As leaders do we help our people think well? I have traveled to Alkebulan (the
indigenous word for Africa) on three mission trips. The spiritual impact of the trips were so
profound I encourage others to take the pilgrimage to the motherland, the
birthplace of civilization. When they return home from the trip the
overwhelming first response has been – “compared to the United States, the
people of Africa are suffering yet the majority are still warm, peaceful and
joyful. How do they maintain this state
of mind?”
Author Byron
Katie writes that our thoughts create suffering. Suffering is a choice. Ouch. She encourages
us to question and challenge our thoughts. She offers four questions for our examination: 1. Is it true; 2. Can we absolutely know
its true; 3.How do we react when we believe the thought; 4.Who would we be without
the thought-if we did not believe the thought?
By their actions it appears that the people of Alkebulan choose to accept the thought that they are valuable and worthy.
The other
day I visited with a well educated and affluent young woman. As I listened to her, I could
hear how her thoughts of being invaluable and unworthy had moved her into a
lifestyle of suffering. She is addicted to prescription pain medication that
escalated into heroine use. She was seeking to understand how she choose addiction.
May we
remind ourselves and ours to think well… we are valuable and worthy - deliverance
is available. All we have to do is accept the gift. Then the journey of
transformation begins.
