Dear friends,
Who will you forgive today? There is always someone who is in line to be released from our choke hold, so to speak. Personally I have had to let go of those who project their woundedness onto me. It happens to every spiritual teacher or leader of any kind. Healthy people do not do that. They may have ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism, but they do not demonize you to make a point. The truth is, as Laura Huxley wrote, ‘You are not the Target.” That is the title of her book, written long ago but still very on point. We need to remind ourselves of that simple truth.
Most people are walking around almost completely consumed by their own internal conflicts. It is why there is so much road rage, anger and abuse in our world. Until humans wake up to their true origins, their intact wholeness, they will continue to act like wounded animals. That is why modern spirituality is so centered on helping us to remember who we are. It is a self-identity crisis that humanity is facing. It comes from subtle, and not so subtle, indoctrination into the superstitions and dogmas of religion that taught us to fear God and to think little of ourselves. We are suffering from a giant identity problem and the wound is leading.
We can start our own healing by forgiving those who have thrown shade on us because of their own pain. We can see them as fellow travelers on a long and twisted path to self-realization. They are not the enemy. They are our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, our friends and co-workers. They are neighbors or far way. They are people we have never met who we see on the news. No one is out to get us. Everyone is fighting their own demons. Forgive them and know the truth about them. That is compassion. That is kindness. That is the spiritual way.
Stay tuned in,
Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfield.com
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