life: high definition

Played w/ the Motorola XOOM yesterday and was super excited to get my hands on the first tablet running Android 3.0 Honeycomb!

Observations

- The hardware felt solid but lacked the overall wow of the iPad

- The UI was slick and futuristic looking. Definitely more polished than any previous version of Android

- Though the look of the UI was visually impressive it felt overwhelming to me as a first time user

- I was stunned that even though, on paper the XOOM hardware is superior to the iPad’s hardware in every tech spec, the iPad felt superior in terms of performance, design, and usability.

Conclusion

The iPad is going to be awfully hard to unseat in the Tablet space, especially since carrier availability is a non-issue.

Sure the Android Tablet makers would have the edge if the measure of success were specs and features alone, but the reality is, if the average consumer can’t figure out how to take advantage of those specs and features in a 10min test drive at Best Buy…you’re toast!

We’ll see what the future holds but one thing is for sure Google, Microsoft, and HP have their work cut out for them.

posted on 11.03.11

Here are a few tips for you leaders out there on Creating a Winning Culture…

1) Establish the Team Identity

2) Create a Unique Language

3) Set Clear Expectations

4) Cast Vision in Soundbites

5) Recognize Your Heroes

…sure I could unpack them for you but until then let your imaginations run wild!

posted on 31.01.11

I think one of the saddest tragedies of the Church is her tendency to attribute all foreign ideas, art, and religious expression to Satan.

Could it be that many of these ideas are simply the result of fellow spiritual seekers struggling to understand what life is all about?

Is not all Truth God’s truth?

One of the primary tenants of Christianity is that we were created to know God and to experience the wonderful expression of worship as a result of that revelation.

If that was in fact God’s intent & if God is enlightened & capable enough as a Creator to accomplish his intent then it follows that the best medium for us to know him is…life.

Not some form of elusive pie in the sky life to come but this life here on earth.

This may sound foreign but what is more authentic than reality?

Reality teaches us that we were not created w/ a book of Scriptures to give us the knowledge of God and we were not created in “heaven”(At least in the popular understanding of it) we were in fact created on earth.

We were created on earth w/ nothing more than life and creation as the tools to accomplish God’s intent.

Why then do we confuse the uncensored attempts of others to understand what this life is about as the fruits of the Devil?

Are they not merely fellow travelers like ourselves using the tools that God gave them?

Is it not indeed possible that they have gained a perspective of God from which we can draw more knowledge of the truth?

I am not here to say whether they are right or wrong…

In fact I think we should all be sober enough to understand that according to Christian tradition the “knowledge of good and evil” was not something we were handed, it was something that we took in a desire to make ourselves the object of worship, an act so senseless and so contrary to God’s original goal(for us to know him) that the Bible refers to it as the source of all death.

How ironic is it that we have made the “Knowledge of Good and Evil” the centerpiece of our religion?

How puzzling that when we encounter another human w/ a perspective on life we automatically weigh it in terms of “Is this good or evil? Is this wrong or right?”

When perhaps the intended way for us to approach their testimony is…”What can be learned about God from this?”

We all were given a perspective of an infinite God. If we love truth why chase away the perspective of others?

Is not surest way to gain knowledge to share perspectives?

Perhaps then this notion of weighing all ideas on the scales of “good & evil?” in reality only ends up separating us from the perspectives of others & from the nuggets of truth that they may possess?

Maybe this is why it was forbidden from the beginning?

Genesis tells us that “It is not good for man to be alone.”

He created us to reproduce and grow…w/ each life a new perspective, w/ each new perspective more reasons to Worship.

Is it any wonder than the Jesus says that the two most critical foundations of this life are “To love the Lord your God w/ all your heart, mind, soul, and strength” and “To love your neighbor as yourself.”

Funny how this one little insight makes sense of so much.

Dismiss it as heresy if you like…but first make sure to remove the treasure.

“Test ALL things…” Paul said. “Hold onto that which is beneficial, helpful, true, and good.”

The End

posted on 14.09.10

When Christians speak of God we use titles like “King” and “Lord”…

Shouldn’t the government of ‘heaven’ be a little more sophisticated than that?

Shouldn’t ‘heaven’ itself be a little more sophisticated than the concept of government entirely?

Is this “King” business the result of divine insight into spiritual reality or the striving of earthly minds to stuff eternity into our brains?

