Post #45- Control Freak

Today I want to end our conversation on “letting go.” As always, I’ve been humbled by the messages of encouragement and affirmation from those who follow the blog and have taken the time to let me know how they’ve enjoyed it. I simply respond by saying, “If God can use my little ol' raggedy life and the lessons I’ve learned along the way to help someone else, be my guest!” Again, you’re always invited to post a comment here and hopefully create a dialogue with others, beause I believe we are stronger and wiser together than we are apart.

Over the past week I’ve shared my curiosity and thoughts surrounding the notion,  “Let Go and Let God.”  I’ve heard this saying most of my life (primarily in Christian circles, although it has become more universal in recent years), therefore I accepted it at face value without much thought or consideration. However, as I’ve begun to live a more mindful life, one that is awake and aware, I have begun to give more thought and attention to the clichés I previously took for granted. Such is the case with the adage, “Let Go and Let God.”

What does “Let Go” really mean, and furthermore, how can it be accomplished? I’ve lifted many areas that I think overwhelmingly confront us in this crazy, busy, complicated, hurried life we live (if you haven’t read the past several posts, please do; I think they’ll help you). However, today I sum it all up in one word, control.

If we are to let God be God; if we are to embrace the miraculous, the joyous, the spontaneous, the healing, the reconciling, the beautiful, and the loving (better known, collectively, as God), we must learn to let go and primarily to let go of control.

This, again, is one of the great paradoxes of life. Are we to be unmotivated, lazy, passive, dependent, inactive or unengaged in our own lives? I would resoundingly say “NO!” In fact, I believe we are co-creators with God, meaning God invites and in many ways requires our participation. God has given us great depths of resources within the world as well as our very soul, thereby it’s incumbent upon us to tap into that potential and live a life that is authentically meaningful and powerful. Nevertheless, in the great scope of things, we must surrender control, and trust that God/the Universe knows what’s best, not only for us, but for others as well.

During the summer I offered a post entitled, “Go with the Flow.” For more, you can look to that post, however, here, I want to simply remind us that in order to receive God’s best, we have to surrender our best. In other words, God can dream a dream for us, bigger than we can dream for ourselves. So, in the midst of planning and organizing, please leave some room for God. Please be awake and aware to what you’re feeling and hearing, so that when the Spirit moves you’ll be flexible and nimble, ready to make the shift.

No doubt, letting go of control can be scary, but scary is where faith resides. See, we can’t call it faith if there’s no element of uncertainty, vulnerability and risk. If you have it all figured out, with no room for mystery and discovery, then call what you do something else, because it’s not faith. Faith can be scary, risky and even heart wrenching, but the seeds of our faith always reaps a harvest of God’s best. The investment of letting go, renders the return of letting God.

Though I’ve learned this within my own life planning, the most challenging application of this lesson has been in my relationships with others. I had to come to the realization that everyone has a journey…. a uniquely individualized course of study, and just because I wanted someone to change or be different, didn’t mean they were ready to and in fact didn’t even mean they needed to. Similarly, by both vocation and calling I am an academic, a teacher, preacher, life coach, and spiritual adviser. However, I’ve learned (and am still learning) how to balance these core attributes of who I am with the requirements of healthy interpersonal personal relationships. Meaning, sometimes the people in my life just need a friend, coworker, cousin, son, lover, or brother ……… and not Ivanlya Vanzant! Hahaha! I’m learning how to allow people to “be” and simply lead by example, and not by decree. I’ve learned (and am still learning) how to allow God to use my presence and who I am to speak, rather than my trying to “fix” everyone’s problems.

So, I encourage you to do a gut check! Internally, are you tied in knots? Do you feel frustrated, anxious, fearful or angry? If so, pay attention and feel. These emotions are good indicators that there are areas of life for which you need to relinquish control. Intellectually concede to this point, commit to a life free of manipulation and control of others, and emotionally rid yourself of control’s presence (this can be done through yoga, meditation, prayer, exercise, counseling, etc….. you can look to an earlier post where I discuss my own meditation practice for some helpful hints).  Because….

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you; they are ahead of you.  Know that every detail of your path can’t be planned, so let go of the anxiety of trying to do so. Likewise, know that other folk are, too, on their own journey; so don’t misconstrue helpfulness with a veiled attempt to manipulate and control their decisions and life choices. Finally, know that surrender is a daily commitment and act of meditation/worship. So, learn how to “be” and ultimatley led to all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)

Post #44- Letting Go of Foreboding Joy

I’ve heard it said, and I believe it. The most terrifying, panic-stricken experience we can have is…..joy.  “Joy,” you ask? Yes…joy.

It’s an experience we’ve all had; just ask any parent. It’s that moment in which you look at your sleeping child with deep love, gratitude and joy, and then instantly find that you’ve almost slipped into a full blown panic attack at the very thought of anything happening to them. It’s the moment, in the midst of good news or a great accomplishment, that you remind yourself not to celebrate too enthusiastically because this “good” thing can’t last forever. It happens when we’re always looking back to yesterday’s pain or forward to tomorrow’s perceived heartbreak that we lose the precious experience of today’s blessing. Yes, in our letting go, we must let go of foreboding joy.

This has been a lifelong issue for me, though until recently I didn’t even identify it as a problem. I didn’t recognize that I wasn’t fully enjoying the good moments of life because I was too busy

·      Doubting their authenticity (“This seems too good to be true.”),

·      Waiting for them to end (“It won’t last!”),

·      Being suspicious of them (“Wait a minute, something good is happening to me?”), or

·      Finding fault with them (“Yea, that [good thing] might be so, but what about this [bad thing]?”).

Foreboding joy can be experienced in every area of life but can often be easiest seen in romantic relationships. When we meet a potential dating partner, so many of us spend way too much time “thinking,” rather than enjoying. We are either comparing this one to the last one or worrying about the future, what it may hold or if there will even be a future. And if we’ve been hurt in the past, we are on pins and needles just waiting on disappointment to show up and shatter our dreams.  Therefore, in ways both conscious and unconscious, we sabotage our own joy, leaving us with a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, I suggest that we stop chasing our joy away and just sit in it, and enjoy it.

Much as I’ve suggested we do with other emotions (did you read those posts?), joy is no different. We should sit and experience our joy, get lost in the moments of joy, and truly feel the energy of joy and gratitude, allowing it to fill our bodies and minds to the brim….and then running over!

Joy, like any other emotion, comes to teach us. Joy comes to form and transform us. Joy is our birthright. We don’t have to feel guilty about having joy. We don’t have to explain or rationalize our joy. Our job is simply to embrace it, welcome it and experience the fullness of it.

So, your “homework” from this post is to find those things in life that bring you joy. Find the music, the people, and the activities that lift your spirits and heighten your energetic frequency. Find that thing that makes your cells abuzz with the vibrational rhythm of joy and satisfaction…and then simply enjoy it. Stay at that place and just “be” in the feelings of love and inspiration. Don’t doubt it; don’t cut it short; don’t forebode it.

Let joy be your “natural” state of being, or your go-to place. Let go of anger, bitterness, and sadness and let joy abide. Let joy be your instinctive state. For,

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you; they are ahead of you.  Let go of foreboding joy, for joy is the secret to a long, healthy, happy life. When you reset or reboot, let joy be your natural instinct. Allow joy to overflow and open you up to all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)

Post #43- Enough!

I’m learning to let go, ya’ll. I have no time for drama, misunderstandings, grudges, hurt feelings, attitudes or even what one friend of mine calls the “Dallitude” (Dallas’s own attitude, which I think I’ll dedicate a whole blog series to. Geez!). I’m learning to accept what is, be fluid and flexible and teachable and present to the moment, to go with the flow, to allow myself to feel what I feel and be led by my spirit, while to letting go of all of the rest!

Yesterday I lifted a valuable lesson I’ve learned, to let go of my own perception and the notion that I am right and everyone else is wrong. As much as it pains me to admit it, I have been self-righteous, judgmental and arrogant in the past, but as I learned to let it go, my capacity to love both others AND myself grew exponentially. See, anything that we project into the world has much more to do with us and our own internal “stuff” than it does with anyone else. Either “good” or “bad”…positive or negative, whatever energy we’re presenting to the world can be directly traced to what we think and feel and experience within ourselves.

So, with that concept in mind, I turn to the next element of human experience that I encourage to you let go…..perfectionism. First, let me get one thing straight; there is a huge difference between perfectionism and a healthy striving for excellence. We should all show up with our best, in order to do our best. However, perfectionism is much different than that. According to Dr. Brené Brown of the University of Houston, perfectionism is “a cognitive behavioral process, a way of thinking and feeling, that says if I look perfect, do it perfect, work perfect and live perfect I can avoid and minimize shame, blame, and judgment.” In other words, perfectionism is most often used as shield of protection, yet it offers no protection but instead serves as a tool of self-loathing and oppression that hides the beauty of our true selves from those around us.

Perfectionism is self-loathing? Yes. See, perfectionists are ultimately afraid that those around us will really see us as we are because we somehow see the real us as unlovable, unworthy, and/or undeserving. In this case, what do many of us do? We hide our self-depreciation by trying to be “perfect.”  Again, another case of what we project into the world being a direct expression of what’s going on inside.

Many of you reading may say, “This ain’t my struggle.” However, let me lift some ways that perfectionism my stick up it’s ugly little head.

·      Being an Over-Achiever. To cover up one part of me or my life, I must over-achieve in another.

·      Vanity. Because I feel badly about myself in some area(s), I overindulge in clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories and/or makeup…trying to “cover” my true self.

·      Self-Righteousness/Arrogance/Attitude of Superiority. There’s a part of me that I dislike, resent or even hate, therefore I paint a picture of myself as good, perfect, or above reproach in some area (finances, education, sexual purity, etc.).

·      Judgment/Gossip. This is very similar to the aforementioned self-righteousness or arrogance. Because I have presented myself as being above reproach or simply because I feel badly about myself, I will look down on others who don’t meet my standard of “perfection” or “goodness,” often tearing them a part with my actions and/or words.

·      Refusing to Say I’m Sorry or Admit Wrongdoing. Don’t dare accuse me of doing something wrong. Don’t say it’s my fault. I can’t take responsibility for my part; I can’t allow you to see me as anything other than the façade I have created.

Do any of these sound familiar? If I have stepped on your toes at all you might be feeling a little tight or tense. You may even be tempted to leave the blog, but please don’t. These symptoms are a part of a sickness called perfectionism, a malady we must let go. So, just breathe. Allow the realization of truth to come into mind and your body and wash over you. Embrace the discomfort and sit in the vulnerability. Learn from it, and be formed and transformed through it. Make the decision, today…in this moment, that you will let go of perfectionism and practice self-compassion, because you are good enough, worthy enough, and beautiful just as you are. Remember….

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you; they are ahead of you.  Do your best and strive for excellence in all things, but don’t judge yourself rather love yourself. Let go of the need to be “perfect” and instead trust that you are perfectly flawed.  You don’t have to be perfect in order to be loved by God, just rest in God’s love and open your heart to all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)

#Post 42- My Way or the Highway

“When you change the way you look at things; the things you look at change.”

 ~Dr. Wayne Dyer.

I’ve found that so much of life is about perspective. We all see life through a lens that is uniquely our own, therefore the ability to remove those lenses to see the world through the eyes of another, with all of the experiences and nuances of their individuality, is either the mark of spiritual giftedness or spiritual maturity (it comes naturally to some while others must learn how to do it). In either case, once we learn that our perspective is just that….our own and only one way or option to see a thing, we will be freed to power, that is, we will be empowered with a supernatural ability to rise beyond any circumstance…to not only survive it but thrive through it.

Yesterday I began discussing the power of letting go. Most of us have heard the saying, “Let Go and Let Go.” However, in my attempt to go beyond a surface understanding, I have often contemplated what “letting go” actually means. Yesterday, I describe the spiritual principle of “space.”  Meaning, our lives and minds only have so much room, therefore to increase our capacity we should either expand our consciousness (which is equally important) or let go of the old to make room for the new. At its most basic level, letting go is creating space for the #bigthingscoming.

