Charles Fillmore was a thinker ahead of his time, especially in the area of what would come to be called "self-fulfilling prophecy" in modern educational theory--the idea that students would perform up to or down to their teacher's expectations. Unity students are quick to affirm: Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind. Those thoughts and expectations in which we vest our attention and energy will bear fruit, so dwelling upon that which we do not want is self-destructive behavior at best.
Leonard Pitts' column in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution put an interesting spin on this concept. He wrote, in part, that because of the dominance of black athletes in professional sports, potential white athletes in this country were less likely to even try out for the teams. Yet international athletes have no such bias.
"They grew up in places where they didn't get the memo that white men can't jump and grew up unburdened by their supposed athletic impotence.
"But success in any field is not some birthright of skin color, but rather, a function of ...what you deem possible."
It is all too easy to sell ourselves short if we buy into the expectations of others, including teachers, family and peers. Transformational living requires that we set aside negative self-talk anchored in past failure or perceived limitations. Affirming the vision we hold for ourselves is a commitment toward fulfilling God's purpose in our lives. One pundit paraphrased a familiar quote:
"I'll see it when I believe it!"
The first and most important question I can ask myself is: What do I really want my life to look like and how would that feel? The second is, of course: What am I willing to do to grow from here to there? God isn't going to wave a magic wand to make me feel better. It's totally up to me to take the first step, opening out a way for God to express through me.
Leonard Pitts concluded his column with this question:
"What if you expected to succeed?"
Rev. Claudia Naylor