“Pilate said, ‘So you are a King?’
Jesus responded, ‘You say I am a King. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” (John 18:37)

Jesus appears to go out of his way to draw a stark contrast between Pilates words and his own, ‘You say King…I say Truth.’

Was he not really saying, ‘You speak earth Pilate…I speak eternity.’?

Or to put it another way, ‘Earth makes you comfortable Pilate because it is familiar to you. You understand it and you rule it. I on the other hand am not from this world and I did not come to talk about this world.

…I came to talk about Truth.”

Who can forget Pilate’s response, “What is Truth?”

We remember it because, having read the rest of the story, we want to scream out to him, “You’re missing the point Pilate! HE is Truth!!!”

But how can Truth be a person?

What kind of sense does that make?

It doesn’t make sense!

And that is precisely why it oozes with traces of eternity!

Why didn’t Jesus lay it all out for Pilate? Just grab a flipschart and take him to school?

Because his answer to our question is the same as it’s always been, “You ask a question about eternity in the language of earth. Don’t seek understanding…seek me!”

Our tendency to infuse ‘earth talk’ into our understanding of spiritual reality is sometimes more frequent than we would care to admit.

I’m just saying…

posted on 19.06.10

This blog is meant to encourage a thoughtful dialogue on matters of faith and spirituality. It is part 2 of a dialogue between myself and a seminary student named Dan on the topic of “Christianity and Salvation”.

In this discussion Dan represents the fundamentalist Christian point of view that there is no salvation without belief in Jesus, specifically as a man, who lived in Israel in the first century, died by crucifixion, rose from the dead on the third day, and was in fact God.

In contrast, while I agree that belief in Jesus is necessary for salvation, I argue that the core tenant of the Christian faith is that we are incapable of saving ourselves from sin and restoring our relationship with God on our own, that instead we must put our trust completely in God to rescue us. According to Christian belief Jesus and God are the same and thus the essence of who Jesus is, is “God as our Rescuer!”.  I maintain that belief in “Jesus the man”, is not required for salvation but rather belief in the pre-human and ever current essence of Jesus defined as “God as our Rescuer!”.  

The ramifications of this belief is that as long as an individual recognizes that there is a disharmony between themselves and their Creator, that they are incapable of fixing that rift on their own, and respond to this revelation by throwing their fate and hope completely into the hands of their Creator, trusting Him as oppose to their own efforts to rescue them, that they are essentially putting their faith and hope in Jesus Christ.

This would apply to anyone, of any religion, throughout the history of time, even if they had never heard so much as a whisper of the name “Jesus”.  It could apply to Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and people of various other religions, as it has, according to my view, applied to the Saints of the Old Testament.  Whenever an individual puts their faith in God and God alone to rescue them from sin and restore their relationship with Him…He will!

You can read part 1 on my Tumblr page or in the notes section of my FB page.

(Part 2)

Dan’s Response:

“Manny, I think you bring up some good points. The crucified, buried, and resurrected Christ is the pulsing center on which Christianity pivots. It is exactly the historical, physical person of Christ that gives Christianity its uniqueness among other religions. A man was physically risen from the dead. That’s our story. If the PHYSICAL resurrection does not hold pivotal importance then we are all men most miserable according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. That event alone distinguishes Christianity from all the rest. It cannot be mixed with other religions. If we’re looking for peace amongst religions then we misunderstand the import of the faith altogether. Jesus said that he came to put variance between mother and father, to bring a sword and not peace. In other words Christianity’s claims will offend some and divide others. Jesus came to set the world aright not to bring all religions together.”

My Response:

“Can it not be both ways? I never disputed the physical resurrection of Christ, in fact I would agree with Paul in saying that if it weren’t for the work of Jesus of Nazareth we would be hopeless.

My question is this, “Can someone benefit from that sacrifice without knowing or believing in the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth by believing in “God as our Rescuer” the pre-human and ever current essence of Jesus? 

Think of it this way…

In the old days paper money was backed by a gold standard. At any given time someone could take that piece of paper to the bank and redeem it for gold. The “gold promise”, made by the federal government, gave that paper an authentic value and hence originated the phrase “Good as gold!” 

So here is a question: Was an individual required to know or believe in the gold standard of the dollar in order to benefit from it’s purchasing power?

