Spot the Difference

Spot the Difference
by S Edwards

Growing up around three sets of twins, my cousins would often confuse me a lot by taking on each others identity.

Seeing double vision, an identical replica of two faces, I have often wondered if this was not Gods message, speaking to me even then. Which one was the genuine one, could I spot the difference? Could I take its joke?

These days, things are not too bad. As they grow, twins display more distinctive characteristics that set them apart. These days I can tell a bit more about which twin I'm talking to.

Double vision is always there, there is a counterfeit identity appearing in every facet of life. What's wrong wants to confuse you and make you think it is more genuine. Like a photocopy, you have to look closely, to spot the difference. Sometimes you see it quickly, sometimes you dont..

A counterfeit image of something that can seem quite wonderful at first glance, can in reality be sometimes extremely ugly. All designed to stop you seeing and hearing a certain message. Always designed to make you look wrong.

And then sometimes you are never quite prepared for the beauty you are about to meet. The genuine thing. Wonderment tends to fall quite unexpectedly. And so it was, a long time ago now, when I turned a bend in the road and pulled up to witness the magnificence of Crater Lake. Standing on the rim, and taking in the blueness and magnificence of its size, I realized that America truly does have some of the biggest and best scenery in the world, and in the presence of this most beautiful lake, silence descended upon me. Its dominance tended to render and order me quiet. I noticed around me, that people spoke in a quieter tone. There was amazement in the air, that a snapshot can never display. I imagine that The Grand Canyon, and other such wonders have the same silencing effect.

But beauty aside, there is always that voice that wants to compete. Its beauty wants to be heard above all else. It wants to confuse. A loud voice of another extolling the magnificence of the view, somehow tended to have a pulling effect that cut through the message only silence can convey. The sound of it, breaks and distracts you from a much deeper message.

Later, caught up in my own peaceful haven, away from the crowds that day, the realization I would have to leave this place, weighed a little heavy in my heart. I did not want to leave. And so, as the sun went down, it fortunately came to me in its parting shot, in an instant of a second, when not confused in image, that even this lake was subject to something much much bigger, and so much more beautiful, And, if this was the beauty that could be with you always, then this would be the place I would now look for and want to be. Something more permanent had to be with me wherever I went. I could not stay and reside in the beauty of nature alone. There was a difference.

As years have passed this place of clarity has not at all been easy. Quite the opposite. The counterfeit image from the world of what reality is and who God actually is, also constantly tries to displace us to the deeper and truer meaning of His message. It is constantly there to confuse. It works through both people and places. Always presenting a double image, more often than not, it is practically identical to the real thing.

Classes in relaxation and stress-free living continually mislead people, in the belief that the outer environment has to comply in order to know peace. That mantras and affirmations can keep you solid inside. Contemplative meditation often focusing on scripture, using words, and not spirit to enforce its dominion also abound. All of it, a counterfeit replica of what we know is somehow right, but always very wrong. A counterfeit.

People constantly control others in order to keep their own peace, and their own sense of identity intact. Situations and places have to live in accordance with our own preconceived perceptions of how things should be, in order for us to retain some inner stability. It is this control that often has others seek a continually escape into a peaceful landscape, or else they begrudgingly conform.

Where is that inner dignity and grace which remains unmoved? Stillness in a storm. Those who sometimes display an outwardly restful and calm exterior, often panic and crumble, when even the smallest of mis-haps occur. All signs, that their counterfeit peace, their other face, does not work. But, how slow are we are getting this message presented to us every day?

Signs of counterfeiters can be seen in everyday life all around us. I have been slow at getting the point? Now there is only one way to spot the difference. Be Still and Know..