Open flesh

Can a leopard really change its spots?

Can a dog not return to its vomit? Or a pig back to wallowing in its mudbed?

We said let go, but I kept hanging on. I don't understand. Is it something planned? Are all these reccurences pro-proposed?

"Is it all under control? But how much can it be controlled by the Almighty's hand if we are indeed given free will? How much it is that's within our ability to destroy? Where is the boundary and the dropping point? Then control isn't real control because it is not full control. Am I right to say that or to think that way? But who determines what control really is? Can partial control be considered as control too? Is only complete control the true form of control? What is the complete meaning of the true form of control anyway? Or is there no true or falseful form of control? Oh then what about freedom? Controlled freedom be true freedom? Then true freedom isn't real or the complete form of freedom, since it is controlled? But how can freedom be controlled when there is so much power? Or is 'controlled freedom' more powerful than 'uncontrolled freedom'? If freedom contains control, then what to control and what not? How to control?"

Indeed, it is not of our calibre to comprehend such question on who's in control and who's not. "Only God knows, only God knows ..." That's how i comfort myself. Let me stop thinking about all these and have peace in mind.

What the devil wants to do is to bring you back to where you started. That's what that discourages you - seeing that you did not really make any progress.

But actually you did. At least you tried. Secondly you did moved forward a little, but then again, very unfortunately, moved back to where the starting point is.

What that is pleasing is that you start again after you go back. You just keep pushing. You just keep on going. There ought to be resistance, but keep on resisting. When both sides performed resistance, which side will win, you decide.

Imagine that you are in a race and you are starting to run. There are going to be air resistance, wind, pushing against the ground, tension in the muscles ... Energies and forces all around and in you are going to work in one way or another to push you forward or otherwise. The point is the know all these forces and work your way out.

Know which force is helping you, like the friction between the soles of your shoes and the ground, the movments of your arms to allow you gain momentum for the whole body, the bending on your knees that will provide you the agility and swiftness, and the tightening of your calf muscles that gives you the spring to sprint forward.

Then know what you are working against in and outside of yourself. The Wind, the air resistance, the aches of your joints and muscles, the mental agony, the stress factor, and the temptation to shun your limit point and give in.

Know the difficulties that you are facing and try to find out what you can do to tackle them. But if you realise that you cannot do anything about them, then the best way to deal with them is to forget about them. Do not pause to be bothered with things that you cannot do anything about. Things like that are just going to pull you down. They are going to be stumbling stones for your race if you take too much notice of them. They are distractors. The best thing to do is to run past them on the track. Skip over; hop over; or jump over. In other words, just pass them by and don't look back. Dont focus on them the tiny stones on the path but the road ahead. The more you want to look at them the more you want to scrutinise them. By then you realise that you are no longer focused on the race and your competitors are passing you by!

Imagine how stupid you look when you are racing on the track with the rest of the runners and halfway you stopped to take notice of this little stone that's lying just perfectly in the middle of your lane. You bend down and pick it up, only to place it onto another lane, and then you continue running. Well that's really what most of us appear to do in our everyday life in God's eyes. A small rock on our way can keep us from moving forward. Even a tiny grain of sand can usher us in to a Whine and Complain Party. 'Oh she rejected me again. I cant take it anymore.', 'I think my boss is against me. He is just making things so hard for me in the office.', 'My kids are just too rebelling. They are too much for me to handle.' ... ...

The WCP goers just go on and on with the narrating of their problems, and occassionally argue over who's problem is truly bigger than the other's, and who's much much worse off yadda yadda. Then they decide to open another gathering called the Pity Party. 'Oh I'm so depressed. Nobody is there to help me. Well nobody can anyway.', 'I can just kill myself, nobody will care anyway. I need some love, please.', 'The divorce has to be done. But in the end I'm just gonna be ALL ALONE. Oh what a wrecked life I've got.', "Why must all these happen to me! Why is God so harsh on me! Oh I'm the condemned one.' ... ...

If only we just take a step over them? Over the little rocks and sand grains. Occassionally these distractors comes in the forms of glimmering pebbles and beautiful coloured stone, or even precious jewels and gems! We ought to be careful! If the devil cannot catch our attention with the bad things, he uses the good things, or rather, the seemingly good things.

They can be Fame, Wealth, Beauty, Lust, Pleasure, Material Comfort etc. They may be good, but tell you the truth, they are distractors in our lives. They divert our attention from our race. They swallow away our focus on our Purpose and Destiny.

Many people have made their decision. Some chose the trophy instead of the gains along the route, while others chose to busy themselves with the picking of the small stones during the race, which cost them their grand prize.

Each of us has our own race to run. No one else can run for us. The important thing to note is that we cannot choose to run and at the same time pick up stones as and when we like along the way. Firstly, the stoppings and the bending-over-s (to pick the stones up) already cost you precious time. Secondly, the stones that you pick up along the way will only weigh you down. They are chains in disguise and they are going to be hang around your neck by YOURSELF. They are thought to be precious stuffs to be carefully protected, but in fact things to be disposed instead!

They cause you to hunch your back - They teach you to bow down negative influences. You are told to compremise; as long as you are not affected you wouldn't really need to care. But actually, you are affected, just that the effects of the works are insidious, subtle and quiet. Then you will find yourself hunching more and more, either because you are accepting more chains to be hung around you, or your body and spirit is starting to give way to the weight you are carrying already.

They restrict the movements of your arms and upper body. Imagine so much weight holding you down. And then the pestering thought that you might be dropping some of your precious ones when you run along the way disturbs you, causing you to turn back and look time and again. And if you did drop? You had literally allowed yourself to be stuck in the agony of a difficult choice.

All in all, it is a torment you borne on yourself.

Why not just let it go? Throw everything of it away. Release yourself of the burden. Indeed it is only when you press on towards one goal will you experience freedom from bondage. Don't get distracted. It will just be a waste of time. If you let your mind be everywhere, you yourself will be everywhere, and nowhere. Let go of your past; move on. AND Don't look back.