As I write this, I’m currently gliding a couple of thousand feet in the air, somewhere in the middle of Ocean Atlanticó— Yes the Atlantic Ocean.
I’m on my way back from the Canary Islands.
We spent the last 6 days studying the word, learning about the true mission of Christ and
Immersing ourselves in our essential role in his gospel. This was my first mission trip, and the aim was to get totally uncomfortable, with not just intense studies but each night going down to the strips of las Americas, to spread the message of love and light with the people of Tenerife.
For those of you that may be wondering about what a mission trip is, then please allow me to explain briefly. All around the world there is pain, anguish and hurt. Many people in the world are losing hope over a crushed world, and to put it simply there is a redeeming word in the life and message of Jesus and across the world, Christians every year go directly into communities across the world to spread this message and be a light to their need.
Here’s a picture of us during one of the breaks— Beautiful smiles right!
This trip in itself is worth its own breakdown, one which I’m certain I will be writing about in the coming weeks. Nonetheless today, my mission is to share with you a few things that came to me as I sat in my room pondering on the word.
Today’s brief discussion ( So he says, as he writes 10 paragraphs) as you can see in the title, is — The key to living a fantastic life.
Now I’m not here to preach anything incredibly different to you, and I’m sure you’ve probably read all these incredible writers whose mission is to transform your life— I’m not here to do so. My only mission here is to be obedient to the voice in my heart and to share a few things I hope will offer a renewed perspective to our already textured lives.
A life of committed service.
This is an interesting point, one most of us already are certain we do, and I guess as I write this I wonder if you wonder what this has to do with a fantastic life, well it’s simple.
Fulfilment.
When looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs we see a clear breakdown of the mix of things each human requires to satisfy their needs, and incredibly we see self-actualization at the top of this list. This eludes to the instinctive desire that every human has to achieve their full potential, and most spend their lives trying to figure out how to do this, and Maslow agrees that a key thing is the sense of Self-fulfilment.
One of the key ways in which I believe you can find this elusive thing we call fulfilment is by living a life dedicated to an outward posture. One in which you look at the world, look at its needs and decide at that moment to do everything you can to meet that need. And as young leaders, and future world changers, it’s important that you take this seriously.
Truthfully over the last few years, much like most 24-year-olds now in the flow of the working world. I’ve experienced money, and experiences like never before, and I can assure you that there’s nothing more destructive to the soul than a life tilted inward. And what I mean by this, is that the seductive nature to accumulate, focus alone on yourselves will not only ruin you but ruin everything around you in your absence. Much like an uncontrollable flame, it will not only burn everything around it to soot but eventually—burn itself out
I’m sure most of us are familiar with the term burnout?
Well, think of every time you felt absolutely exhausted and burnt out, now examine those patterns of behaviour. Was the posture of your heart to serve, or to accumulate?
I personally believe the world has corrupted the core idea of self-fulfilment to this idea that in order to achieve one’s hopes and dreams, one should build an unhealthy self-obsession with themselves.
I absolutely disagree.
Now a healthy obsession with a goal is always good, in fact, many would argue that it is essential in becoming successful in an endeavour, however, I believe an outward-facing life, one with a firm consideration of the world around you, is a far healthy —more fulfilling obsession to have.
I believe fulfilment is a few of lives experiences that are truly discovered in sacrifice. It’s crazy to think you can find something so meaningful when you give something away but you definitely can. Think about those moments where you made that little sacrifice or even that time when you waited back and held that door open for someone, or that Joy you felt when your mum thanked you for doing that extra dish that you didn’t have to do. Think of those heartwarming moments— Wow!
Alright, let me round up.
The world needs more leaders, more people willing to take a post and serve, more people willing to model their lives through accountability, more people to listen to the broken hearts of people around, and those voices to amplify the cries of the unheard. In one way or another, there is far more around us to heal than destroy, and truthfully it is far greater fulfilling to be there.
If you are one that is desperate to become the best you can be, then consider being an aid to someone around you. Hopefully, that way we can — In one way or another hopefully experience the wondrous feeling of people walking into our lives and being the very same thing to us.
I would describe this idea of fulfilment as this balm. One that soothes the loneliness and transforms that separation into solitude. It takes that pain that you might feel and creates purpose out of it.
So in short, I think the key to living a fantastic life is that committed service. A life where even as you seek help, you can lend your excess.
I reflect back on how the last 6 days in Tenerife were, and just how crazy it was to be sat directly in the middle of someone’s sacrifice. Like I truly wouldn’t have been able to be pushed way out of my comfort zone if someone else didn’t make it their mission to see to it that they offer me a perspective change, and what’s so beautiful is that once you experience this, you can’t not want to to give it to someone else.
So here’s my challenge to you all this week. What is something you can give before you get ?
Do this, then let me know how fantastic you feel!
Love J.H
I aim to write more about this in detail, so share this with a friend until then!
The metaphor of an uncontrollable flame worked so well! This was inspiring