The Susan Boyle Parable Worth Repeating

Fat, skinny, black, brown, poor, uneducated, republican, liberal, religious, wiccan, homosexual, christian, jewish,scholarly. These are just some of the labels that affect how we view each other. Fortunately we are NOT our labels. We are complicated and diverse human beings each with our own unique gifts. So is the case of Susan Boyle the singing sensation that everyone prejudged to be the butt of a joke. It makes me want to cry watching the audience and judges reaction to her before she sang. Susan Boyle indicated that since her instant fame maybe she wouldn't be "lonely" anymore. Obviously shunned her entire life for not fitting the stereotypical standards of model good looks, people ignored her, deemed her unworthy of friendship. An 11 year old boy hung himself in April of this year. He was gentle, passive, and peace loving which his peers equated with looking and acting gay. United Airlines is charging heavy people twice the fair of thin passengers. There is a parable in all this. When Jesus come again and He does not have blue eyes or blond hair... if Jesus is over weight....if His clothes are not the latest styles...if He acts lovingly and tenderly and is homeless....how will we treat Him?

What Makes You Happy?

In a previous post dated July 1, 2009 I proclaimed, "escapism is the new racism." I theorized that most people exhibiting prejudice behavior or racist acts try to escape from whatever is causing them unhappiness in their lives by transferring blame to someone else. The escapist rationalize that their being born to a specific race gives them superiority over another human being. This way of thinking and behaving momentarily makes them happy and feel satisfied.
This got me wondering why are so many people unhappy? Maybe it is because they don't know what makes them happy. Let's be real first. We are not happy 100% of the time. Everyone has moments of unhappiness. Bouts of sadness and feelings of despair happens. I believe it to be our nature not to be happy all the time. Happiness should always be a goal to reach, something to strive for. It does not come automatically. So we are back to where we started. What makes a person happy?
For me it all boils down to knowing my purpose in life. My passion. The thing that drives me. Yes all the obvious things make me happy like God, family, friends etc; My outward happiness starts first from the inner peace and satisfaction I feel from the very core of my existance. If this is true then when a person is unhappy on the inside that unhappiness radiates towards others on the outside as well. Thus my point about projecting your unhappiness unto others and using them as a scapegoat.
When I am writing or speaking I feel the communion of God, intellect, heart and spirituality springing forth from the depths of my soul. It gushes out of me like a well spring of life. It pleases me immensely, and I am filled with joy and happiness. I write and lecture for myself but humbly hope that someone will be moved and touched in a positive way from what I have said or written. I want to please and make others happy.
So I want you to ponder today your purpose driven life. Are you happy from the inside out and if not why? What makes YOU happy? A small hint: It has nothing to do with money or things. Can you see the connection between your happiness and making others happy? Do you understand how degrading other people is an indication that your life is not in balance and you are not happy? Can you find find happiness and change bad behavior? Yes you can!