YouTube: Choosing Your Vision
Audio: Choosing Your Vision
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad” (Matthew 13:47-48).
What is a “good” fish, and what is a “bad” fish? In the realm of the Divine, there is no such distinction. God is equally invested in the carp and the tuna. Determining the difference between a good fish and a bad fish depends on who is doing the determining. If you want fish you intend to sell through a pet store, you use one standard of judgment. If you are supplying a restaurant, you use another standard.
Your mind is a net that is constantly being cast into the sea of infinite possibilities of ideas. The ideas you bring in and hang onto culminate as the conditions of your life. When you set a goal for yourself, your choice of the mental pictures and of the thoughts and feelings you hold about that goal become relevant. Excitement toward your objective becomes a good fish. Doubts in your abilities become bad fish. You want all the creative energy of your being to support your vision so you make an effort to dismiss your doubts and reaffirm your excitement.
This principle holds true at all levels of action, not just mental and emotional. The activities you engage in, the conversations you conduct, the types of television shows you watch, the material you read all have their impact on the vision you desire to express. If you engage only in actions that support your vision, your vision will become a manifest entity. If you engage in actions that diminish your vision, you will get only a partial and inadequate demonstration.
The message of this parable is simple: Hold on to the ideas and actions that support your vision and let go of the ideas and actions that do not.
J Douglas Bottorff 