Regina Brett's Fifty Life Lessons: The Thirty-Eighth Lesson

Lesson Number Thirty-Eight:  Read the Psalms.  They cover every human emotion.

What is your favorite psalm? Mine is Psalm 23. This was introduced to me by my born again Christian aunt when I was still twelve years old. She encouraged me to memorize it. Eventually I did. And it helped a lot, especially in times when my faith wavers.

It is so true that the psalms cover every human emotion like anger, hatred, love, inspiration, hope, depression, anguish, disappointment, joy, faith, ecstasy and all other emotions every human being could feel. I could even hardly believe that people in Biblical times could feel so much anguish when it seems that God had been so near to them in those times. However they are just humans, subject to feel those feelings. 

The Psalms is a Biblical book that connects us to our past. It points us how human we are just like our ancestors. I, on my part, sometimes dreaded to feel the negative feelings that lurk in the deepest part of me. I have the difficulty accepting the fact that negativity is a part of me. But how can I be so ungrateful for it when it is through those feelings that my forefathers discovered God the more? It is in expressing those feelings that God showed them Himself. And it is in feeling those emotions that I know how human I am. And it is only in becoming human will I discover the greatness of God. 

The Psalms also are a good guide for discovering the greatness of God. We could feel how ecstatic the Psalmist had been when he describes the greatness of God. In his mystical experiences I am so much awed and inspired, that such would I feel when I become one with God. 

I could only describe the Psalms in my own limited mind, but the Psalms is more than that. When you read it you'll discover more about God, and more of your faith. Try it. And be guided by the Good Shepherd in Psalms 23.

Get happy! 

The Dark Sky

As I look up at the dark sky,
With the moon that so brightly shines,
I feel a tinge of missingness,
From the place where I came.
The space that separates us in between,
Seems to speak: come home, come home.
This feeling of familiarity and homesickness,
To the darkness of the sky and its vastness,
Gives me hope and strength-
That yes, I am only temporary in this world;
That whatever comfort this world can offer to anyone,
Is incomparable to the comfort and oneness,
That God can offer to those who gently go back to Him.
As I gaze up,
It seems to be purely nothingness above,
But it is in that nothingness,
That I feel the oneness with God.
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"Most of us live in an era of unprecedented possibilities and potential, and one factor that can help to determine our success is our level of gratitude. Those who proceed through life without recognizing the blessings that have been bestowed upon them through effort not of their own live empty lives, always wondering why their own efforts do not result in happiness or fulfillment, while those who feel gratitude for the sunsets, the cool breezes, the time spent with friends, the smiles and laughter of children, the kind words of others, the touches of rain and of sun--these are the people that see life as an on-going procession of miracles that we truly are blessed to be able to experience." ~ Living Life Fully