Godspeed: A Fellow Sojourner's Hope for Wholeness

By Ryan Pottle

An open attempt to encounter the spiritual needs as humans beings while pursuing wholeness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543998337

Book preview

www.thegodspeedbook.com

Introduction

(Warning: Do Not Skip. Key Starting Info Here)

Imagine you go to bed one night, and the very next thing you know, you wake up lying in a glowing white pit.

Startled, you sit up and notice that there is nothing but dust as far as the eye can see.

You feel totally normal, but wonder how this can be real.

You look off into the horizon, which is black except for the grand spectacle of stars, and out of the corner of your eye, you see the earth.

You put it all together and realize that you are sitting on the surface of the moon.

Fear sinks in as you discover that you are in open space without a spacesuit.

You wonder how in the world you are still alive, and figure this has to be a dream.

As real as this feels, you tell yourself it is nothing but your imagination.

You should enjoy this brilliant experience.

Standing there, you are left in awe of the earth in all its glory.

The whole world is within eyesight.

Everything you have ever known now stands before you.

You have always wondered what it would be like to see the world like this, and it does not disappoint.

After playing around with the moon’s gravity, you spot something odd in the distance.

You glide closer to check it out.

You’re shocked that sitting there on the surface is a shining piece of advanced technology.

It looks like a giant telescope with a sophisticated computer built into the back.

It is aimed right at the earth.

This is the most complicated piece of technology you have ever seen, and you wonder how it got here.

As you approach the machine, you see an instruction booklet sitting right next to the keyboard.

You grab it and wipe off the dust.

You open the brochure, and you instantly notice that inside are instructions specifically addressed to you.

It says,

Welcome, standing before you is the Gazer. This machine has been recording every aspect of the earth for the last 100 years. The Gazer’s purpose is to observe the earth and all that takes place on it. This machine is equipped with instrumentation that gives accurate probabilities for the future of the planet — from tracking the rise of global temperature, to the coming extinction of certain species, to the direction of the world economy.

With the Gazer, you also have the ability to go back to any event in its database. Much like what you would see in a movie, you can watch any event right before your eyes with the ability to fast forward, pause, or rewind. With Gazer, you can observe from any perspective, whether it is through a fly on the wall or actually through another person’s eyes.

The real power of this machine lies in its ability to concentrate on any human life. With Gazer, you can be anyone at any moment. You can experience what the person is experiencing, just like it was happening to you. You do not have any control to change anything, but you have the power to experience every sense of the moment. You can connect to any person in the most intimate way possible.

You have been selected to use Gazer, but know this – once you turn the machine on, you will have only 60 minutes until you return to earth. This is an opportunity to see the world with fresh eyes. Not many are given this chance. Search yourself for what you feel you need to see. Gazer is at your disposal, and the choice you make is yours alone. Choose wisely.

As you take in what you just read, you think about the choice you might make.

Would you go back to the most memorable times in your life?

Would you dive into the life of your parents?

Which icon would you want to know more about?

Would you watch the battles of war over the last century?

Do you use the machine’s instruments to tell you where it believes humanity is headed?

This is a tough choice, but nevertheless, a decision that would tell us much about ourselves.

Imagine what you could learn with a machine like this.

You can watch your life with all its joys and hardships.

You could go back to experience the monumental events.

You could see the sacrifices your parents made for you.

You can understand why someone may have treated you poorly.

You could see the effects of your actions on others.

You could see where you escaped a tragic decision.

The possibilities are endless within those 60 minutes.

You also can see any human life in full detail.

You could watch Michael Jordan play hoops as a kid or see Einstein working on his theory of relativity.

You could get inside the mind of your greatest hero.

You could also go a little deeper into your world and see the life of a parent or friend that may have wounded you.

You can see what shaped other people to be who they are.

Imagine the peace that could come if you learned to experience what other people have been through.

What if you decided to peer into the predicted future?

Wouldn’t it be frightening to see what it says?

Would it be filled with good or bad news?

What would it say about climate change?

What will we learn about the future of the global economy?

What problems are we on course to figure out?

What challenges will get the best of us?

It could be overwhelming to see where we are heading as a species on our precious planet.

The critical part of this illustration is that the computer can connect us with the reality of the world as well as the people in it.

We can see an unbiased perspective.

There are no stories that are downplayed or exaggerated.

No need for someone to tell you about an experience.

You know what actually has happened.

You are having an encounter with truth.

But, we don’t need the Gazer to connect us with the reality of the world.

One of the most incredible aspects of humanity is our ingenuity.

There seems to be no limit to the heights we can reach.

Just look at our record so far.

We were able to land on the moon with the computing power of a pocket calculator.

We were able to dive into the depths of our genetic makeup to complete a map of the human genome.

We have learned to master agriculture to provide an endless variety of food to feed the billions.

Every day, we are pushing the limits of what we thought was possible.

There’s so much we have done, and so much more we can do.

* * *

Imagine if there was a way to connect to the truth like this.

It would, no doubt, change the world.

If we, all of us, could get in touch with reality, we would be better in just about every way.

It would force us to focus on what matters — from the substantial issues with our planet to the most obscure desires of our hearts.

An encounter with truth is something that should be sought because of its awesome power.

This book is a journey to encounter truth, and it is why I thought Godspeed would be a fitting title.

The word godspeed is defined as an expression of good wishes and success to a person starting a journey.

I cannot think of a better word to express my feelings as one reads this book.

