episode 16. THE BIG 3

who do we follow? thelawdsway

Mind | Body | Soul

The Big 3. In this post, we’re going to look at three different topics- boundaries, boundaries, boundaries, health is wealth and rising up from a sunken place.

BOUNDARIES, BOUNDARIES, BOUNDARIES

Boundaries is an ambiguous word in terms of how we apply it in our daily lifestyle and how it can cast a positive and/or negative effect on our lives. For example, we set boundaries for the way in which we allow others to have access to us, and how we allow them to use their access in exchange for us to maintain a high level of self-respect. Or, setting boundaries provides us with the ability to know how we should, or may think and act towards ourselves, people and things that may not always be positive, e.g., useful.

Hence why, this part of the post is titled boundaries, boundaries, boundaries. We’re going to be looking more into these three types of boundaries with people, personal and things.

People Boundaries

People boundaries. There are so many different types of people boundaries that we can develop. This is mainly because of the fact that we are all different individuals. So, what may trigger one person and the level in which that person may be effected by the trigger is different towards another person.

I think with this in mind, it is important for us to know how to take control of a situation that may be triggering to us by creating and enforcing a boundary so that the trigger doesn’t get to us. However, we should also be mindful in taking the time to understand other people’s triggers to ensure we’re not crossing their boundaries. It is as simple as that.

People boundaries draw down to the very basic common knowledge and understanding of respecting yourself and respecting others.

Until we are able to know how to respect boundaries, then we are yet to understand the importance of people boundaries. So, what can we do to help us understand boundaries better? Listen. We learn how to be respectful and be respected by listening to others.

Listening to understand and not to argue back.

To be listened to and for others to gain an understanding of ourselves.

To just listen.

Personal Boundaries

Personal boundaries. This is more in relation to what we do and how we talk to ourselves. The perception that we create about ourselves determines the direction in where we will go in life, on the basis that we have built a good foundation of self-control, on what we self-indulge in, for our personal growth. The key word here is soul.

Whatever we do, wherever we go, whoever we accompany ourselves with has an effect on our soul.

Whether it be good or bad, the effect will take place and that is why we need to obtain the ability to create boundaries against people, things and environments that seek to limit our personal growth. Our ability for personal growth depends entirely on the things we fill our souls with or allow to have access to our souls. Be careful with where you go, who you move with, what you do and have boundaries if you feel like such person and/or thing is not benefiting you.

Things Boundaries

Boundaries placed on tangible and non-tangible things. I think of the issue of hoarding when I hear this term. There are so many things that we will experience, gain, borrow, own, become attached to or detach from, grow to love, decide to hate. We need to be stern in what we get rid of and what we allow to stay with us.

If it reminds you of a bad memory: get rid of it.

If it’s an important tool of a goal: keep it.

If it reminds you of the person you use to be that you no longer wish to be: get rid of it.

If it is a part of your vision board of who you are aspiring to become: keep it.

It’s like acquiring a yes/no approach. Do you need it? Yes. Is it good for you? No. Do you want to keep it? Yes. Is it a necessity? No. Take this approach to help your environment be free from clutter and a space where you can freely use your mind, heart, soul, every part of your being towards your forward progression.

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HEALTH IS WEALTH

Film: Jumanji- The Next Level

‘Getting old is a gift.’ A line which Eddie from Jumanji- The Next Level reminded us of in case we had forgotten.

Film Analogy

Getting old is a gift. It’s a gift in which we may, subconsciously, take for granted when we look in the mirror and complain about the wrinkles on our face or the grey hairs growing from our scalp. Not everyone gets to grow old. Not everyone gets to grow to the elderly stages of their life and reminisce on when they were young. Not everyone, by the measure of age, gets to live a full life and experience life through the lens of each age that they live through.

Health is wealth.

Health is not something we should take for granted. Being able to wake up in the morning, move around, feel alive, be active, have a good beating heart- these are few of the many things that are in people’s prayers. Be grateful today for the littlest things in life. I’ve really developed this ideology this year. We are to be grateful for the little things as they matter just as much as the big things.

