“God can make greatness from a great mess.” ~ Joel Osteen

Happy Sunday!

Earlier this week I asked my guides the question – “How do I accept others where they are at?”
This has been a problem for me as I am aware of how people create their own struggles by holding onto pain, making judgements about others, and just taking things too personally. I find that recently I am always thinking of the “Four Agreements” that Don Miguel Ruiz brought us in his book of the same name; they are:

– Be impeccable with your word

– Don’t take anything personally

– Don’t make assumptions

– Always do your best

 
And, from energy medicine teachings of Caroline Myss, in “Anatomy of the Spirit“, I can even recognize how some people I know are making themselves ill by the thoughts that they hold on to. I find I get impatient with those around me as they don’t see that they bring their suffering upon themselves.
So I was on the look out for answers to come to me now that I had asked the question. I had the first response within 24 hours. It came from the 5th part of the Toronto lecture on “My Big Toe” by Tom Campbell, found on Youtube. Someone at the lecture asked my specific question and Tom gave great advice.
Tom said that as we are more evolved in our understanding that we have more responsibility; as adults we don’t criticize or demean children for their lack of knowing so we need to treat others with compassion and understand that they are growing in their own time. He said we should provide an environment that is nurturing in which they can grow and understand themselves. We need to accept that they are doing the best they can with what they know and that it is a problem when we bring a sense of superiority to the relationship.
Wow, I felt this really answered my question but, I also kept my eye out for more support for the lesson so that come this Sunday I could bring it all together for myself.
Wednesday my inbox brought me the following wisdom that I knew I must hold onto as coursework in this week’s lesson.

“As man rises above passion, so he begins to know what is love.” ~ Bowl of Saki, February 26, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

To an angelic soul love means glorification

To a jinn soul love means admiration

To a human soul love means affection

To an animal soul love means passion.

“One need not fall in love, one must rise through love. Pour out floods of love, yet keeping your garment of detachment from being wet. … To what does the love of God lead? It leads to that peace and stillness which can be seen in the life of the tree which flowers and bears fruit for others and expects no return. … A person who is able to help others should not hide himself but do his best to come out into the world. ‘Raise up your light high’, it is said. All that is in you should be brought out, and if the conditions hinder you, break through the conditions!”

Of course the lesson is about Love and how we must share it – it’s that tough to give Unconditional Love. And not an easy thing to put out into the world, it is hard enough to draw on and hold when relating to those who are dearest to me. This quote also reminds me of the parable by Jesus that we must not hide our light under a bushel (Luke 11:33-36), when the light comes into our lives we must not hide it.
So now that I am reflecting on the lessons I have more questions.
Do I really need to Love everyone?
How do I Love everyone no matter where they are at?
I am pleased to say that answers to these questions were given to me this morning before I even sat down to work on this lesson. Greatness!
This morning I was reading the twenty-fifth verse of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu; Wayne Dyer interprets this verse as about “Living in Greatness”. I like the Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation that says in the second half:

Tao is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great; The human being is also great.”

These are the four great powers of the universe, and the human being is one of them.

The human being follows the earth. Earth follows heaven. Heaven follows the Tao. Tao follows what is natural.

It is so easy for us to live fearful and think about other humans as bad and dangerous. I know that no infant comes into this world as bad and I tell myself that everyone is good at heart. It is the suffering that this human life puts on us that may cause someone to behave badly. The lesson of the Tao passes even my thoughts, humans are not just good, they are Great! We are part of what is Divine in the universe.
Joel Osteen this morning also spoke on the greatness of humans this morning. He told Bible stories and real life stories of individuals who we would be quick to judge as not having a chance to succeed because of their family situations and up bringing. Joel emphasized that we are not born of our parents but are born of God and come to Earth with great gifts that we can share to show our greatness. We are our own worst enemies when we let what others say, what our circumstances are, or what our ego tells us make us less than what our soul tells us that we are able to become.
So what did I learn this week to answer my question about ‘how do I accept others where they are at?” I learned that I am responsible as an elder to provide a caring environment for their growth. I learned that we all have the same potential for greatness so that I am no better than anyone else. I learned that I need to just offer Love to all without conditions or expectations.
Is this a difficult task? When I make this a question of my heart I find it is not. It just requires that my heart remains open.
Namaste’

“Even after all this time the Sun never says to the Earth ‘you owe me’.

Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky.” ~ Hafiz