Eyes
of Truth
“Help
me see this brother [sister] through the eyes of truth and not the eyes of
judgement.”
Kenneth
Wapnick
This is
such a simple prayer, but I can’t think of a more pertinent one for our time.
If each of us could adopt a position of non-judgement—myself included—our world
would be a far different place. One of the downsides, and there are many, of
being in this time and place is that we are rewarded for being just the
opposite. We are encouraged to think and act as adversaries. It feels like living
in mock court 24/7. Everyone must make their case with as much hyperbole as
possible. The point of that is to prevent exactly what Kenneth Wapnick prays
for in the quote above: seeing each other through the eyes of truth. There is
so much energy in anger and accusation, in yelling insults and feeling righteous
indignation, that we don’t want to give it up. Being calm and clear-headed enough
to see through the eyes of truth takes the wind out of our sails. Admitting
that we may be wrong about a lot of things feels powerless and flat by
comparison.
As much
as we like being pumped up with egotistical certainty, we know in our deepest
heart that we are part of the problem. We bond by stoking the fires of division
in one another. It’s embarrassing to know this about yourself, but it is only
one of the many shadowy human characteristics that arise during times of change.
To be sure, we pair it with being kind—with taking food to friends, and calling
one another to check in, and speaking sweetly to the grocery store clerk. It’s
not that we don’t know how to be “nice,” we are simply selective about it. That
will not help us to achieve peace.
Marianne
Williamson says: “You get to decide what energy you choose to download in any
given moment. No one but you gets to decide who you wish to be.” Each of us
could take the time to think through what our end-game is, what our role in
getter there might be, and then monitor our thoughts and actions to see how
close we come to our goal. In other words, we might train ourselves to respond
rather than react. It would take a little extra work but looking through the
eyes of truth and seeing our brothers and sisters without judgement would
benefit ourselves, our communities, and our world. Kenneth Wapnick also tells
us that, “miracles are a shift in perception.” Let’s pray for a miracle,
and then shift our perception.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment