Day 29 of Your year to wellness: FindingThe Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is Within You

From the porch of my friends Lyle and Amy's home

Okay, today, I’m going deep. If you can’t swim, get in anyway. When I taught in the Upward Bound Program in the US Virgin Islands, I noticed that many of my students could not swim, so I taught them how and one of the things I told them was this;  swimming is like life, it’s scary at first but the further out you go, the easier it becomes. When the tide changes don’t fight or swim against it, go along side it and it will carry you right back to shore.

There is a passage in the Gospel of Thomas (yeah I know…it’s a Gnostic Gospel) that reads: “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”

I could probably stop there and let you ponder this all day, but wait, there’s more. I believe that this thing we must bring forth is our purpose. We are all unique and wonderfully made, but when we strive to be and look like someone else we are missing our own incredible beauty.

…the kingdom of God is within you and it is outside you.

                                       When you know yourselves, then you will be known …

                   But if you do not know yourselves then you live in poverty and you are the poverty.—

Gospel of Thomas

In his 1994 Inaugural Speech, Nelson Mandela quoted Marianne Williamson’s Return to Love and said this, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is out light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”

Now I can stop teaching and start asking questions.

·         What talent, gift, and expression are you holding in?

·         If you could do something new and different what would it be?

·         How would you go about learning and applying the talent or trade?

·         Who told you that you were not brilliant, gorgeous, talented or fabulous?

·         Forgive that person(s) and then forgive yourself for believing them.

Have a powerful and purpose-filled day.

When you walk with purpose, you collide with destiny.

Be you, be whole, be Fabulous

                                                                        Bertice Berry, PhD

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