Absolutely not!  There was no test, written or oral, that you were required to pass when you wanted to spend a dollar!  You simply walked into the store, found something that you thought was worth a dollar, and exchanged it, end of story.  It didn’t make a difference if you believed in the gold standard or if you believed that the dollar was made from the paper of a magic tree from another world!  In fact you might have believed that the gold housed in the federal reserve was really yellow painted iron and that the government had no intention of ever exchanging that dollar for real gold, even still, if you had enough faith to walk up to the cashier, you benefited from the governments “gold promise.”  

Now let’s ask another question, “Was that piece of paper worth the stock it was printed on if, in fact, it wasn’t backed by gold?” 

The answer here is obviously no, as well!  

I would argue that just as the gold backing the “gold promise” gave paper money worth, the sacrifice of the historical Jesus gives our faith in “God as our Rescuer” worth!

The sacrifice of a living breathing savior becomes absolutely essential because it assures us that we are not only trusting God to save us, He has indeed done so already!”

Dan’s Response:

“Manny, I hear you and I actually love that analogy. But you’d have to do away with 90 percent of what Jesus said to come to that conclusion. Jesus himself said in John 3 that he who does not believe is condemned already. John 20:30-31 speaks of believing on him to obtain life. You can’t get around it. Jesus said the work of God was to believe on the One who was sent. Jesus said if you believe on me as the scriptures hath said…and the concept of belief goes on and on and on. The world was redeemed, but, they have a choice in the matter. This is why in John it says, ‘to as many as RECEIVED him, to them gave he the right to become children of God. I hear your stance bro, but you have to do away with too much scripture to walk in it…he who has not the Son does not have life…

Christ was a real person. I’m not sure what your interpretation is of the historical Jesus is but, historically, he lived! Lol! He was a human. God became a man. That’s the story and I’m sticking to it…1 John 1:1-5”

Manny’s Response:

“And so we’ll let it go at that! It’s been fun! 

In closing I will say that I do believe Christ actually lived, that’s what I mean by “the historical Jesus of Nazareth” and I do believe that He is our only means of reconciliation with God. 

I only maintain, on what I think are biblical grounds, that He both existed and was worshipped before He came to earth as a man and thus transcends the narrow definition of his person as maintained by traditional Christians in outlining the requirement for our belief in Him. 

I also maintain that none of the scriptures you have raised present genuine difficulties to my idea, for though it is required that we look at those scriptures with fresh eyes it does not require us to dispose of them altogether. 

There, now we both have stories!”

Dan Response:

“There we have it!”

And just like that it was over.  

If you would like to join the discussion or have any questions or comments feel free to e-mail me at (ethic3@gmail.com)

posted on 28.04.10

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. No one comes to the Father but through me.”

A few weeks ago I was at home minding my own business when I received a text message from one of my best friends, Mr. Winfred Burns.

It read…

“Check out my FB conversation, I’m sure you will enjoy it”

I can almost imagine an evil laugh coming from Winfred as he clicked send on that ole’ Blackberry Storm of his!

When I logged on to check out this intriguing “conversation” it turned out that Big Win had managed to stir up quite a firestorm of activity, something like 24 comments when I first checked it…

“Today’s conversation. Though we all are different and have different beliefs in some major areas why can we not have a place of worship where all people can come. I don’t mean just blacks and whites but Muslims, Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses etc. Doesn’t our love and unity allow that? Let’s talk…”

Part of me was thrilled at the thought of discussing this topic and part of me swallowed hard and thought to myself…

“What did your Big Brother just suck you into?”

The claim that Jesus is the only (some would use the term exclusive) way to God is central to the Christian faith! According to traditional Christianity there can be no two ways about it, without believing in Jesus there is no salvation. 

At the same time what Christian with half a heart has never asked themselves about the millions of people throughout the ages of time who have never heard so much as the whisper of his name?  Or the God-fearing Muslims and Jews to whom the concept of monotheism is taken with such seriousness and reverence, that to make the claim that God was a man, or that he had a Son, is the highest form of blasphemy? Can we blame the ignorant for their ignorance, can we blame the reverent for grasping to tightly to the commands of their God?  Is that fair? Is that Just?

The discussion Winfred started dealt with this issue head on and as it began to unfurl responders were divided into two camps: The “all religions teach the same thing” camp, and the “traditional Christian” camp.

