Create.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.- Genesis 1:27

Man is God's greatest creation. God created man. Right there in the first part of Genesis. The only reason we weren’t created first is because in the first 26 versus of the Bible he had to create somewhere to put us. Like having a bunch of toys with no storage, God didn't want to step on anybody.

 

The world is filling up. Not just with God's best creation, but what his creations create. Our words, ideas, thoughts, all able to be published and sent into the world for any and everyone to see. Words of hurt, hate, negativity, all pollute our world. Topics created as insignificant attempts at attention all contributing to an underlying negativity. Experiences are being tainted by the excess of information unable to sift through or interpret truth.


As an adult, I can read through a biased article and pull out what I need, ignoring the rhetoric. A child sees what is presented and takes it at face value. What is presented can be hurtful and lead a person to believe this is the rule, rather than the exception. If I believed everything I saw, then according to my junk mailbox, I have won a fortune a few times this week alone.

 

More people have the option to get "involved" in political and world matters. However, "involvement" is defined as participating in something. I believe throwing out words of hate or an uneducated, biased opinion isn't actively being involved, but a passive attempt to remind people you exist. Do not internalize messages to meet your agenda. Do not hate or become aggressive with another's opinion, for opposition is necessary and furthers progress. Sometimes the best way to learn about something is to read the information that goes against it. This information can provide a more complete perspective. After all, you don't know what happiness is until you've felt sadness.

 

Being "involved" isn't a static state, but an active one. It isn't just found is the stereotypical volunteer work of feeding the homeless, cleaning up hurricane damage, though these things are great, but in who you are, everyday. In graduate school I was encouraged to think of what the word professionalism meant to me. I first thought superficially about a business man in a suit. That was a professional, so what he was engaging in was professionalism. As school went on, my thoughts got deeper. Instead of the superficial appearance, professionalism became who I was. This meant I was the person I wanted to be, even when no one was looking, in both my thoughts and actions.

You do not ACT professional, you are professional.

 

As a counselor, I have to walk the talk. I have to be willing to do what I say and what I present to others. My brain does not do well at saying something I either don't believe in, or don't do myself. I have this default mode where lying pains me. Lying, not just in words, but in my actions. Many actions throughout my life have gone against my principles and those lies have caught up to me and debts paid. Now, I remind myself, actively, to be the person I want to see in the world. I want to create words that encourage openness to exist versus callousing a human to be what they think others expect from them. I want both positive and negative to exist, for we need both. I am responsible for my own emotions and allowing them to influence my decisions in life.

Our minds were created by God, his greatest creation. He allows us to choose, something he did not have to do. Simply take the time to make sure that what you are creating is genuine and your intent fits who you are. I do not believe people are as negative or discriminatory as they display, but I think that what is created is to be a part of something, to fit in somewhere, versus running the risk of being alone, standing for principles. The investment in self will always pay out.

 

"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back everything is different."

-C.S. Lewis