How to Lose yourself to find the Joy of The Lord

 It seems like such a simple commandment that Jesus when he instructed us in Matthew 5:7 CoC to "...  he who takes not his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who seeks to save his life shall lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake shall find it." 

I have often read this as self service to others, conforming my desires to the higher will of God's instructions when interacting with others. This however, proved to be only partially successful. Bitterness, resentfulness, and sometimes an endless aching pain from being unseen by others for my "efforts" would wound me. I'd find myself harboring hypocritical feelings towards people that I would help. So I puzzled over why this was so. I checked internally, and found a great surprise waiting: I WAS BEING SELFISH. Seeking only to give due to a commandment when it is not motivated by higher love of God, SELF, and others, is faulty. At its core it is unstable and cannot sustain itself. It is the exact fulfillment of the concept of having  a type and form but lacking the glory mentioned in the T&C. But the problem is, when you in the middle of this fallacy, right up close in the weeds of it every day, it can clog and skew your vantage point to be able to see the real truth clearly. 

There are many other mousetraps that afflict different personalities and people. But no matter which one you struggle with, there is a way to overcome your weakness. God is one of the best answers. He sees how each of our own weeds clog our view and what we need to do to overcome them. Other people in our lives and their loving feedback/ concerns is a HUGE one too. Friends, family, our neighbors and fellow Christians etc can all be sources of seeing our blind spots better than ourselves in many cases. Their feedback is valuable information in the quest to purify our hearts and minds (and viewpoints) Another source can be ourselves if we are willing to die to self and be introspective and constantly searching our hearts. If we are humble we will be able to observe something "off" in our inner world and be equipped to go to God about it for clarity. 

Another source can be hard-won wisdom earned through kick-ass experiences as a result of our own choices. Sometimes the only way to learn is through finally being so beat up by life that you cry out to God or others to give you honest understanding of the situation. 

By then, your walls are down that you might actually be able to take in the weight and truth of what is being said. The soil of your heart and mind has been made fertile and receptive through the trials and pain you suffered prior is hopefully the state you find yourself in. 

In the end, we are measured against what was in our hearts. Whatever judgement or acts we committed while in the flesh will be given back to us through God's righteous judgement. It is a merciful thing that God does so, for a wicked soul would be unable to bear the presence of God. The challenge for those of us who are living in mortality, then, is to stay faithful to God and break our hearts so that we learn from precept and teachings of others, God, scripture, and our hard life experiences, as well as the Earth around us!

One of my favorite Disney songs that illustrates this idea is "Colors of The Wind" from Pocahontas. She sings beautifully of loving the earth and it's beauty without pricing it and wondering at it's value.

Let's break down each of the beautiful layered messages and truths in the verses:

"You think you own whatever land you land on
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name"

To me, I see this as speaking against the pride of "owner ship and status" This is referring in a way to our pride, the pride of the accomplished person or someone who thinks because of their life experience or intellectual knowledge or whatever else that they are somehow better, more studied, more pious than someone else. 

It is vital that we slay the inner dragon of pride, as it can corrupt and lead to so many other sins. The reason why Ephesians 5 says put on the whole armor of God isn't just because we are living in a world fighting a war against Satan. It's also a call to do the hard work of slaying our inner demons and dragons so we become as a little child, meek, submissive, hopeful, easily persuaded, full of love, curiosity, and warmth of heart. 

Next we have 

You think you own whatever land you land on
The earth is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every rock and tree and creature
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name

This is clearly continuing with the pride motif. Rich people have historically been shown in the Bible and CoC to be easily corruptible, prideful, and think they're better because they own land, treasure, or resources. But Pocahontas counters this reality of rich people by stating that she KNOWS everything is connected (Eastern thought) she has had personal experience of the truth in her life and she stands on it. She says that we are all one, that every creature matters to God. This idea is echoed in the Bible when Jesus says to consider the lilies of the field, or how God feeds the sparrows so why not humans? God is in the details. 

