In the contemporary world, there are many people who have stayed in the same positions for several years. These are the conservatives who hold the same habits, eat the same foods, wear the same clothes, keep the same friends, go to the same clubs, fear the same things and say the same prayers. Their lives are kept within boundaries.Conservative-minded and static in ideal is the best way one would describe such people who neither want to move out of their comfort zones nor embrace new ideas in life.There is an African saying that “He who has not travelled outside his village believes that his mother is the best cook.” Our ancestors knew that a man had to break out from his comfort zone and sample a different life outside his village. He had to see how others lived and check whether there was a man who could outdo him in either wrestling or dancing.Yes, going out of your comfort zone helped to make you adjust, evaluate, have a re-look at yourself, test your abilities against others and generally make you relevant to society.Many Christians in this country are also caught up in the above situation. They have gone to the same Churches for the past ten years, sat in the same positions, sang the same songs, greeted the same people, held the same prejudices and generally got stuck at the same spiritual levels.It is true that anybody, Christian or pagan, who has stopped growing, or moving from one level to another starts dying. In most cases the process is gradual until one finally dies. Friends will come and eulogize the dead person and even mention how he died suddenly, when the truth of the matter is that the man had faced a steady death for the past several years.My message is that you should move out of your comfort zone and venture outside. Find out where the boundaries are and then ignore them. Try to do what others say can not be done. The answer to your future lies outside the confines that you have set around yourself in the past and present. If you want to check whether you can swim, do not frustrate yourself swimming in shallow waters. Get out and look for an Olympic size swimming pool and take the plunge.Sometime back, I used to jog every morning; I would set the standard and aim to go round the field twenty times. Once in the field, I felt so tired and revised the standard to a lower level of seven lapses. Anybody who lowers the bar so he can have an easy jump will never succeed. Success is raising the bar higher and actually jumping over it.When you have climbed the tallest tree, you will be entitled to the best fruit. You need to get involved in something bigger than you. Do not frustrate yourself chasing small dreams; engaging in small talks; comparing yourself within your limits; setting low standards which anybody else can achieve; standing at the same spot all your life and not being ready to make a mark.In the Biblical text of Luke 18:22 we read, “When Jesus heard this; he said to him ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will find treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.’”Here was a man who thought he had done everything that was worthy. But Jesus chose to get him out of his comfort zone. He told him to sell everything he had and follow him. He had to go out of his traditional activities. He needed to set his eyes on a new path.This is what we all need in order to live a more rewarding life. Many times we become very frustrated with our surroundings. We start cursing our stars, our visions and our future. But in this entire muddle the problem is not with our stars, our visions or our surroundings, it is with us. We have refused to grow. We have stopped moving up the ladder.My prayer is that all of you will develop an infinite capacity to ignore what others think can not be done. Do not just grow from where you are planted, but ensure that you expand both sideways and upwards and ignore the boundaries of life. redplan20002001@yahoo.com
