Forgiveness is a necessity for a joy-filled life. When you choose not to forgive, the whole body contracts. Take a moment and think of someone you have a grievance with. Feel it in your body. Is it truly worth it? You’re not hurting them by holding onto it—you're hurting yourself and those you love who take in what you are saying about another.
About five days ago, I started the exercise that I suggested last week. I only made it two days. The other three days, I had a complaint from the moment I woke up. So here I am, back at day one. Today I want to share some thoughts of what I have experienced. Maybe it will help you.
In my younger years I knew something wasn’t right. I intuitively knew there had to be more to life than what I was experiencing. That caused frustration, despair, and, finally, depression. One of the reasons I was so frustrated was that I could not understand why I wanted more, why I was hungry for more. I had a wonderful husband, three great children, a great house, and no worries for money. Why wasn’t I content? I could not figure it out.
I am developing my personal plan to save the world. From everything I have learned, I was doing it backwards for many years. I always tried to show others what they should do, but I have learned all I need to do is discover who I truly am, then honor and live it.
In Robert Schuller’s Book, The Be Happy Attitudes, he says, “The word meek is not a good translation in terms of modern usage; it meant something totally different 400 years ago in old England, when the King James translation was done, than it does today. A better modern translation of the verse might be “Blessed are the mighty, the emotionally stable, the educable, the kindhearted, for they shall inherit the earth.” This is the person who will be successful and “inherit the earth.” M-mighty, E-emotionally stable, E-educable, K-kind.
Someone said to me, "Be careful what you pray for; it just might happen." Well, I found out how true that statement is on my 60th birthday. As I was going to bed the night before my birthday, I said a quick prayer: Show me my ego. I woke up the next day, and from the minute I woke up I got to hear Screaming Mimi. As I mentioned in Sunday's post about the second beatitude, Screaming Mimi is what I named my ego.
Time for the second ‘happy attitude.' "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Bible Matthew 5:4) In Aramaic, mourning could mean "sorrow, grief, pain or regret." It could also mean "purging or releasing." When we are letting go of the ego, it is painful.
I have been told by many of my teachers, "Attention brings awareness to the moment." That is exactly what happened to me. Sitting in quiet, my attention became totally about the bug bite, yet playing pickle ball I did not even know I had a bite till the game was over because my attention was on the game.
Live from Spirit; that is what we are part of, everyone and everything. Spirit is in you and me, in the rock and tree. EVERYTHING. Spirit is the same in all. And Spirit is free. IT IS FREE. You don’t buy Spirit or earn Spirit; it is embedded in everything. Spirit is expansive and has no boundaries. You do not need permission from structure or hierarchies to obtain it. Structure was not created by God but by us.
I was sent this video the other day and wanted to share it with all of you. I found it so real, I found myself crying, actually sobbing . I cannot put into words why this touched me in the depths of my being. These wonderful Ukrainian musicians singing praise while living the horrors of war around them. There is nothing I can say that could make this more power-filled than it is. Take some time and let it seep into your being.
Theresa Contaxis 