Film: Odd Thomas

‘Life is not about how fast you run or with what degree of grace; life is a boot camp to what we must preserve through all the obstacles and hardships to earn our way into the next life.’ Odd Thomas reminds us from this film on what life truly entails of.

Film Analogy

The ability to push through all obstacles, overcome all hardships, persevere through all challenges. All of this relates to our health. Health is something that cannot be measured by how much wealth we have; I feel like to an extent our wealth is measured by our health. I say this from the viewpoint where we can literally, and I mean literally have everything that we have ever wanted and ever needed in life, but if our health isn’t where it needs to be, how are we to experience all these materialistic items? When I say health, I am not just talking about it in the physical sense but in the mental, emotional, financial, spiritual, sexual, and occupational sense. Each of these categories of health that I have included in this list equally matter. We should focus on continuously progressing our health in each area equally. We need them all to function so we can truly enjoy this life that we are all living with the gifts that comes with it.

Never forget or take for granted the power of sound health.

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RISING UP FROM YOUR SUNKEN PLACE

Film: The Imitation Game

If you haven’t heard of The Imitation Game or you have and are yet to watch it: go and watch it as soon as possible!!! 

In this film, one specific line was repeated three times in three different circumstances: first where Alan, the main character, was a little boy, secondly where he was recruiting candidates to help crack Enigma and thirdly where he was being reminded of the good, he had done for the country. The line was:

‘It’s the very people that no one imagines anything of, that do the things that no one can imagine.’

I want to repeat the line because no joke when I heard it for the first time, I had to pause and reflect on the power in this statement halfway through watching the film.

‘It’s the very people that no one imagines anything of, that do the things that no one can imagine.’

We don’t know our capabilities until we try things out. We don’t know who we can become until we be who we are right now. We don’t know where we can go in life if we don’t start living right now. We have got to imagine the impossible and understand that though it may seem impossible right now, it won’t be impossible for us to attain in the future because we kept working hard and being determined to become who we were called to be.

You see, Alan had been told time and time and time again that he wouldn’t amount to success with breaking Enigma because it was deemed impossible to do so, though this did not stop Alan thinking he could do otherwise, and in the end, he successfully broke the code. Even in the lowest of times he didn’t give up because the time was coming where he would see victory. I think this is something we can resonate with in understanding that just because we may be going through current downfalls, failures, and losses, this does not mean the end.

It doesn’t mean the end as long as you decide to do something about it.

We can have third parties encouraging us, motivating us to get back up and try again, but, until we encourage ourselves and motivate ourselves to get back up from our sunken place and to try again, we may never get to live to see the legacy we were destined and purposed to create. We shouldn’t look at our current limitations as the final stage but as the first stage, the second being how we move beyond our limits and push forward. We shouldn’t determine and try to measure our value on who we once were, we are to just keep going. Just keep going and in time, we will see our value continuously increase because we decided to use our time to add value in our present towards our future and didn’t put a time stamp on where we are now.

Reflect on that.

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BIBLICAL REFERENCE

Proverbs 4:23 CSB Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

1st Corinthians 6:19 CSB Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.

John 1:5 CSB The light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Mind, Body and Soul. These are sacred and should be treated as such. Guard your mind, body and soul. Protect your mind, body and soul and let your mind, body and soul shine bright in the image of God. Have boundaries not only against external factors but also your own internal self-inflictions that wants to deter you from the life God has set out for you to live. Don’t allow just anything and anyone to enter your mind, body and soul. You are a temple of God; you must protect yourself and have the spirit of discernment at all times to know who and/or what you may allow to get close to you and literally get into you. Health is the gift to a long life. Don’t let anything and/or anyone affect your health or act as a blockage to what you need to ensure you maintain sound health. Don’t allow their words or actions to keep you from moving forward, onward and upward in this race of life. Life will get hard but you should NEVER give up on yourself. Keep pushing yourself to keep going and rising back up from your low and hard days. Keep aligned to God. Keep Him around you at ALL times. Lean on to Him, talk to Him, confide in Him, let Him navigate your life. In doing so, you are guaranteed protection, salvation and grace over your mind, body and soul now and forevermore.

Remember, Trust in the Lord, Love like the Lord and Walk with the Lord. TLW

who do we follow? thelawdsway