The traditional Christian camp was lead by a guy named Dan and he knew his stuff…

“…I think this is why it is so critical to have a grasp of what you believe. For instance what make Christianity Christian? And at what point, even from an evolutionary standpoint (because evolution is fundamentally different than progress) does it cease to be Christian. I do not fear progression. If Paul would have feared it from the Jews, the faith we hold so dear today would not even exist. But I think it’s important that we understand what are the fundamental elements that make up our faith and how from an historical perspective we arrived at a universal understanding of what constitutes Christianity. I think it’s difficult to stand in the face of over 2000 years of Christian history and simply say, this is how we’re going to do it now, we’re changing the game. Because even Christianity’s evolutionary process from Judaism that was not done, and Kelleigh if I am reading you wrong, please let me know I think the bible is clear that good deeds alone are not enough, but its believing in his Son that is the critical issue.”

I sensed a challenge. I had to respond.

“Great discussion Win! 

Dan I appreciate the difficulties you are raising regarding the place of exclusivity in the practice of historical Christianity. I think they highlight the importance of careful consideration on topics like these!

I have a few thoughts and I’ll try to keep them concise…

I believe that Christianity as a faith stretches back to the beginning of time and that it has been practiced by men, angels, and who knows what other beings, since before the world began. In fact considering it’s ancient origins I would say the last 2000 years are, in comparison, but the blink of an eye.

Considering it’s ancient roots Christianity has been practiced in a multitude of forms…even if we only accept the Christian Traditions! In recorded history alone we have it in the form practiced by Adam and Eve before the fall, by mankind from the fall to the times of Abraham, by the descendants of Abraham to the revelation of the law of Moses, by the Jews from Moses to the birth of Christ…and on and on!

All of these traditions, Christians believe, attained a right relationship and connection with God. My first question is how?  Did the rules change with each step along the way? Or was Jesus the key to a right relationship with God from the very beginning? 

John 1 tells us that “The Word” existed from the very beginning in a form other than flesh…and that in recent times “The Word” put on flesh in the historical person of Jesus. What Christians often don’t consider is that since He existed in a form other than flesh, He was worshipped in a form other than flesh.

This idea has, I think, some startling implications.

Jesus was very clear that He is the only way to salvation and that we must believe in Him to have right standing with God. The central revelation of Christianity is that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, that we can only attain communion with God through Christ.

The message of Christianity is then…”God as our Rescuer!” 

My next question is then “What does it mean to believe in Jesus?” and “In what form must we believe in Him?”

I don’t have the answer but I don’t think I take too much liberty in proposing that what is required for Salvation is not belief in the physical, historical, person of Jesus of Nazareth but that we, as were the saints and disciples of old are redeemed by faith in “The Word of God” or to put it another way faith in “God as our Rescuer!”  The essence of who Jesus is.

Do I think that heaven is filled with idol worshippers? No. But I think that those who truly put their fate in the hands of God and, thus their faith in Christ, are spread across religions and certainly include select Jews, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses and many other faiths and traditions!

We may disagree in the details and terms of religious expression.  We may think that each other are in error in our understanding of God.  But let’s face it, when you consider how different the worship of God has looked throughout the entire history of creation, these differences are inconsequential.  If you think that angels do not shake their heads at the incomplete nature of our concept of who God is and at our meager understanding of how true spirituality works then you have your nose pressed to the canvas and have lost sight of the big picture.

Christianity is, like any other religion, a response to the revelation of God and an attempt to understand what life means.  Religions may be somewhat closer or farther from true spirituality in their doctrines and ideas.  They may be more or less useful in our interactions with each other as humans and in the richness of life they produce in the follower. But one thing is certain, many individuals throughout history have made idols out of them somehow believing they have captured and articulated the eternal in a system of beliefs and practices. Nothing could be further from the truth.  These things are but tools to help us along the way.  Some may use the stars, some a map, some a compass but all true God lovers are on the same journey. 

Let me be clear here.  I am not embracing relativism and denying the exclusivity of Jesus as the only means to salvation. I am merely attempting to more properly articulate what that exclusivity really entails, and who, when all is said and done, Jesus really is.  

My position is that there will be no idol worshippers in heaven!  Be those idols: statues, money, fame, ourselves, or even Christian theology and doctrine.  

