Personal Meditations no. 176

"You're not going to get healthy concerning yourself about what other folks are doing. You only get healthy by concern for what you are doing."

We have a lot of control issues circulating the house the past few weeks. I have wrestled with control of myself and others for a lot of my life and I do not ever foresee that struggle ending. I see it getting better, however, I never foresee that it will not be a struggle. And my oldest and youngest pairs are having problems with exerting control over each other. I know it comes from a place of love and compassion BUT it is ultimately still a control issue. It is about making everything about you. And it is selfish.

Now do not get me wrong, we all need to be selfish. We all need to be aware of what we need in order to live an abundant life. BUT being selfish about what you personally need to thrive is different than projecting your control on others in order to feel better. And a lot of us want to control how other people act or talk in order to make ourselves feel better about the situation. Sure, we might want the other party to do things better, to live life better, to make better choices, however, that control ultimately is all about us.

It’s just like the serenity prayer. We need to accept the things we cannot change and those quite often outnumber the things we can change. And we often have plenty of courage to want to change the problems and situations and behaviors of others rather than working on what we can change in ourselves. We might logically know the difference BUT the wisdom that comes from the Almighty is an emotional wisdom, an infinite wisdom that will supercede our emotional and irrational thoughts. We need wisdom to know what we can work about changing and the wisdom to let go of control. Because we are in control of little and we are fallible. But God is not.

So, we are in a crisis of faith around this house when it comes to wisdom. My knowledge and wisdom cannot be given to my children. My lessons of control and faith did not float through the air and enter their brains. They have to watch me watch them learn these lessons. Just like our parent above has to watch us fumble around and learn as well. And it does suck and it is messy and it is painful BUT that is the nature of life. I do not get to control very much about life BUT I do get to control how I choose to live that life. I don’t get to make those choices for anyone else.

Maybe we need a lot more serenity in our lives? A lot more of letting go and giving it to someone that can actually work on those things? A lot more letting folks see our beliefs in action rather than forcing our beliefs on others? A lot more walking the walk than simply talking the talk? A lot more infinite wisdom than temporal knowledge? I hope they find that serenity and I hope you find that serenity as well.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin

Be the Change no. 39

“Saying you mirror your actions on the way another person treats you is to give others power over your actions. Which is to say you are enslaved to the actions of others. Why not be free?”

Be the Change.

We are still talking about this idea because it needs to be retaught because men are saying hurtful things and other men are slapping them, or worse, over their words. This society has a problem in justifying violence and it is easy to see why that is so. We are surrounded by violence despite being taught that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. We are a society of victims that are made to believe our victimhood gives us power. We are a society that craves attention for all the reasons. And only you and I can change that fact.

We have to change for the world to be able to change. Politics is downstream of culture. Culture only changes through choice. And choice only rests within the control of the individual. We have to choose humanity. We have to choose peace. We have to choose compassion. We have to choose a better way. And we are not going to find it looking to the current folks in elevated states of worship. We aren’t going to find that better way following the same false prophets. We aren’t going to find that better way by clinging to the same systems that created this situation.

We need to change our mind to change our future. And we need that mind to focus on something greater than us. Because we will always be fallible. We will always fall short. We will always disappoint. And that is the problem with the temporal. That is the problem with looking to one another for leaders. We have to look inside ourselves and become the leader that transcends this time, this situation, this place. We aren’t going to get there through social media, through television media, through political systems, through anything that is made of man and temporal. We just can’t get there that way. It is impossible to rely on celebrity, on officials, on bureaucrats, on powers, on systems, to liberate us and make us change.

We have to choose the better way. There is no better way than aligning yourself with the only thing that can bring you change. The thing inside each of us that yearns for something more. The thing inside us that is not temporal BUT infinite. The thing inside us that knows our path and can get us there. It’s been said for countless years about the failings of each society throughout time. We need the Almighty. And not our entire society BUT individually. Because that is an individual choice that will transform each of us. It is not a group activity. It is an individual commitment to being in alignment with what the Almighty wants for our lives.

And as I have said before, God does not want you to suck at living. God is really all about you becoming the best version of you. The version that is compassionate to folks that act out violently at words and the version that is compassionate in your words to others. The version that is in alignment with living a life more abundantly. The version of you that wants to change because our change is transitory, temporal, fallible BUT the change from the Almighty is eternal, infinite, perfect. You don;t have to go searching for that change. You can find that change today.

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you are looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #BeTheChange