So, as I truly ponder the act and process of letting go, I am confronted with the notion of perspective. Have you even been in a discussion (i.e. argument) where you are trying to rationally and logically explain your case but the other person simply can’t let go of their perspective in order to see another point of view? Maddening isn’t it? Or, rather, have you been the person so steeped in what you have to say, what you feel and what you think to even imagine an alternative truth?

Frankly speaking, we have to let go of the idea that we are right. And not only that we are right, but that we are always right. In letting go of our own perspective, we begin to see the world through God’s perspective. When we let go of how we see things, it makes space for greater vision and clarity, that we might have the capacity to actually understand how God sees things, or in other words we might better comprehend how the Universe works.

For example, God’s perspective prevents us from judging our neighbors. Through God’s eyes, we see our own faults, shortcomings and mistakes before we put others on blast for theirs. God’s perspective always shows us “us,” before ever showing us them. Therefore, through God’s perspective we are able to love, forgive, and grow rather than marinate in the mistakes of those around us.

Likewise, embracing God’s perspective while letting go of our own gives us the liberty to actually see the world through someone else’s eyes. See, God’s perspective gives us greater facility for empathy and love, rather than judgment and contempt. When we see people as God sees them, they can no longer remain “other” for us, but rather their pain becomes ours; we more deeply understand their plight and can better identify with their heartbreak.

Lastly but in some ways most importantly, seeing the world from God’s view enables us to see problems, difficulties and challenges as opportunities and avenues by which blessing and destiny reach us.  When we let go of our perspective and make room for God's, we begin to see that life is happening for us and not to us. We not only lose all judgment for others but for ourselves. We will begin to embrace this tedious journey as our own sacred path to knowing ourselves better and thereby knowing God more. Using God’s perspective allows us to stop judging our lives, yet inspires us to take responsibility for them. It empowers us to take the rightful place as co-creator of our lives, while relinquishing the role of judge toward them.

I really pray that you are accepting this message, really hearing it with your heart. We gotta let go so we can let God. You can’t forget that….

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you; they are ahead of you.  The grace of God is always available and always in abundance, but we must first make room for it….and we can begin by letting go our own perspective that we might see the world as God does….that we might catch a glimpse of all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)

Enjoy a classic Andre Crouch song....Gaither Style! 

Post #41- Letting Go!

Over the past week or so, I’ve attempted to shed some light on the popular self-help notion of “Feel…..Deal….and Heal.” While my thoughts have been exactly that, thoughts from my own perspective, my education and how I have experienced the world, the response from those posts were more than I anticipated, and certainly heartening and affirming.  So, for the next few days I’d like to discuss some of the life lessons I’ve learned regarding another popular adage, “Let Go, and Let God.”

My brain seems to work differently than most (I’ll let you judge whether that’s good or bad, ha!), meaning I have always sought the why and how, behind the what? So, when I hear that we should “Feel” before we can deal and heal, the first question I ask is… “But how do we do that?” and “Why or what good does it accomplish?” Similarly, when I hear the admonition to “Let Go” so we can Let God, letting God doesn’t seem like the most important part of that equation. Letting God is almost self-explanatory …meaning we should let God do what we can’t do for ourselves. Especially for those of us who grew up in the church, hearing and reading of God’s miracles or power isn’t foreign, and in fact you don’t have to be religious at all to have at least heard of Bible stories which include the parting of seas, water being turned into wine, the healing of sick and the raising of dead (they’ve become a part of pop culture). Therefore, my mind doesn’t focus on the “Let God” part, but rather the “Let Go” part.

What does letting go mean? Like, what does it really mean? Have we given it much thought? Again, when considering letting go, I ask, “Ok, but of what and why?”  It seems to me that in order for God to be God, or in order that we might share in the divinity that is our birthright (i.e. Let God), there are some things we must first let go of. It seems that if our hands are tightly clasped, we lose the capacity to receive anything new. Possibly, this is why my life (and the lives of so many others), lost the ability to experience anything new or fresh; it was too cluttered with the old and stale.

You know that feeling right? You wake in a bad mood because there’s nothing in the day to look forward to and going to bed at night is only gratifying because it offers a respite from the lousy day-to-day that has become your life. Everyone has had a bad day, but when this becomes the norm, it’s called a bad life, and God knows I’ve had my fair share of consecutive days that began to look like life.

In the next few days I want to share some things that might be worth letting go of, some things I have personally let go of, the process behind doing so, while also examining the beauty and radiance that can fill our lives, but only after we make space for it. I hope you’ll follow and comment along the way, but in the meantime, please remember…

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you; they are ahead of you.  Consider letting go of some things and you might be surprised what comes to fill the space. Please know, if your life is cluttered with the debris of the past, there will be no room for the future and all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read my first introductory post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)

Post #40- I, Who Have Nothing

Yesterday I shared a sobering experience, one in which I allowed my emotions to lead me to a better sense of direction for myself and a clearer understanding of what was going on with and within me (if you haven’t, you must read that post!). However, in that post I also promised that more was shown to me, so today I’d like to continue sharing that experience in hopes that someone might also muster courage enough to “feel” what their soul is trying to express.

As I sit on the floor that night, I allowed myself to weep and my soul to mourn the loss of a life once known, the dashed hopes of a perceived future, and the reality of my own human failure and frailty. However, during this time I also began to understand the magnitude of pain that the loss of my vocation had caused me. For me, the last two years has been a time of discernment regarding my career and vocation. In the end, I have come to a conclusion…I am a preacher. Whether or not I am meant to be a pastor, it is still unclear, but I am a spiritual life coach and teacher of spiritual truths when I am at my best and highest self. So, as I sat in the raw emotion of the last eight years, I began to re-sense a calling to ministry.

In the past, I’ve had conversations with God in which I have rehearsed all of the reasons why I could no longer be a minister:

“But God,” I said; “I’m gay,” I said. “I’ve seen too much,” I said; “too disenchanted with the Church,” I said. “I’m too broke and broken,” I said….

However, this time was different. On my bedroom floor, in the brokenness of my raw emotion, I simply surrendered. I told God, “Hey, if you want me to be a minister, I’ll do it. Yes, Lord, I’ll do it!” Now, what does any of this mean?....I ‘m not quite sure. In which ways will my “ministry” take place?…I haven’t a clue. But one thing I am sure of, God simply wants a yes, and the way will be made. 

I’ve had similar conversations with God regarding my being in a relationship. Humorously, I remind myself of the old song, “I, Who Have Nothing,” because this is exactly how I feel. I feel as if I have nothing….but love to give. I have nothing to give God, give to a congregation, give to a partner….I have nothing but me to give. And in my crying, snotty mess, I heard God say, that was enough. So, I wiped my weeping eyes that night, and have not looked back, feeling free, healed and revived.

I share this with you, for no other reason but to help, inform, teach, and empower someone else. So, quite naturally, my question for you is, where do you need to give God a yes? Where do you need to feel deeply, experience richly, and therefore be led to courage and action in your response to God’s calling for your life? Where have you given God a bunch of excuses, yet God is beckoning that you are enough?  For…

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you; they are ahead of you.  Allow your emotions to lead you to a deeper experience with both yourself and the Creator. Allow them to renew you, free you and open you to all of the  #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read my first introductory post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)

Please enjoy this rendition of the classic "I (Who Have Nothing)." Gotta love Gladys Knight! 

Post #39- To Feel or Not to Feel? That is the Question!

For the last week or so I’ve been blogging about the importance of “feeling” (if you haven’t followed, you can go back to the Sept. 5 blog and catch up!) Using the adage, Feel…..Deal….Heal, I’m come to the conclusion that not nearly enough emphasis has been given to the importance of our inner life and the crucial role our emotions can play in the roadmap to our life’s success. We have emotions; therefore they must be here for a reason. I actually believe if we give attention to them they can be valuable benchmarks, guideposts, and navigation aides along life’s journey….always pointing us in the direction of healing, wholeness, and spiritual evolution.

