Brian Anderson
I’m a religious person. I have been for as long as I can remember. My family is religious, too. Brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, and on and on. You could say it’s in our blood. That it binds us together. But, for the most part, my religion is not overt. Generically, I can best explain my religious beliefs with the simple idea that I believe today is an opportunity for me to be better than I was yesterday, and that tomorrow resounds with the same hope. And that hope is based on the belief that there is someone who is better than me in every way imaginable, and I am striving to be like that someone.
It’s a desire for perfection, for greatness
I see this same hope in most people around me. The kids I teach through Junior Achievement have told me that they want to be like LeBron or Beyoncé or The Rock. Adults around me often seem to be spending a lot of time trying to recapture the ideals of a former self. There is an innate human desire to reach perfection in some particular aspect of life, to feel the flow of what might be called “being in the zone” or tapping into “infinite intelligence”.
Historically, this desire for greatness was taught in churches and practiced in the home. Since the advent of cinema and television, there has been a slow transition to a more secular religion and people have looked to actors and athletes as their role models and guides to achieve a certain level of perfection. But the shallowness of the big screen in emphasizing immutable physical characteristics and de-emphasizing spiritual and emotional virtues has left people searching for more, wondering where they can turn to fulfill this innate desire to be great.
It’s a desire to change even the way we breathe
The answer to this question is individual and universal at the same time. It begins with the desire to change, even the way we breathe, to recognize that we are already part of something great and there is Someone who can show us the way. We are unique individuals with extraordinary talents who have found ourselves impossibly alive on this “pale blue dot” in the middle of a vast solar system, in an even more vast galaxy, and in a seemingly infinite universe.
If you have that desire to change, to be better today than you were yesterday, even in the smallest part, find a friend who is willing to change with you. Who is willing to listen to you. Then decide today to give up something that you don’t need in your life for something that will help you be better. Start small and repeat. And, if you don’t mind, let me know how you’re doing.