This is the start of a new year, and all over the world things are in transition and change. It is more important than ever before in our history for us as individuals and as a species to be awake and aware of what we are holding in thought and what we are knowingly or unknowingly believing, because the energy in consciousness is what is shaping our world.

In the novel by Joyce Cary "The Horses Mouth" the main character Gully Jimson is a crusty old curmudgeon, an artist, who has just gotten out of jail. He is a scalawag, and pursues various schemes involving an old girlfriend, the artist's model in his youth, and his dream of making his greatest work: a huge painting the size of a cathedral wall. Gully gets into many troublesome and comical situations, but beneath the storyline there is a very imperfect yet somehow lovable human being. He is a clever rascal who slips over the borders of honesty often, pursuing grand schemes that seem outrageously improbable of success. Gully Jimson is like the darkhorse nag in the last race of the day; on an intuitive hunch we bet our two dollars on him, earnestly hoping that somehow against all odds, he will win.

Gully has an unusual concept of God. We can't tell for sure exactly what he believes, except that he does believe in God, whom he refers to a few times as The Horse. When he receives a great inspiration, he says “I got it straight from the Horse.” And he believes that his most impossible hopes and endeavors are possible.

The term "darkhorse" comes from the sport of thoroughbred horse-racing. It refers to any unknown horse who has an unremarkable track history and seems unlikely to win, but has a slim chance. Because this horse is assumed to be unlikely to win, most people would not bet on him, so the track “sets the odds” higher. In other words, if the darkhorse wins, the payoff is much bigger than the payoff if the “favorite” wins. (The horse judged most likely to win.)

The legendary racehorse Seabiscuit was the quintessential darkhorse. Nobody would have picked him as a winner by looks or personality or by his past history. And yet, with the care and patience of the few people who believed in him, he became the symbol of hope and success for a discouraged and depressed nation suffering through a World War. We desperately needed something to beleive in, a hero for the common man.

Seabiscuit beat the odds. He proved a truth that everyone in the world needed to see lived-out, in the flesh: that anything is possible if you have faith. Did the horse have faith? I think so. There was probably never any consideration of doubt for Seabiscuit. What was missing for the horse was motivation – in this case a caring human being, to give him a reason to try. A reason to do what he had never done before but he was gifted and able to do.

The story of Gully Jimson touched my heart in a very odd way. He was not a hero, and unlike Seabiscuit, Gully didn’t achieve great fame or success. He was, as Jesus said "one of the least of these, our brothers." He was neither handsome nor courageous, and not always honest, but he had a heroically irrepressible old-coot spirit.

Seabiscuit with his funny name, his ungainly and less-than-beautiful body, and his slightly lop-sided gangling gait, somehow possessed the heart and courage and determination of a champion, to come from behind and win, again and again.

I see you in this. Do you see it? Maybe nobody knows who you are – but that doesn't determine who you are, or who you will become. How you look doesn't determine who you are or what you are capable of. This is not only a fact; it's a truth. When you make a soul-deep decision, set your intention and commit to it – in that moment the whole of life/God/Universal Consciousness shifts into unseen action to assist and enable you. This is a universal truth: what we believe, we receive. The only hard part is believing, especially when it’s “against the odds.”

Practice believing. All athletes whether animal or human know that exercise increases strength. Try exercising your faith. Expect to find a parking place easily and conveniently. Expect accidental events to hold some blessing for you, and look for it. Discipline yourself to Believe, even when there are setbacks -- and especially then -- that your idea or your endeavor will prosper and bear fruit. Gradually, but noticeably, more "luck" shows up. That's because there is no such thing as luck. You are simply manifesting things and events you want, through your beliefs.

Whether your goal, your dream, is to do something for yourself or to do something for the world, what determines the outcome of your endeavor is not the way you look, or what you have been or done in the past. What determines the outcome of your endeavor is the size of your faith. If a powerful desire is there, and you are able to believe you can ...
you will.