Happy New Year everyone! I do
hope each of you have had a wonderful holiday season.
I have a question for you.
What would you think about people in a retail store who were trying on new coats and were looking for a
full-length mirror? Finding one, they didn’t like what they saw and began to say
very loudly, “What’s wrong with this mirror? You’d think in a store like this
they’d have decent mirrors! Harrumphh!”
That’s exactly what AA teaches
me not
to do when I meet people that irritate or anger me. Learning the tools of the 4th/5th
Step and the 10th Step, I have learned through much trial and error
to first ask what is going on in me that is triggering this
resentment/irritation/anger. How am I contributing to these non-serene
reactions? A Course in Miracles (ACIM) teaches the same concepts in a different
way. “When you meet anyone, remember it
is a holy encounter. As you see him, you will see yourself. As you treat him,
you will treat yourself. As you think of him, you will think of yourself. Never
forget this, for in him you will find yourself or lose yourself.” Other
people and how I respond/react to them is seeing myself in a mirror. Depending
on whether or not I blame the mirror will determine how I either find or lose
myself.
But over and over I find myself
still blaming the mirror and the store management for my upset. It is always an inside job. To stop blaming the mirror takes work on my
part. Introspection on my part. “Mind training,” as ACIM calls it. However,
if I do that, just a little, and ask the Holy Spirit to help me find another
way of perceiving the situation/person/event He will always do so. However, I
must refuse to listen to the louder, egoic voices in my head (what I call “my
shitty committee”) and concentrate on hearing the quiet whispers of God.
Work.
Discipline.
Practice.
Mind Training.
If I can work and practice a
little more in disciplining my mind, my thoughts, my speech, and my writings,
then perhaps I will be allowing my light to shine a little brighter in 2013
than I did in 2012. Perhaps you can, too.
It is such a shame that fear
mongering and defining those that have a different political perspective as
“evil” seems to have become such an integral part of our political process. So,
I do hope that 2013 brings the beginnings of the new era, as the Mayans
predicted – the beginnings of an Age of Cooperation rather than Competition,
Inclusion rather than Exclusion, Acceptance and Tolerance rather than
Self-Righteous Arrogance, the Power of Love rather than the Love of Power.
In light of the terrible carnage
that happened at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, I think a good
beginning for cooperation would be enacting some legislation about gun safety
and addressing our societal culture of violence. It’s the basis for so many of
our children’s “toys” and seems to be the method of choice for resolving any
conflict. Violence breeds violence; justice breeds peace.
If we can work and practice a
little more in disciplining our minds and speech, then maybe we will be
allowing our collective light to shine a little brighter in 2013. Perhaps that
will encourage the new era we are entering. A better world for us all.
Although these messages are
mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this
message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual
journey.
Don
#5 December, 2012
Copyright, 2012