Guest Post

Jessica Taylor
Do you feel alive or dead?
Have you ever thought about doing something for yourself everyday that brings you to life?
As I have thought about what to post for my debut , I want all of us (including myself ) to think about what brings you to life ? Our bodies are LIVING organisms. What do you do to bring Smell ?Touch? Taste? Hearing? Sight to Life ?
I would like to share a story.
Theologian John S. Dunne tells the story about a group of Spanish sailors who reached the continent of South America after a long and dangerous voyage. They happened to approach right at the headwaters of the Amazon River, an expanse of water so wide the sailors assumed it was a continuation of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Amazon River is the greatest river in the world. It contains over 20% of the earth’s fresh water. During the rainy season it expands to 24.8 miles wide at inland points. Where it opens into the Atlantic Ocean it is 202 miles wide, discharging eight trillion gallons of fresh water a day into the ocean. That fresh water can be detected over 200 miles out into the sea.
But these Spanish sailors didn’t realize that subtle change in the water. They had spent months knowing they couldn’t drink the water in which they were traveling. Any experienced sailor knows that drinking salt water will kill you. Although it didn’t look much different, and the change had taken place slowly, now they were right on top of the largest quantity of fresh water in the world. And with that nourishing, fresh water all around them, some of those sailors died of thirst.
That picture serves as a metaphor for how I see many people in the world today. They have become accustomed to life being drudgery – work is a bitter pill, a curse from God – something to be endured, a necessary trade-off for a paycheck – the “salt water” that life has dealt them. They know that work is not to be fulfilling, they eagerly anticipate Friday or retirement when they can leave that stinking job and really do something they enjoy and care about. But at the same time they are sitting right on top of the greatest opportunities for fulfilling work the world has ever known.
Companies are desperately seeking people who understand their areas of competence and are ready to make a clear contribution to their corporate mission. With our shift from production work to knowledge work it has never been easier to transition into free-lance or independent contractor status, providing more time freedom and income potential. Starting your own business or being an entrepreneur no longer requires a big chunk of start-up capital or even a bricks and mortar structure. With opportunities involving knowledge, service or information, people are starting their own profitable ventures with minimal time and money required.
Looking around and seeing with new eyes may be your only required step in experiencing the fresh, nourishing and profitable water that’s all around you.
Dan Miller, President of 48 Days, specializes in creative thinking for increased personal and business success. Dan is the author of the widely acclaimed 48 Days To The Work You Love and No More Mondays. He writes regularly for many popular magazines and web portals, including CBN.com, Crosswalk.com, New Man, AARP and Success magazine.
The reason I share this story is because the sailors had something that was right there for the taking.
Given by God, our senses are given to bring and help us stay ALIVE. Right there, right now for the taking.
Are you alive ?
Jeremiah 29:11
We have them. Do we use them to BEST of our ability to give us love to ourselves. Is it not a commandment to love our neighbors as THYSELF.
Learn what stimulates your senses. Are we mindful of the water as it drips down our hands when you wash them, smell a newborn baby ( the little man in the picture is my nephew ) or when breathing (in your mind ) verbalize about what it is. This will help to keep our mind sharp. Recognize it. Explain it to yourself so you can be mindful and aware of your energy. Energy in living. Taste the seeds of the strawberry, hear the crickets in the yard singing to you, that is their music, see the person you love, do you know the color of their eyes, their very last wrinkle on their face when they smile. Dancing brings me to life. Yes, I plan on dancing till the day I die like the woman in the video! I stimulate the power of touch and hearing through dance. The beat of the music speaks to my soul. Combing my hair in the morning with the bristles against my scalp bring touch to life. Just some simple yet for me anyway, life altering examples of what I have done to create the woman I am.
I challenge each of us to do something to please the senses. Verbalize it. Be aware of it. Your euphoria will come alive. Each day. Give touch,smell,taste,sight,hearing? life. Your undivided 100% attention devotion each day
By the way – Did you know that we have 10,000 taste buds, Cheers to taste!

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come
alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come
alive." John Eldredge