We are saved, according to my view, by the gift of God as we put our faith completely in Him as our Rescuer!

The Bible tells us that of all the things we hold dear in this world, three things are timeless components of original spirituality…faith, hope, and love!

The rest is simply details, more a way for us to co-exist in this life, then to receive salvation or worship God.”

(The End)

(This blog is intended to encourage discussion and dialogue on what this writer considers one of life’s most important components…Spirituality!  It is an attempt for me to gain a better understanding of what my personal views on the exclusivity of Christ and Salvation are by putting them out there for fellow seekers to critique, challenge, and interact with.

If you would like to participate in the conversation feel free to email me…

ethic3@gmail.com)

(Notes & References)

In this blog I realize that I may be introducing a few ideas that are not familiar to traditional Christians. In order to provide a scriptural basis for some of these arguments I have prepared this section…

Idea: Jesus existed in some form other than flesh and was worshipped in this form.

“The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”
(Romans 1:3-4)

Commentary: The essence of the Son was not his earthly life as Jesus of Nazareth.  His essence or identity predated his humanity rather than being derived from it, it was in fact, obscured by it. Thus I would argue that just as it is possible to believe in the humanity of Jesus but deny his true pre-existent identity, it is also to believe in the identity and work of Jesus while being ignorant of, or mistrusting of the historical person of Jesus.

Idea 2: The Old Testament saints were redeemed as we are, by faith in Jesus.

“For the Scriptures tell us, ‘Abraham believed God and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.’

When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.”
(Romans 4:3-5)

Commentary: This faith wasn’t merely that Abraham would have a son or that he would be the father of many nations but that God would redeem mankind by his own hand.

In fact Jesus himself says…

” ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming.  He saw it and was glad.’

The people said, ‘You aren’t even fifty years old.  How can you say you’ve seen Abraham?’ Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!’”
(John 8:56-58)

Should we believe that when Abraham looked forward to his coming that he had a crystal clear picture in his head that a man would be born named Jesus, that he would be crucified, and raised from the dead on the third day? It, of course, is a possibility, though personally I think it would be a little unusual for a man who took his wife’s servant into his bed in order to fulfill God’s promise of a son, to have such a vivid picture of the future in regards to the salvation of the human race.  I instead think it is ten times more reasonable to believe that Abraham held to a notion that God loved humanity and that God was going to rescue mankind from sin.  He may not have known how, or understood the role he would play in that rescue, but as sure as he was alive he believed it would come to pass.  When Abraham contemplated his own salvation, in his mind, his only hope was the “Promise’.

Paul expounds in Romans and draws the correlation to our own faith…

“So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we obey the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s.”
(Romans 4:16)

Should this come as such a surprise to us? Is not precedent set in scripture again and again of the heart over the physical appearance, of the spiritual over the material, of essence over ritual…

“But the time is coming-indeed it’s here now-when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.  The Father is looking for those to worship him that way.  For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
(John 4:23-24)

“You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one…The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.”
(Psalms 51:16-17) a psalm of David

“‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.’”
(Acts 13:22)

“The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.”
(Mark 2:27)

posted on 14.04.10

So I am unapologetically a Palm Junkie! 

Somehow I fell in love with the struggling little company that is Palm! I don’t exactly know how it happened.  All I know is when I went to purchase Kimber(my Pre’s name) I thought it would be an interesting but inferior alternative to the iPhone and now I could never imagine using anything else…including an iPhone! 

You can’t really describe what the Palm experience is like to someone who’s never used one before but let’s just say it’s Zen like! If the iPhone brought multi-touch to the mobile device, the Pre makes multi-touch feel like an expression of yourself!  

Anyway, even with such a great product, Palm is struggling for marketshare and if you ask me their piss poor marketing campaigns have had alot to do with it!

So what did I do? What any true fan would do! 

I fired whoever was in charge and I hired myself! 

Without further ado my first commercial as El Capitan of Advertising for Palm…

Cut the Lights!

Imagine with me… 

The two speedskaters from the Verizon commercials are skating along. The one with AT&T fighting to keep up with his iPhone and wimpy coverage map and the other humming along with his Pre Plus on Verizon. 

The AT&T Skater comes to an exhausted and breathless halt. 

AT&T Skater: I just can’t do it anymore man… 

Both skaters look around. They are in the middle of a huge frozen lake. 

