I AM THE WELL 3

In the midst of all the election turmoil I felt it would be very remiss of me not to address some of the hurt, pain and confusion that might be going on with some of us.

Two thoughts that have been with me continually: one is there are never any winners if we think there are losers, and the other second is much more simple and that is HEALING. And I believe those two principles would apply no matter what the results of elections might have been.

Our nation is so divided and there has been an undercurrent of fear and anger and prejudice that has been exposed that certainly needs our loving attention. This destructive undercurrent was not recently created, it has been here for quite some time, but today it has been brought to consciousness and whenever something is brought to consciousness it is there to be healed. There is a simple truth here, that I cannot heal what I am not aware of. 

Again it is very easy to think of those things as being “out there” someplace having to do with “those people” out there someplace and yet we are told when we perceive anger, fear, prejudice, separateness, whatever name we might give that negativity, that in reality it is coming from inside of us. Now when I say “us” I am not speaking of the personal you necessarily, although that is part of it. We do exist as individuals, but we also exist as part of a society and a culture from which many of these patterns of thought arise and I am a part of that.

I know it is difficult to believe that if there were no fear or prejudice inside of us then we would never see it. I find that quite astounding and difficult to grasp and yet there is part of me that resonates with the truth of that. For instance the moment I am looking into a baby’s eyes and become lost in that vision—at that split second of time there is nothing else absolutely nothing else. If I am caught up in a moment of joyfulness in dance or music or being in nature at that moment of ecstasy there is nothing else (no fear, no judgment, no separation).

Let us turn that around a bit, when I am wrapped up thoughts of separateness judgment, negativity—at that moment that is all there is and my ego greedily holds onto those moments as proof that is right. I remember seeing a bumper sticker years ago that read “If you are not outraged you are not paying attention,” and at the moment I was outraged about something and when I read that I said “Yes! that's true.”  It was not until much later on that I was able to ask the question—-“What is my outrage accomplishing?” and, of course, I had no answer to that question.

One of the choices that we have is either to be a victim of circumstance or to be positively involved in the transformations we wish to manifest. It would be foolish of me to try and deny the very real feelings that people have, and I do not pretend that they will simply go away. Many of us need to grieve. I would suggest, however, that at least some of our grief has to do with putting our faith into someone or something other than God other than the Source. We have a preconceived plan and blueprint in our minds of how God can work best, and when that blueprint does not manifest the way we think it should we cannot comprehend how God could possibly work through these other circumstances that have been created. And so one of the questions I need to explore is “When has God ever stopped working? When has love ever stop working?” So I would suggest if you need to protest then protest; if you need to march and carry signs and write letters—Do it,  but know that the changes you desire will primarily manifest through love and through prayer and through guided action that comes from that love and that prayer.

There might not seem to be much that I can do in the material world but I can hold the door open. I can gently smile and bow to the Muslim lady in the grocery store. I can realize that when my hatred and outrage are triggered, that this is my ego's response to this situation that it has no idea how to handle. I can realize at the same time that my heart and my soul do know how to handle this.

 Emily Cadie years ago, that wonderful teacher, shares this continuing prayer “God I do not know the answer; You do; show me,” or is one of my teachers likes to say “God knows what I do not know,” and so I can either ask for guidance or remain hurt and angry. As I mentioned many times before I do not expect my feelings to change overnight but since my feelings are fed by my thoughts and my actions here again is where I can make conscious choice.

Father mother God I pray that my outrage, my hurt, my anger, my grief will heal so that I might do your will not mine. I pray that our nation will heal. I release into your hands all judgment and pray that my heart might be open to love, peace, and joy. Let me know that I can experience these things, these attributes of your divine presence, that I can experience these even in my sadness, even in my grief because with you nothing is impossible. Thank you, God. Amen