You think the only people who are people
Are the people who look and think like you
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew, you never knew

I do believe this can be read as religious pride, not just skin color or race. This can pretty much be applied to any organized group really. Scientists, atheists, Mormons, Christians, political parties I can go on and on.  Humans get comfortable with sameness, familiarness, and comfortableness of surrounding themselves in echo chambers. Meaning we narrow our associations to those who believe the same as us. But here is an invitation to leave that behind and walk the footsteps of a stranger. To listen fully with your heart and mind to someone else who thinks or believes differently than you. It is a magical thing to hold space for someone and learn new truths in the process. It is a wonder-filled journey from my own experience. Ignorance breeds laziness and mistrust. Knowledge calms and unites. The scriptures tell us this themes very clearly. Especially when we are told that in the last days the "knowledge of the Lord will cover the Earth as the waters cover the sea" and the scriptures links that knowledge to animals of oppsing races not harming each other and being tamed. (As well as humans being tamed) When the Lord follows up by saying "they will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain" (Zion/New Jerusalem) 

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

I love the double invitation here at the end- inviting us to feel with our hearts and "see" with our souls as we walk in this life. To cherish the small and simple things of beauty, wonder and grace could so graciously provides to both the just and unjust (according to His Word) It is the life of a child. The most meaningful things to people are usually family and friends. This asks us to go deeper and see the beauty in an ant, a maple leaf, the smile of a child at the ice cream store, watching high schoolers perform basketball, etc. These are all examples of simply joys that are always around us if we have an eye to see them. 

Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers
The heron and the otter are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends

Here she is inviting us to live more in the "right brain" or "Eastern religion like Buddhism" mind right here. Sometimes the issue is we don't like to let ourselves be free, to live with joy or creatively because we stifle that part of ourselves. We become dull and too serious, grumpy and unforgiving in extreme cases of this. This remedy is the perfect thing for a human heart however. Natural beauty of nature has a way of transforming the human soul. It is a wonderful gift from God. We have to be able to enjoy hiking, swimming, the beaches, mountain trails in the fall, waterfalls, and so many more natural landscapes. I love the NKJV and NIV Bible editions.

 In the NKJV it says in Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

What a gorgeous promise! A God who created the smallest ladybug, the smallest bird, actually wants to have joy over us as His children! 

All of us are connected to each other and the Lord. We are all humans having a lived experience right now at this very moment. The same oxygen we breathe is shared by everyone around the world. A great quote I love adds to this concept beautifully: 

“Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is…Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.”  

- An old Sanskrit proverb 

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
Or let the eagle tell you where he's been?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? 

So I read this verse in a more symbolic light. In Native American culture, Eagles are seen as messengers that bridge the connection between heaven and earth. They represented freedom, courage, and resilience. I see this verse as an invitation for us all to rise up and meet God, to ascend and be embraced in the love of the Divine. 

How high does the sycamore grow?
If you cut it down then you'll never know

I love the symbolism of trees here. It's a gorgeous repeat of being patient and enjoying the beauty of God's natural world around us in nature and also can represent not shutting down the voices of the small and misunderstood among us in our culture. The disabled, the autistic, the minority, the poor in spirit, the poor in the flesh etc all have voices to share and often wisdom they have gained. Earth would be a Garden of Eden of knowledge and wisdom if we respected all voices no matter how weak or small. 

And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
For whether we are white or copper skinned
We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains
We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

This is lovely. This is again saying, everyone matters no matter their skin or background circumstances because we can all grow, get better and all have a voice given to them from God to share with others. 

The closing verse ends again with the warning against pride. 3 times in this verse she warned against pride. In the Book of Mormon old version, I learned from an LDS teacher that the use of "woe woe woe" 3 times meant severe judgment or discipline when the prophets used this against the people. It is a serious delivery of words. Same here in this song. 

You can own the earth and still
All you'll own is earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind