the beauty we see in this world and what's found in the in-between.

LOVE is what binds people together and it's also what brings people together.  LOVE is a choice and the sum of our decisions.

We are LOVE, we refresh LOVE, we embody LOVE, we instill LOVE, we give LOVE, we promote LOVE, we decide what's worth our LOVE and we formulate ideas as to what LOVE is.

LOVE is ever evolving.

We give definition to LOVE, we give experience to LOVE, we live LOVE and we share LOVE.

The biggest secret to LOVE is that we are the creators of it and the purveyors of it.  We are LOVE, we preach LOVE, we discern LOVE, and we give freely the beauty of LOVE because it was given freely to all of us.

LOVE is a song, LOVE is a poem, LOVE is a wink and LOVE is the chords of our rhythm.  LOVE is a melody and LOVE is the inspiration behind the song.

LOVE is all there really is and LOVE is all there ever has been.

We are all only but a choice away from experiencing LOVE as the eternal moment of now, let's choose to live in LOVE and spread that message.

Ps. LOVE = GOD and GOD = LOVE

WE are ALL CONNECTed

Why do we choose so often to make fun of that which is different from us?  Do we not understand that all that we are is defined by that which we are not?

If I cry at a sunrise does that mean I am weak or does that mean I am strong enough to connect with something so foreign to me that I actually begin to understand our real union?

There is so much hate in this world.  Hate arises in one's heart from one's surroundings and from one's choices.  We choose hate, hate does not choose us.  My eyes see the same way everyone else's do, so why then do I see a world full of possibility and wonder and others choose to see a world full of despair and evil?

Does my heart not beat the same as yours? Does my body not work the same as yours?  Does love not come naturally at the fitting times like yours?  Does the touch of a soft hand on your shoulder in a time of need not lend support to you like it does me?

I ask these questions not to state that I am any better than anyone else in this world, but I ask these questions and million more to show the extreme similarity between all of our lives.

We are defined as individuals by that which we are not, not that which we are.  We all depend on everyone else to define ourselves, for if it were not for another there would be no ability to compare in the first place.  Without comparison there simply is existence conceptually, and to exist as a conception is not the reality we live in.

We live in a world governed by relativity and shared experience, where one thing is connected to another through the ultimate experience of give and push, yin and yang, here and there, now and then.

Open your eyes my friends to the idea that we are all perfect and all essential beings in this cosmic dance of life, we all need each other to be whole, we all need one another for definition to be possible.

When you see a strange face or you witness a lost soul, be not quick to judge but instead be quick to understand.  From understanding comes knowledge, and from shared knowledge comes wisdom.

We live in order to help others become wise in their own pursuits.  We hurt in order to heal others in their time of need.  We feel pain so that joy can be apparent in our greatest times of success.  If you cut yourself off from the rest of the world and see your being as only singular you miss out on life's greatest blessings, you miss out on creation and shared opportunities.

Choose love over hate, choose acceptance over judgment, choose honesty over betrayal, and choose life over death.

If it were not for those who are different than us we would not be who we are today, tomorrow, and in the distant future.  It takes all of the spokes of a bicycle wheel to work in unison for the rider to get anywhere, just like it takes all of us involved in life to make any sort of a difference.

We are beings of unlimited potential, we are beings capable of great creations, we are beings who dream and laugh, beings who inspire and motivate.  We are all of these things at our core.

Live in love and walk in hope, run for the truth and dance with joy.  We can all have the life we want without hate, without judgment, and without cruelty.  Choose to be above the negative, choose to be better.