Many of us – perhaps MOST of us – have a desire to say or do something that makes a difference in this world! We want to create lives that have meaning – lives that encourage others to live meaningfully as well! Some would refer to this desire as a “life message!”
Let us assume that the creation of a life message actually takes place in stages – as part of a larger process. What stages would the process entail? I’ve given that a bit of thought and the following is the beginning of my pondering.
1. The First Stage is that “We Want to Have Something to Say!” Every good life message begins with a desire to create significance. This desire is what drives us to read and listen and study and observe. We look at others whom we perceive as having a viable life message to see what we can glean.
2. The Second Stage is that “We Hope We Have Something to Say!” As our pursuit of a powerful life message progresses, we realize that having something to say that carries any real weight – any real merit – is much more challenging than we perhaps initially thought! We can HOPE to have something to say one day.
3. The Third Stage is that “We Think We Have Something to Say!” We have moved through the world enough that certain snippets of wisdom have attached themselves to our life and we carry those insights with a rather tenuous certainty that others will be interested in what we have to say. We are not altogether convinced that our message has real merit . . . but we think it does. Others tell us so!
4. The Fourth and Final Stage is that “We Know We Have Something to Say!” What a place to find ourselves! Rather than holding ourselves up as one who “knows” the truth, we find ourselves delivering our hard-earned message with humility and clarity. People respond; significant insight is gained; purposeful changes are made; people devour our words as if they were life-sustaining necessities.
This Fourth and Final Stage is a difficult one to attain. More often than not, the ones who have attained this stage do not have to notify the world . . . the world will notify them!.
One problem I see in our world today is that we have a tendency to hitch our wagons to those who have attained only Stage Three – a great stage, mind you – but only Stage Three! We begin to order our thoughts, beliefs and actions based on philosophies and messages that are not fully developed! They are not quite complete. As a result we often find ourselves becoming discouraged, disgruntled and disinterested in the process of personal growth and change. We either become cynical or fall in line with the rest of the sheep and follow along blindly – hopping and jumping from one guru to the next.
We need more Stage Four Messengers! Stage Four Messengers change lives! Stage Four Messengers change the world!
These are my thoughts . . . what are yours? Where are YOU in this process? Who do YOU know who has attained Stage Four? I’m curious . . .
Peace!
Visit my website Mark E. Hundley for information about scheduling me to speak for your group, organization or event. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find out how to access my books!
Thanks for stopping by! I would love to hear from you!
