Are You a Treasure Hunter?

 Would you, like the explorer’s of old, risk it all and sail to the ends of the earth; climb the highest mountain; or hack through the deepest jungle to discover vast wealth?  Would you believe there is a treasure hidden much closer, shrouded in the mists of an eternity written deeply in your heart?   Would you believe these riches are worth whatever sacrifice you have to make to discover them?  Would you believe that settling comfortably for anything less is “fools gold”?  C. S. Lewis said it so well, “We are far too easily satisfied”.

Are you searching,

deeply,

for anything at all?

Are you a treasure hunter?

- Steve Dearing -

The Fire

What do the sun, the earth and our hearts have in common?  All three sustain life, all three are on fire and all three are taken for granted.  We take for granted that this massive ball of fire we call the sun is going to show up tomorrow and make life possible.  The same holds true for this planet we call home.  The core of our earth is 2000 degrees hotter than the surface of the sun and without the intense forces at work in that liquid fire deep under our feet the surface of this planet would resemble cold dead Mars.  We take this for granted as well and that’s o.k. because there is another fire that should be commanding all of our attention – a spiritual fire, deep in the core our or hearts.

All of us are instinctively aware of the centrality of the heart in our every experience.  To the word heart we add descriptive words like hard heart and tender heart; light and heavy hearted; heart felt; heart sick; brave hearted and faint of heart.  I could list dozens of examples.  These words and our thoughts about them are so common they’ve lost their deeper impact; at least they had for me, until one day I read these simple life changing words, “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:26

Is our heart really the wellspring of who we are?  As I thought about it, I realized I had always sub-consciously believed that.  As I studied, I was surprised to discover the word “heart” was used almost 1000 times in the Bible alone.  We sing songs, write poems and make movies about the heart.  All peoples, of every nation, in every age, have spoken of a deep mystery somewhere in the core of our being.  It’s what we mean when we say “our heart of hearts”.  When someone says, “from the bottom of my heart”, they are speaking of a deeper spiritual whole-heartedness.  We use words like shallow and lukewarm to describe half-heartedness.  Phrases like heart-strings, my heart’s desire, and the cry of my heart, refer to a deeper, far more passionate reality.  They speak of FIRE.

You’ve heard the expression “fire in their eye”.  Eyes don’t burn – hearts do.  It’s from the fire that a mother stands over her child and dares a dangerous world to take one step closer.  It’s from the fire that you and I stand beside her when the world finally overwhelms her.  It’s from that same fire that a kid at school stands up, regardless of the cost, and defends someone against cowardly gossip and bullying.  Soldiers run through bullets to help a fallen buddy, not because it’s the brave thing to do, but because of honor and love for their brother, and that medal of honor is forged deep in the white hot flame of their hearts.  It’s only in that flame that our wounded hearts melt and we forgive; completely; in a deeper, self-sacrificial love.

It’s also from the fire that a three minute song can unexpectedly break through our busyness or moodiness to move us so deeply.  It’s only from the fire that we experience the wonder and the awe of stunning sunrises, sunsets, hummingbirds and butterflies. Cinderella stories in March Madness aren’t about basketball skills, they are about heart.   The Arts aren’t about performance – they are about fire!

It always amazes me that I can walk into a theatre and watch a short 2 ½ hour movie that moves me so deeply.  There in the darkness, I experience a seismic shift that breaks open the upper crust of my hurry, worry or my self-centered, shallow pettiness, to glimpse something burning deeper; so real; so raw and fierce it takes my breath away.

It also saddens me that in a few short hours or days afterwards that crust closes back over; back to the “real” world.  But I can’t forget that fire.  I refuse to forget, because I know it’s down there, like a constant flame; a beautiful haunting heartache.  It’s a fierce whisper calling me to something far more real than this cheap everydayness I so often settle for.  That fire is a promise of hope and glory in a world filled with pain, suffering and so much shame, fear and guilt.  It’s from those depths I hear the promise that I will discover ever more deeply all that’s worth living and dying for.

My next post will be part 2 of a systematic, deeper exploration of the 4 levels of our heart.  I’ve come to believe we don’t know ourselves nearly as well as we think, and deeper, richer wisdom is worth searching and fighting for.  It’s a game changer and I’ll spend the rest of my days in a relentless pursuit of that wisdom – whether I live one day or 30 more years.  That’s a life well lived.

- Steve Dearing - 

Work Hard, Rest Well

The “Art of Living Well” is just that; an art. Any artist will tell you they have to work at their craft. The world famous violinist Jascha Heifetz once said, “If I don’t practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days the public knows it.” So if you’re really serious about the art of living well, you’re going to have to take “re-creation” seriously enough to work at it. What an odd idea; that we would have to work at recreation and restfulness. But I’m working on the assumption that you’re at least a little like me in that you work too much, with too little rest and renewal.

We can even believe we’re at rest in many different recreational activities when in reality we’re just adding to our busyness. It’s also possible that we’ve never known real restfulness and a deep, quiet peace, so we’re without any reference point. If this is true, we’re going to have to work at this up front to gain some life changing insight.

Today’s post is Part 1 in a 4 Part thought provoking exploration of fun, laughter and restfulness. In Part 2 we will examine the culture we live in. Part 3 is about examining how we’re each individually hard wired. Part 4 will discuss reaching a level of commitment to act.

For some, it can be helpful to use a pen and notebook to write out observation, deeper insights, convictions and goals. Let me be clear – for you ladies, this is called journaling; for us guys it’s called makin’ our lists. For all of us it can really help to bring clarity and order to our thoughts.

Thought for the day: Work hard; have some fun; sleep well.

- Steve Dearing - 

Fitness Five Percenter

I’m sure if I took a poll of how many of us have resolved to get in shape and never started, or started and quit, I’ll bet the number would be high; at least 95%. That would leave 5% who are strong and fit their whole lives. If you could just make a wish, which group would you like to join?

Obviously, 100% of us would want to live strong and fit. We all know the benefits. We would experience less sickness and disease, we’d sleep better, be less uptight, and laugh more with a greater sense of overall well-being. Why the are there so many of us non-starters and quitters? What does it take to become a 5 percenter? It’s going to take a different approach. Before we ever start another exercise program, there is a foundational understanding of what makes us tick that we need to establish. We must realize that all human decisions, even our subconscious ones, are motivated and fueled by two active and ever present forces; Pain and Pleasure.

Even as you were knit in your mother’s womb, so was your capacity to feel physical and emotional pain or pleasure. Your first encounter with this reality was the day you entered a strange new world filled with pain and you let mom, dad and the doctor know about it. In that universal, easily understood baby dialect, you let everyone know you wanted some pleasure – and you wanted it now! The only thing that has changed from that day to this, is the maturity level at which we process the inevitable pain and pleasure we experience in every area of our lives.

These two forces are so fundamentally important, that I’ll be covering them extensively in our Inspirational blog, but for now, the question is – What does all this have to do with health and fitness? Pain and pleasure have everything to do with why we desire to be strong and fit. They also have everything to do with why we succeed and why we fail. If that sounds contradictory, that’s o.k. I’m going to work through this in my next three posts.

Today was part 1 – Intro. To Fitness. Next, part 2 will be – Pleasure; part 3 – Pain. Last, part 4 – Breaking Free to Get Started. I hope you’re interested enough to follow along, because there’s a huge benefit. This powerful duo of pain and pleasure is rooted deeply in our hearts and affects success and failure in every area of our lives. I’ve failed at a lot of things, and succeeded at others. I’m just a 56 year old, ordinary guy, who’s learned some extraordinary truths along the way and I’m excited to share them with you.

- Steve Dearing -