Five points of light

Five Points of Light

Hello, WA family.

George H. W. Bush in his inauguration address challenged America with this memorable quote: “We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a thousand points of light…we all have something to give.”

Mr. Bush was a man who commanded my respect for his caring, humble and compassionate personality and leadership. His expression, a thousand points of light, revealed his sense of the vast challenges and opportunities that he and everyone of us face.

When I accepted the challenge to continue reaching out, that is, shining a light for others in an effective and meaningful way, I must admit that I did not realize that it was not just others, but myself that would benefit in ways that I had not envisioned. I would not begin to think in such broad terms as a thousand points of light. However, it does occur to me that I might offer my thoughts in a modified version that I will label Five Points of Light.

I love light! The longer I live, the more love light! To me, light represents life and consciousness. In our industrialized society, I recognize that people are up and doing, both in light and darkness. But our Lord presented this concept: “Work while it is day; the night comes when no man can work.” Isn’t it amazing how electricity, and other modern-day advances have made it possible for us to work both day and night, and do things that fifty or seventy-five years ago we would not have thought possible? While these advances have remarkably effected how we view life today, it is my purpose to reflect simply on Five Points of Light that have taken on deepened importance as I have proceeded through the unfolding of the Wealthy Affiliate program of training. I want to share those POINTS in an acrostic:

Purpose

Opportunity

Innateness

Now

Taken

Seriously

Notwithstanding some other positive influences in my life, the training I am engaged in here at WA has revived my sense of PURPOSE. Believe it or not, old age tends to cause some to want to hang it up; to say, “I’ve paid my dues, so why not just take it easy?” If I am honest with you, that attitude was about to take a prominent place in my thinking. It seems to take up residence in the thinking of many at this point in life. But I discovered that I was not ready to resign myself to being inactive for the rest of my life. After all, I had a lifetime devoted to a ministry of study and service. In Mr. Bush’s words, ‘we all have something to give.’ Suffice it to say, through my training, and community here, my sense of purpose has been renewed. For this I am very grateful.

Second, I have been reassured that OPPORTUNITY is still knocking – opportunities to discover, to learn and grow. My time with the WAmily has necessitated honing my writing skills, becoming better acquainted with the world of the computer, and to expand my relationships beyond my immediate surroundings. It’s a small world is some respects, but with respect to the marketplace, it seems vast, with over 4.5 billion internet users (potential shoppers) out there. Opportunity is a bright point of light for mankind, and especially for those who have found Wealthy Affiliate.

The third Point of Light is INNATENESS! That is, each of us is born with qualities and abilities that need to be developed and utilized. Not everyone is the same, but everyone who recognizes their responsibility and, yes, privilege of being who and what they are, and will endeavor to become as close to everything they can be are ahead of the game. This point of light rests within the bosom of each of us. The question is, “Will I turn it on; will I let it shine and become as bright as it can be?” It’s O.K. to be who and what we are, but none of us should be content if we are not improving our innate qualities.

The fourth Point of Light is NOW! Here are a couple of quotes that speak to this: “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” – William Penn. “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” - Mother Teresa. Time waits for no one!

I must confess that I have been a procrastinator. As a result, there is a limit to what I can accomplish with the rest of my life. However, I am committed to the biblical proposition that “Now is the accepted time.” I am “redeeming the time” by getting up earlier, and working longer, sometimes seeming to spin my wheels, but at least trying to get the job done.

The fifth Point of Light is a simple one, TAKEN. That is, I have accepted the fact that if I don’t do what I need to do, no one else will do it for me. I saw a motivational poster online that said, “Push Yourself No One Else Is Going to Do It for You.” While this is true, I do want to acknowledge that our co-founders at Wealthy Affiliate have done so much to provide us with the guidance that we need to succeed, and I thank them for that. Even then, it remains that each of us must “put our hand to the plow, and not look back.” Again, in the words of Mr. Bush, “We can find meaning and reward,” by accepting and following the points of light that we are given to guide us.

This final Point of Light brings it all together – SERIOUSLY! I possibly should place a question mark after this word. I am personally convicted by it, because I have taken a lot of time to develop this blog, and now I am asking myself, SERIOUSLY? Do I really mean what I am saying? Maybe there are some of you who are asking that same question. “Am I really serious about building my business around something that is important to me?”

Pardon the personal reference, but I wrote a song sometime ago entitled, “The Light is Still Shining.” I have to confess that I don’t begin to understand all that our former President meant when he referred to a thousand points of light, but maybe these few suggestions spark a bit of light that will prompt us to keep on keeping on to find “meaning and reward” in this, our worthy endeavor.

“This little light of mine; I’m gonna let it shine.” How about you?

Here’s to a bright future!

Earl