In continuation of our Mind Series: Your Mind is Your World; we shall be looking at the boat-sail principle today. You might want to read the Part 1 “Your Mind is Your World“and Part 2 “Mind Controllers” to get a grasp of the numerous things we have been sharing about the most remarkable gift after the Holy Spirit, that God gave to man – The mind.
Today we shall be discussing the boat sail principle of the mind. If you have ever been in a boat at sea or observed a boat crossing a big river, you’d realize how vulnerable that boat appears in the midst of the massive body of water around it. In life we sometimes are like that boat travelling on water trying to reach some place.
Imagine the sails are broken off, no steering wheels, no rudder, no engine; just a hollow piece of wood kept afloat on water. You can be sure that piece of wood will never have a say as to where it’s going to end up in life. It’s fate is left to the wind and the waves of the sea to decide. It doesn’t matter how determined that boat is, neither does it matter how much dreams and aspirations it has cooked up in its head. As long as there is the wind and the waves of the sea to deal with, that boat shall never ever reach its desired destination except by chance or by a miracle.
Unfortunately for many people, this is just the way life presents itself to us. There are so many things in life that constitute the wind, the storm, the waves of the sea that you have no control over. Yet you must navigate your way to your desired destination. Many of us focus on cursing and blaming the wind. We blame the economy, we blame our background, some blame parents, we blame our spouses, we blame our leaders, we blame our bosses as work, we blame society, we blame the media. The subconscious tendency is to look out for the fault in every thing around but themselves.
At the first glance, yes the winds do exist and could be very disastrous to our destination. However, whats the use blaming the problem that is not ready to go? What’s the use focusing on the wind that you will hardly ever be able to control or tame? It was such a paradigm shift that led sea travelers to discover that the same wind could be harnessed to our advantage. And since that discovery was made, sea travelers learned to focus less on the external wind and to focus more on something within their boat – The Boat Sail!
They learned that there is something they can set up within their boat, and by controlling that device, they now had the power to harness the wind to their desired destination. With the boat sail, they brought an end to the rigorous paddling. With the boat sail, they didn’t need to fight the wind. All that was necessary is to observe the wind and then operate their boat-sail.
You cannot operate the economy, at least not until you become the Finance Minister. You cannot operate the President of your country. You cannot go into the past to change your background, your family or your nationality. You can never change a sad event of the past. You cannot alter the society all at once. But there is one thing you can make immediate adjustment to which will wield more influence on your life’s destination than all the wind around. It is the your mind! Your mind is your boat-sail! Stop fuming and fussing at the wind, focus that energy on your mind.
When you focus on your mind, you begin to learn how to tame and operate your mind to get you to your desired destination. Decisions decide your destination, and decisions are created not by the wind but by you, in your mind. Character shapes destiny and no matter the external influence, character can be tamed by the mind. We must focus on the mind. Mike Murdock said, the mind can be trained. Renew your mind, educate your mind with information, make quality decisions via your mind, Decide your association, decide to dive into the world of books and decide what books you read, decide what you watch, decide what you stare at. Mike Murdock declared, “Never gaze at what doesn’t belong to your future”. Decide where you go, soon you’d see all possibilities of life. Engage the mind to plan and think.
Every true greatness came by the use of the mind. The mind is our boat sail by which we can turn the winds of life to our advantage. Improper use or misuse of this great treasure is the greatest tragedy that could befall any man existing.
And finally, even if you lose your freedom to read, to choose association, to educate the mind, to plan, to think, to act; there is what Viktor Frankl called, “The Last Human Freedom”- it is the singular ability to be all you want to be in your mind! Even if you were to be stripped of all rights of a human, this is a right no one can take away. And that in itself has such great power to decide your destination and future!
Viktor Frankl would have died like many of his fellow inmates in the Nazi death camps having been subjected to the most inhumane conditions any human being could be subjected to. But many years later, he was a free man and was being celebrated worldwide as a renowned public speaker, motivator, author, neurologist, Psychiatrist and founder of Logotherapy, which is a form of existential analysis. He later declared to his audience,
“There is only one reason why I am here today. What kept me alive was you. Others gave up hope. I dreamed. I dreamt that someday I would be here telling you how I, Viktor Frankl had survived the Nazis concentration camps. I’ve never been here before, I’ve never seen any of you before, I’ve never given this speech before. But in my dreams, I have stood before you and said these words a thousand times…”
I dare you to take up your sail. Set it up and master its usage. Look beyond the economy, look beyond the society, look beyond that mistake, look beyond that heart break, look beyond the external circumstances that surround you. You usually can’t change them afterall. Focus your strength on that one thing that you can control – Your mind. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
There is a greater personality who can empower our minds to attain heights above the natural mind. He is the Holy Spirit of Jesus. I implore you this day to invite Him into your heart. Just click here and say the prayers that follow. Follow this link to receive Him.