Thursday, January 31, 2013

Evicted From La-La Land...


Oh dear...I'm afraid I'm going to make some people mad. For any of you that know me from previous articles, you know that I have a hard time saying or doing anything that might offend someone.

I love people - but I love the truth more. So... hang with me, okay?

What is "La La Land", anyway?

L.A.??? As in Los Angeles? ( One dictionary actually gave that as a definition).

Perhaps the people in L.A.? ( Yes, it was literally another definition).

Last, by not least, came the meaning that most people think of when they think of La La Land:

The state of being out of touch with reality.

So far, so good. No hurt feelings, everyone is okay. Now for the clincher:

What is reality?


This is where people get addled.

We get in a lather, become agitated, bewildered, disturbed and even irritated when people don't see things our way, right?

There are three things to consider:

1) Reality
2) Pure Reality
3) Our different worlds.

By "reality" I'm simply referring to the laws and consequences of life in this world alone.

By "pure reality" I mean to speak to people who embrace a spirtual understanding and combine it with the reality of this world. I refer to that as the Spirit -vs- Flesh.

And lastly, everybody lives in their own world which obviously would be different for everyone. Every human being sees and experiences the world around them in light of their own personal and private experiences.

Get it? Got it. Great!

Let me give the defintion of "La La Land" again:

"The state of being out of touch with reality"
.

Whether you think of reality as the life and consequences of this world, or reality that acknowledges a battle between the flesh and the spirit...we all live in this world. We all deal with life and it's consequences.

Do you ever find yourself in this world, minding your own business, when...BAM! Something hits you between the eyes, figuratively speaking, and stars begin to circle your head? (Okay...maybe I used to watch a lot of cartoons).

Pain - usually emotional pain - enters our world. And I've got to tell you...pain is not always obvious. Ever experienced confusion, anxiety, hurt, fear, agitation? Do you know what it's like to be perplexed, distracted, embarrassed,flustered or perturbed? Ever felt disoriented or unsettled?

Then you have felt pain.

I'm going to take a wild guess here:

I bet you didn't like it.

Chances are, it was a reality that didn't set too well with you. What do we ususally do when we don't like something?

Most of us avoid it. Escape it. Ignore it. Call it what you want, but the bottomline is,at that point we are choosing to ignore reality.

We are entering "La La Land".


You probably didn't like what I said. If you are like me, you might have felt a bit insulted. Perhaps a little defensive. Okay - very defensive.

Honestly, when I mentioned this topic to people before I wrote this post, I was shocked at how defensive and angry they where about this whole subject. They felt it was offensive.

Apparently,nobody wants to acknowledge that "they" are in La La Land, afterall... only irresponsible people live there! To suggest that the average person resides at that location is downright insulting!

Now I'm going throw out something that seems to be in left field.

Life throws us unexpected curveballs, like:

* Being layed off of work
* Finding out you have a debilitating disease
* Having your loved one leave you
* Death
* Demotion at work
* Slander that ruins you
* Pregnancy that you aren't prepared for.

The list is endless.

Is it possible that those things that hurt us, are...in reality:

EVICTING US FROM LA LA LAND???

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, interesting. Pain (or even the love of pleasure) sends us into La La Land, but it usually takes a severe blow of some sort to evict us. What an opportunity to leverage our pain for good, determining ahead of time, with the help of God, to take the other fork--the road that keeps it real.

Unknown said...

Great post. Interesting to think who and where we would be twenty years down the road if we never had to experience significant pain in our lives.

Sharon said...

Yup, know just what you're talking about. I think you spoke a courageous Truth in this post. And I find that most people living in La-La-Land who DON'T admit that they're there are the ones who are just really good at wearing masks.

Sometimes even *planned* curveballs can throw you for a loop. Like my recent move to the mountains after 29 years in one home.

God has a way of evicting things out of our lives that crowd the Holy Spirit. Most often, it's a painful process - as you pointed out - but God's Reality Land is a much better place to live.

GOD BLESS!

(p.s. Welcome back to Blog Land!)

Anonymous said...

Great comments. I personally think that the eviction process can last a lifetime for most.

La-La-Land, (life on this planet) can be cruel, but the curve balls help us grow.

Thank God for Jesus, who will meet us in paradise at the end of the eviction process.

Susan Marlene said...

Hey Shay! I think you it! The eviction from la la land!! Nicely written! :)