Verizon Skater get’s a text message. 

Text message: Where are you guys? Stacy and I just got into the hottub! 

Flash of two amazingly beautiful ladies…one submerged in a hot tub texting and the other just stepping in.

Verizon Skater looks up across the ice at the resort on the far side of the lake with a look of desperation etched on his face.

Voiceover: There is a time for competition where the speed and reliability of the nation’s largest and most comprehensive network give you decisive edge… 

The Verizon Skater looks back at his exhausted buddy.

Voiceover: Then there is the offseason when cooperation can be not only convenient but occasionally even essential…

The Verzon Skater pulls out his Palm Pre Plus with a determined look as he gets to work.

Voiceover: With the Palm Pre Plus or Palm Pixi Plus on Verizon you have the ability to turn your device into a mobile wifi hotspot supporting up to five devices at once…

Graphic of a Palm Pre Plus in the center of a rotating ring comprised of two laptops, a phone, a home computer, and an mp3 player.

Verizon Skater turns on the hot spot and begins to skate backwards as his 3G map inflates.  The AT&T Skater logs onto the wifi network created by the Palm Pre Plus. His flimsy AT&T map flickers out and turns into a full and beautiful Verizon sail almost taking him off his feet in a sudden burst of speed!

Voiceover:  Allowing you to share your number one rated 3G coverage…even with those who have less capable wireless service providers!

Both skaters blow past the camera effortlessly at breakneck speed!

AT&T Skater: Woohooo!!!

Voiceover: The Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus available exlusively on Verizon…

Cha-Ching!!! I deserve a raise!

Haha!

posted on 06.03.10

This is the script to a video that we made in the early days of The Well.  It was meant to be used in correlation with a sermon on giving.

It would have been the first video we ever made for a Well Service…

Unfortunately after it’s completion, as I was porting it to DVD for the service that night, my computer crashed and the whole project was lost!  We never did get around to re-filming it but as I was digging through my stuff I found the script and thought I’d share it.

The Secret

A woman sits on a couch in a psychiatrists office…

doctor: Ms. Staples, what can I do for you today?

woman: Doctor, I keep having these reoccurring dreams…

doctor: What kind of dreams?

woman: Well they’re more like nightmares really.

doctor: How long have you had these dreams?

woman: For four years…ever since my father died.

doctor: When was the last time you had one?

woman: Just last night.

doctor: Are they always the same?

woman: Well usually they are, but last night was different.

doctor: Described what you dreamed last night?

woman: They always start out the same:

I am walking down a long abandoned road. There are no people around for miles…I don’t know how I know that but I do. I feel the wind and the sun beating on my face. It’s a little chilly. I wrap my arms around myself tighter to keep warm and close my eyes to enjoy the moment.

Suddenly, I hear a whisper. The same whisper I heard when I was a little girl. I think we all hear that whisper.

It’s guiding me. I don’t know where but I follow. I cross a set of railroad tracks and I pause. I feel like I have been this way before. I continue on. My pulse starts to quicken, I know that I’ve been this way before. Then I remember…yes,yes, the door!  I hesitate for a moment, then I try the door. It’s locked. And that’s when I usually wake up. But that’s how last night was different.

doctor: What happened last night?

woman: Last night as I tried the door my hand froze on the nob and again I heard the whisper.

doctor: What did it say to you?

woman: ‘The secret…the secret to happiness is behind that door, hidden in an unmarked chest’

doctor: What happens next?

woman: I open the door. It’s dark. I wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and I slowly walk in. There in the center of the room is the little chest. My palms start to sweat. I should be thrilled but I am unsure and hesitant. Part of me wants to walk out at that moment but the whisper nudges me. I slowly walk over to it, take it in my hands…and open it.

doctor: What do you find there?

woman: Nothing. The chest is empty.  I guess maybe I’m just not meant to be happy.  Maybe the whisper wants me to remain in sorrow forever.

Does that sound crazy to you doctor?

doctor: No…just wrong.

woman: What?

doctor: You were right, everyone does hear that whisper…everyone has that dream.

woman: So, there is no answer to true life and happiness.

doctor: Oh, there is.

woman: But the box was empty…

doctor: Ahhhh…that is where you are wrong.

The secret to happiness does not lie in what you can get from the box. The secret lies in how you fill it….

posted on 09.02.10