A few days ago I felt, what has become a familiar friend, come back for a visit. For the past several years I have experienced what is most commonly known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (self-diagnosed, of course).  Basically, when the seasons change (for me it's the change of summer to autumn) I begin feeling a little blue. I’ve come to, almost comically, refer to these times as the “Falls” of life (get it...Autumn/Fall of life...ok, never mind)

In times past I’ve simply tried to brush aside the light depression and get back to business as usual, however this year the depression landed right in the middle of this blog series about feeling (ain’t God funny?) so I took a different approach. Instead of stuffing these feelings deep within, trying to ignore them or even numb them, I decide to actually feel them.  A few nights ago I took time before bed and actually gave myself permission to feel sad. I wanted to sit in it…not to have a pity party but to examine what these emotions represented and/or what they could teach me about me.

As I turned on music (for me it’s gospel, though for someone else, it may be another genre) and just sobbed. I know tough guys don’t cry, but I’m not ashamed to say it started with a few trickles and then as things became more clear I went into the full blown ugly cry, haha! In that moment of vulnerability and stillness before God I began to see that my autumn depression had nothing to do with the changing of seasons (because hell, I’m in Texas and very little has changed; it still feels like an oven!) but rather,  I “remembered” that this depression always seems to visit in September, yet it only began the Fall of 2006. Then I realized that September 2006 was (and every September there after is) the anniversary of my life plummeting.

In July 2005 I moved from rural Arkansas to Dallas. Shortly thereafter (in September), my life came crashing down….

·      My beloved grandmother (who raised me and was my mother figure) suffered a brain aneurysm and never fully recovered; meaning I never had another conversation with he, essentially losing the woman I had known.

·      My wife and I separated, a pain and guilt that haunted me for years (and if I were honest, still grieves me).

·      I began struggling with how to be a parent while not living in the same house with my kiddos.

·      I embarked on a new life as a single “gay” man, causing me to lose all of my friends (with the exception of one). They were all  “Christians” and therefore distanced themselves from me because of my sexuality.

·      I had moved to Dallas to attend SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. Up to that point, I wanted to be a pastor (in fact I did serve as pastor of a couple of small churches in Arkansas while also teaching public school). So, now because of my determination to be authentic and real, I had to not only hit the reset button on my own theology (causing me to have an existential crisis) but I had to find another vocation (a struggle that persists today).

·      And to top it all off, I began experiencing the most difficult financial challenges of my life, which is not uncommon during divorce but of which I have not, eight years later, fully recovered.

These instances were just the beginning of many years of turmoil and heartbreak for me. As a result, when September rolls around each year, it’s as if my psyche remembers the trauma and my soul wants to grieve. So, kneeling beside my bed, that’s exactly what I did. As I began to remember the happenings of September 2005 and the subsequent “Falls,” I allowed my soul to grieve all of my loss.

Crying, I believe, is therapeutic. It’s like a cleansing, similar to defragging a computer (do people do that anymore?). Or, better yet, it’s analogous to cleaning shattered glass. There are the big pieces you can see, but if you look closely there are many small pieces you can’t and might not find for days or weeks or months. Likewise, traumatic life events can leave fragments of emotional debris, often undiscovered for years. However, this is why “feeling” is so important. If I had not been awakened to “feeling” I would have spent yet another year stuffing my emotions; but because I allowed myself to embrace the feelings, though uncomfortable and ugly, I was able to recognize the root of the issue and therefore move on to “dealing” and ultimately “healing” (there’s more to this night’s revelation but I’ll save it for tomorrow!!! Check back!)

Lastly, I can’t be the only one who has this emotional dysfunction, hahaha! Surely, someone reading this has some “stuff” they’ve pushed to the side. I encourage you to feel the feelings, ask yourself the hard questions and get to the business of pulling up the crap that’s holding you back. See, I wouldn’t have guessed the events of 2005 was the real reason I had an annual bout with sadness. However, when I mustered the courage to go within, my spirit revealed it to me and I was able to get free! For….

This is not the end of your story. Your best days are not behind you; they are ahead of you.  Get started “feeling,” because once you become spiritually free from this baggage, your life will open up to all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read my first introductory post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2013, Ray Jordan)