Keep Building Your Ark

A story from long ago provides an epiphany

There’s been a few dominate themes I’ve noticed over the last couple of years.  These themes have been heart wrenching: “My spouse thinks I’m crazy.”  “I can’t wake my friends up.”  “My parents/children won’t speak to me anymore.”  “No one respects my opinion about what’s going on in the world.”  And the list goes on.   I’ve read thousands of comments like these and have left a few of my own regarding many of the same types of frustrations in my own life.  These situations have left us exasperated.  Heartbroken.  Lonely.  Full of despair and hopelessness. 

Very early in the morning before the sun comes up, I walk a couple of miles.  It’s usually dark.  Quiet.  “Mostly peaceful”.  It’s my thinking time.  Because I haven’t had time to be affected by the worries of the day, my mind works a bit better then later in the day and I find myself reflecting on almost everything that really matters.  I’ll hear the peep of a bird hiding in a tree somewhere.  Crickets are usually filling the air with a cacophonic symphony.  A frog or toad may be croaking a bit.   I spot what we’ve always called “nighthawks” quietly swooping around street lights to devour the insects that are drawn there.  I feel free.  I feel uninhibited.  I feel hopeful. 

Today I was reflecting on the world and the millions of people who are walking in some kind of darkness.  Maybe darkness of their own making.  Maybe darkness of what I call “voluntary ignorance”.  Maybe darkness of brainwashing.  And, it could be the darkness of a world that seems to be without hope.  Regardless of what type of “darkness” people may be in, I realized that I can do absolutely nothing about it.  I can’t preach to them and pull them out of their slumber.  I can’t bribe them into changing their stance on important issues. I can’t send them links to articles and videos because they won’t read or view them anyway. I can’t do anything but watch as they destroy themselves.  And, even then, what I consider destruction might be success in their eyes.  There’s literally nothing I can do.  It’s all upside down to me. But, to them, they think they are living a normal life!

About that time, surprisingly, I heard a still small voice.  Was it God?  Was it stories from my childhood popping into my mind for no reason?  Was it just some other “scientifically explained away” thing where my brain is firing synapses in some particular way?  I don’t know or care.  What did the voice say, you ask?  The voice said, “Keep building the ark!”

I got chills.  You know, those chills you get when you have an epiphany that works for you?  Those chills that say, “this is just for you”.  Those are the kinds of revelations I really like because they seem personal.  The kinds of brain popping lightbulbs that may not change the world but, as I always say, change *your/my* world.    So, I began to ponder this chilling epiphany and what it means for me and, quite possibly, for you as well.

Because of the exclamation, “Keep building the ark!” I felt I had to question what that meant.  What does it mean to just keep building an ark?  I don’t have any lumber.  I don’t see signs of a flood on the horizon (not a flood comprised of water anyway).  I certainly don’t see animals arriving at my door two by two. Ha!   No, what I think this meant for me is keep pressing on and doing what I believe is right no matter what. 

Ancient societies of all religious persuasions have stories about a great flood that destroyed the world.  It’s fascinating stuff actually.  But, in my case, I believe I was being given the example of Noah from the Holy Bible, so that’s the example I’m using here.  The Bible doesn’t mention what Noah went through while he and his sons built the ark, but we can certainly imagine can’t we?  The world was in turmoil.  Lawlessness was running rampant.  Morality seemed to be nowhere to be found. People were stubborn and ignorant (this all sounds too familiar).  The list goes on.  We can imagine that Noah was mocked and ridiculed.  I can hear the people of that time telling Noah he was insane and that he should just join with them.  Eat, drink and be merry!  Times are good.  We have everything we need.  There’s nothing to fear.  If the phrase “conspiracy theorist” was around back then, I’ll bet it was being used as the people pointed their fingers and laughed at Noah and his family of kooks.  I have a feeling that he and his family lost friends who didn’t want to be seen with them anymore.  I’m sure there were those who told him he was a lunatic.  Crazy.  Ignorant.  If there would have been experimental “vaccines” back then, I can imagine Noah saying no to those as well and being laughed at for trusting his God and his own body. In fact, everything we’ve been going through right now, I can imagine him going through.

What did Noah do?  He kept building the ark believing he was doing the right thing.

If the flood would have never happened, the only thing Noah would have lost would have been some days of extremely hard labor and materials used building the ship.  He would have learned who his true friends were.  He would have been able to carry on with life, possibly having learned a lesson or two.  But, I don’t think he would have regretted building the ark.  Because he believed he was doing the right thing and didn’t care what anyone thought. 

We need to keep building our arks!  In other words, we need to stand firm on what we know in our guts to be right.   We can’t question our discernment and join with those who are destroying themselves even if it’s our friends, family, spouses, or lovers.  We see the storm coming.  If the storm never comes and we’ve stood firm on what we believe is right, what have we lost?  *Nothing*!   Just like Noah (if the flood hadn’t happened) we now know who our true friends are.  The ones that matter.  The ones that will help us move if we have to.  We now know which family members can be trusted (yes, sadly, just because someone is family doesn’t mean they are necessarily good people).  We now know people around us who are reasonable.  We now know people who respect us even though they may not agree with us.  You see, we’ve lost a lot, but we’ve gained more than we would have if we hadn’t gone through these times of testing. 

I know this isn’t written in the same style many of you who read my posts have become accustomed to, but I urge you to take a minute and think about your own ark.  Did you start gardening because you just had that “feeling” that things aren’t right?  Did you find your spirituality again after years of ignoring it? Did you pay off some credit cards to get out of debt?  Did you sell something that was keeping you enslaved to big banks (essentially the government)?  Did you rip your kids out of evil public indoctrination camps that pose as “schools”?   Did you break ties with a group of people who were only serving to drag you down and keep you hopeless?  Did you say no to something that you thought you’d never have the courage to say no to in your life?  Have you been laughed at and ridiculed for doing anything that goes against the “narrative” because something just hasn’t felt right to you?  Whatever you’ve done, keep doing it.  Keep following your gut.  You’ve been building your ark! Yes, we get bummed out over what we perceive as loss, and we forget to remember what we’ve gained!

I hope this all made sense to my readers.  I appreciate all of you more than you’ll even know.  It means a lot to me to have you here.  Now go… and keep building your arks!