Choices
“Your
problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life
you have been issued.”
Anne
Lamott
The Sai Baba said, “Do
not be misled by what you see around you, or be influenced by what
you see. You live in a world which is a playground of illusion, full
of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part
of the world.” We humans are given to illusion. We like to
imagine that we have an out-sized role to play in the great scheme of
things, that our views and opinions are all true, and that we have
profound answers to life's questions. We believe that now is the
most important time in history, that we do not deserve to reap the
consequences of our actions, and that we can continue on our current
path for as long as we like. Illusions are the glue with which we
stick our day-to-day lives together.
If we understood that we
are spiritual beings having a human experience, we would realize that
what truly matters is how we live this lifetime we have been given
and what we learn about ourselves as we go. We have choices—we can
live from the ego-self, which is concerned with such things as looks,
power, status and privilege, or we can live from the soul-self, which
is concerned with openness and spiritual growth. The earth is the
perfect place to work out which of these is most important. It offers
both beauty and abundance, and hardship and poverty of resources. We can
experience both in one lifetime, and we choose how to navigate each
in order to gain either personal power or spiritual
maturity. We can't have both—we must choose. And it's not easy
choice to make.
Most days, we choose
wrong paths—or at least, I do. We align our values with the world's
values; when we succeed, we feel good and when we fail, we feel
bad. This roller-coaster ride is painful, but we keep hanging on
trying to find success. It's kind of like feeding coins into a slot
machine—occasionally there is reward enough to keep us feeding
coins. But we don't have to ride this particular roller-coaster. We
can step off any time we choose. We can live from our hearts, we can
choose to be kind in all circumstances, and we can stand for values
that reflect our eternal souls. It's up to us how we spend this one
odd and precious life.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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