Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
― Mahatma Gandhi
This quote from one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century contains ideas that we all need to consider. And Gandhi was not all that original - a quick search on Google gives similar ideas in Paul's letter to Titus, Eleanor Roosevelt, Proverbs, Soren Kierkegaard, Marcus Aurelius among others.
It is obviously part of shared human wisdom, but because it relates to things very close to who we are and how we live, most of us find it too hard.
Each idea on its own can be examined and most of us would probably understand it and agree (at least to some extent). However, the six steps as a whole paint a picture that is too big, too significant, or too hard - or maybe seems to tell us that our destiny is out of our hands, so why bother?
We are all immersed in a set of assumptions and beliefs from our parents, our society, and media that comment on every aspect of our lives.
I think most of us listen to, read, and watch media that we like and agree with. We become annoyed by media that challenges our assumptions and beliefs. Our often unexamined beliefs do become our thoughts.
We say those things, often assuming that others have the same thoughts and beliefs. (Often they do, especially if they were brought up in the same culture and society.)
Our actions usually reflect our beliefs. We despise hypocrites who say one thing but do another - so acting on our conscience is a good thing. (The Church would say that we must act on our "informed" and challenged conscience - and we often forget that step!)
As we get older our actions do fall into patterns (mostly comfortable patterns) we can think of as habits of action, to go along with our (mostly comfortable) habits of thinking.
We really believe in what we are doing - that hypocrisy thing again - but again we face the challenge of the "informed" conscience. How often do we truly examine and deliberately inform what we think, believe, and value? I find that I assume those things are right, so don't need to be further informed!
Over the last few years I have written often about meditation. Some readers who have followed my development in newsletters and now in these blogs may have wondered - or thought of it as one of John's eccentricities. However, working with generation after generation of young people (while steadily getting older yourself), forces educators to challenge their own assumptions.
Young people are always changing, doing things differently - not better or worse - just differently. My assumptions and answers had to be based on understanding and empathy - and going through that process forced me to see that my old thoughts, beliefs and assumptions were attempting to drive my actions. I even had to challenge my values to ensure they were not, in fact, prejudices! They sometimes were.
Our journey to becoming the people we were created to be - people created by God, not media - is a long one. We are surrounded by very human assumptions - but we need to examine them and choose the right ones.
One of the hardest things we must examine are our thoughts. These are so influenced by our unexamined assumptions and beliefs, the messages of the world, the media, our perceived self-interest, and by our society and upbringing. This is a VERY difficult task. Meditation provides a series of techniques to become aware of our thoughts and control them.
The alternative is to let them control us. That rarely has a happy outcome.
When I retired from teaching I wrote in my blog of the time that I had things to do for my own salvation - and over the last few weeks I have had the time to reflect on my destiny - my values and actions, my thoughts and beliefs. I have come to see that I have a long way to go!
We are each on an individual journey where we choose our own paths. We are supported by our families and people we love, and by the church communities we choose - but in the end we are born one at a time, live our own lives, and return to God one at a time. We cannot sleepwalk to the fullness of God; we won't get there as the fulfilled person God imagined if we just walk everyone else's well-trodden path.
If life is about becoming the people we were created to be - if it is about salvation - if our destiny is indeed God - then we must find time and take responsibility for guarding our thoughts and assumptions. That is where the journey begins - and that is where all the obstacles on the path are to be found!
Proverbs 4, 23-27
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
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