"The immaterial part of a person - The actuating cause of an individual life". This is an accepted definition of soul. What a powerful realization of ones potential to control their life. We can’t touch it, smell it, see it but we can feel it! The ultimate development of these feelings is what can elevate us to the highest level of happiness, joy, accomplishment, acceptance and spiritual understanding.
The mind being the seat of faculty or reasoning is the controlling tool that is used to bring forth and use these feelings, which we have in our rucksack. Each of us is born with the desire to do good for ourselves as well as our fellow man. Even though this desire may be manifested in different ways, at different times or perhaps not manifested at all, it is still there initially lying at the bottom of the rucksack waiting to be discovered, developed and used. Mind and soul are as one feed back loop-one affects the other sometimes positively other times negatively.
So, how and what do we need to do to effectively start filling our rucksack with good intentions, compassion, consideration, understanding and love for ourselves and each other?
First, we must realize that we are not perfect and what we do at times is not perfect.
Second, we must realize that our association with other people who are not perfect affects us (I know of no other person who is perfect).
Third, accepting the fact that good and evil exists.
Fourth, we must admit that we alone cannot change our behavior, life style and beliefs without external help.
Fifth, admitting and believing that evil (bad) is always overcome with good.
Where do we find help in the quest to fill our rucksack? The centuries have produced men and women of great insight and understanding. People like Aristotle, Socrates, Bacon, Billy Graham, Betty Eadie, Rick Warren and Shakespeare- among many others. And most certainly includes the prophets, Jesus Christ and other sages of all other religions. Immersing us in these studies and analyzing each thought or idea we may gain from such immersion will cause our mind to effect a change in our soul, which is a step toward “filling your rucksack”. Learning from our own mistakes as well as learning from our peers, our associates and from those who have experienced mind changing events are all needed to further the quest.
Somewhere intertwined with mind and soul is faith. Without faith we cannot achieve our destiny. We have faith that the sun will “rise”, we have faith in our children, and we have faith in the teachers of our children and so forth. However, the most important faith is that faith we must develop within ourselves in order to grow in knowledge, wisdom and spiritual understanding.
The dictionary defines faith as “a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny”. Accepting this definition, forces us to realize that gaining faith is not and cannot be by our timetable. If this is true then it follows that we are not in control of any portion of our destiny. However, each of us is instilled with a powerful compass called will power.
By using this compass we can be guided
to the source of this supernatural power or faith or we can be diverted in an opposite direction. As Christians the map by which we must navigate to obtain faith is the word of God through Jesus Christ.
So, I would think that “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” should be the first step in developing feelings in our rucksack. The rewards of each of our actions will be seen and felt according to God’s timetable-not ours. Each time a good decision is made and/or a good act is performed a growth toward ultimate faith is manifested by an infusion in our mind of a further degree of knowledge and wisdom.
This infusion also brings forth-other feelings from our rucksack, which will give us joy to fulfill. During this navigation will we make bad decisions? Of course we will, but we can learn from these bad decisions and grow accordingly (the mind-soul feedback). This quest for faith is a life long journey. Some of us start the journey at a very early age; some of us have or had started at very late date. Know that is not when we start or started but it is how persistent we are in keeping the compass needle pointed in the right direction.
Developing faith is like planting seeds, some may fall in cracks and crevices but we will still receive some harvest. The more persistent we are at planting small seeds of faith the greater our harvest of faith will become. (Re:2Cor 9:6).
Those of us who will not or do not sow any seeds in order gain spiritual faith will stumble, fall and be wounded in the soul and heart…in other words, “screwed up”. Yes, some of us harvest very little, but with the exercise of our will power to make a decision to effect a change is an important step in the quest.
Each act of kindness, service and compassion to and for others (without reservation) brings us one step closer to filling our soul with happiness, joy and satisfaction with ourselves.
Will we be able to fill our soul to overflowing? No. Why? Each time we do something “good” our mind challenges us to do something better or greater. “Good begets Good” (the mind-soul feedback)- but be- ware evil begets evil. Our degree of faith is increased asymptotically, with the limit being infinite knowledge, wisdom and FAITH.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it the elders obtained good testimony.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of GOD, so that
The things which are seen were not made of things which are visible”. Heb 11:1-3 NKJV
At the age of 76 the degree of faith I have gained has increased tremendously over the past two to three years. Prior to that I was really screwed up. Pressure within the family, loneliness, low self-esteem and a lack of purpose. I can attest to the ever presence of God surrounding all of us. Ask him, with sincerity and through prayer, to come into your life and He will appear at a time of His choosing.
“Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart”. Psa 37:3-4 NKJV
So, my friends exhibit good courage and persistence on your quest, for God will be with you and He will be steadfast to the end so that your rucksack will be full.