Godspeed is a word that is spoken to adventurers and pioneers embarking on a new frontier.

I don’t know if what I am writing about is necessarily a new frontier, but it very well could be for you.

My goal is to articulate a journey that has developed through anguish and personal triumph.

My own view that I believe the world needs today.

In a world that changes relentlessly every day, this message is a call to transform the way we are living.

As my kids grow up, I cannot help but worry about their future.

This is my attempt to dive into the complex arena of truth.

The message is about truth — or what reality is and what matters in this world.

We will wrestle with existential questions like, What is holding everything together?

How did we get here?

Why are we here?

How can we believe in something?

These questions have been with us since the dawn of humanity, yet we all continue to have many different answers.

And, it is our answers that have divided us ever since.

I seek to examine these existential questions to gain a unifying perspective.

A perspective that I believe will free us from the fear that chains itself to them because it can be frightening to ask the so-called big questions in life.

But, I think the real terror comes when we no longer wrestle with these issues.

Whether we have answers to these questions or throw our hands up in the air, it is these issues that set us on a course through the mystery of life.

As our life begins, we are naturally testing to see how the world works.

We learn how to use our bodies.

We learn that we need food.

We learn that we have a mom and a dad.

We are continually growing, testing, and seeking how this world works.

At this time, Life’s truth is as fundamental as what we need to survive.

As we mature, the complexity of truth grows.

Reality becomes much harder to figure out.

We learn to rely on our family and our community to fill the holes in our truth.

We begin to receive truth on faith.

We cannot test everything ourselves anymore; therefore, we have to trust a truth more significant than ourselves.

We find comfort in what our parents teach us.

We also learn that we cannot trust everyone, and certain truth can be fraudulent, so we build a truth filter.

This filter is based on our culture and the trusted people that surround our lives.

Everyone’s filter is different because, as we all know, not one person sees the world completely the same.

Depending on which part of the world you grow up in, you will see the world differently.

Depending on how you were raised as a child, you see the world differently.

Depending on your view of God and spirituality, you see the world differently.

We each have our criteria for accepting truth.

Some only need a few aspects and others a never-ending checklist for truth.

Many different factors make up how our truth filter works and what its purpose is.

This truth filter is naturally built to serve a purpose.

Our truth filter is our compass.

The personally created guide that will lead us to the deepest desires of our hearts.

Deep down, we want to know what matters and what will fulfill us.

We want to connect to the things of this world that will help us thrive.

Our compass becomes calibrated to point us towards something.

A vital component of a successful life is learning to realize where our compass is leading us.

It may be God.

It may be happiness.

It may be love.

I believe that only when our compass is pointing us toward the real, nourishing things in life, that we will ever taste fulfillment.

The goal of this book is to seek out what fills our needs and filter out the things that try to take its place.

We need to learn to weed out the lies that we have come to believe.

I believe a majority of us have our search for truth backward.

We choose to allow ourselves to live in ignorance in areas that we should seek to understand and have an unwavering commitment in areas that we are never going to know for sure.

Our truth filter is out of whack and needs to be reexamined to help us see what we are really after.

If we can open our hearts and minds on truth, it will revolutionize the planet.

It will transform you.

One thing that connects us all is that we are all a work-inprogress.

We get stuck.

We fail.

We get lost.

Life is a journey to figure out these things.

Not one of us has it all figured out.

I know I don’t.

I’m just asking us to admit it and take another look at the person in the mirror.

The change we seek in the world will only ever come through that familiar face.

I want to help you encounter your whole person.

The person that finally conquered that addiction.

The one that got her body healthy.

The one that isn’t so angry.

The one that isn’t controlled by what other people think.

The one that isn’t driven by greed.

The one that has risen above the weights of the world that hold you down.

Imagine how that would feel.

I am talking about the best version of yourself – the one operating on all cylinders, the one that your family needs, the one that loves yourself, the one that provides a unique gift to the world.

Here is a truth I have encountered: Deep down, we all want wholeness.

We just get caught up in many inadequate ways of achieving it, and settle for something that doesn’t make us whole.

We will look at our beliefs and why we believe them.

We will look into the way our minds have been wired and challenge if we are running at our optimum level.

We will see where we may have settled for truth and where we have decided to live in ignorance.

We need to grow continuously, and we have to see if anything is stunting that growth.

This is not an attack on anyone’s faith.

I am not trying to rid the world of religion or get anybody to leave their faith.

The faith one has is an essential piece of who one is.

You will see how my faith has shaped me.

But, I’d like us all to accept the fact that there are faiths out there different from our own.

Many people believe something very different from what we believe.

They have legitimate reasons for doing so.

We need to look at why.

The thought experiment about The Gazer is a flight of fancy.

It shows that truth is possible.

Only, we don’t need to imagine a way to find the truth.

This book is a journey into the pursuit of wholeness as we encounter truth.

I cannot think of a more personal and challenging journey.

It will force us to look at ourselves in an intimate way that could be the most challenging thing we will do in our lifetimes.

It also creates the opportunity for the biggest reward.

To begin, you will learn about my story.

I will review some of the most significant accomplishments and challenges of my life, and how I arrived at where I am at today.

I believe it is crucial to know who is talking to you.

As you learn my story, I hope that you will see that I do not have it all figured out.

I, too, am a pioneer on this journey, and I can tell you that it is only out of gratitude that I am even writing about this endeavor.

I wish you