Sidewalk Bends

How do you reconcile the evil in other men and women? Do you judge their acts and their thoughts? Do you succumb to their ways, whether as a need of acceptance or an act of desperation and survival? How do you reconcile your thoughts, your actions and feelings? From every breath we draw the divine and with each exhale we make a choice. Do we share that grace with others, or do we choose to fall from our own graces just to please another?

Perhaps God does not exist to judge us, and perhaps he does not exist to cause us suffering? We do such a good job of it on our own. We punish ourselves each day. We turn our backs and we turn our faces in shame of the things we’ve done, and contemplate doing. At the end of each day, we must look at ourselves and ask, was I the best version of myself today? Did I help others to be the best version of themselves, or did I act selfishly without regard for others? Did I help to bring calm, or did I add to the confusion? Did I bring peace and understanding, or did I stoke the flames of anger and hate?

Do not become the hate you try to extinguish. Do not stir the pot of confusion. Regardless of the God above, bring joy to all those who come into your life.

A teacher is not measured by the number of students under his guidance or the number of devotees who seek his tutelage. He is not measured by how many masters he has guided or how long he has taught. He is not measured by the brilliance of his aura or the number of pages he’s written. He is not measured by the words that spill from his mouth, or the clarity of his visions. He is not a measure of the angels who keep him company or the devils who lay in wait.

A true teacher does not seek to be known but seeks to know. He sees himself in others and wishes only that others should see themselves. A teacher does not take over another’s burdens but helps others to put theirs down. A teacher does not try to convert but allows for choice. A teacher does not force capitulation, but waits with an open door. A teacher does not seek out students, but seeks to learn from they who would call themselves students.

A teacher is a measure of his heart. He is a measure of his love. When his love is unconditional, he is immeasurable.

When dark becomes you, embrace it. Embrace it, not so that you become it, but so that it shall know itself. Love it, not that you should do evil things, but that it shall know the light. Do not condemn it, but rather raise it up. Do this not so that you praise it, but so that it shall know there is another way. Cast it not aside, but rather bring it into the fold. And though it may fight and leave many times over, each time it returns, invite it, not that it shall bear fruit in your heart, but that it shall know home in your heart. Know the top of your hand as you know your palm, for they are one in the same.

Fluffy feathers,
Bright lights,
Dancing sunbeams,
Sparks of life,
Summon them not.

Crackling thunder,
Heavenly tears,
Shaking Mother,
Winds of the East,
Summon them not.

Voices of past,
Prognosticators of future,
Fortune tellers,
Scholars of the blind,
Summon them not.

Wicked teeth,
Hollow eyes,
Bringer of consternation,
Fear monger,
Summon them not.

What does it mean to be spiritual? Does it mean following any one religion? Does it mean believing in an all powerful creator? Does it mean being able to communicate with spirits and angels? Does it mean seeing auras? Does it mean seeing and feeling the connectedness of all of creation? What does it mean?

Maybe it doesn’t mean anything except to the person who asks the question. We find so many ways so separate, whether it’s race, gender, sexual-preference, culture, religion, socio-economic status or education. Do we need yet another way to separate? Can we not be satisfied that each person, each creation, has their own personal relationship with that which created all. Can we not accept that what sits in one person’s heart can sit in all others as well? Can we not accept that despite all of our outward difference, and even some inward differences, in truth we are the same?

So what does it mean to be spiritual? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know what sits in my heart. Do you?

Many of us are in search of something. We’re not quite sure what it is. We look for things to help fulfill our lives. For some of us it’s enough to look at a clear blue sky, to take a breath of a winter breeze, or to just set our eyes on the waves of the ocean. We look for miracles and any sign that we are not alone in this universe. For many it is no longer enough to look at things in our everyday life to remind us of why we are here. We seek to be amazed as if some unexplainable event will give meaning to our very existence.

Man has made so many advances that it no longer seeks to impress. Man seeks to outdo himself. But in this pursuit, man gives credit of the works of God to his own tiny hands. Man gives credit to his technological advances, to his superior mind, and to his ingenuity. It is no longer enough to see the sick be healed, or for nature to do what man can only imagine. It is no longer enough to see the sun rise or the ground shake at our very feet.

Perhaps the greatest miracle is not raising the tallest building, erecting the longest bridge, creating life in a petri dish, or even healing the incurable. Perhaps the greatest miracle of all is love, unconditional love. It heals. It reminds us of who we are. It transforms. It creates. Most of all, it brings us closer to each other, closer to ourselves, closer to the Divine will.

Seeing, speaking to and hearing spirits does not mean seeing the Truth.
Feeling others emotions, physical ailments, memories and thoughts does not mean seeing the Truth.
Reading minds, levitating objects and moving objects with your mind does not mean seeing the Truth.
Seeing auras and energy in all its forms and manipulating energy does not mean seeing the Truth.
Having precognitive dreams and visions does not mean seeing the Truth.
Bringing to life animals that were once dead does not mean seeing the Truth.
Having knowledge of the past and seeing memories of the soul does not mean seeing the Truth.

The truth is felt. It is experienced. It is lived. It is in everything and in everyone. Yet, we choose to parse it out as if only some can see and others cannot. Some claim they have seen it. Some claim they know it, and all the while they suffer in the pain that is their own mind. They cast judgments on people. They claim their way is the only way and yet we’ve all been made different. We are different but the same. And though some may argue that, look to your own heart that you may see the Truth.

It has been said that angels have freewill. They make choices as we do, but we never hear about them having guides. Could it be perhaps because their guide is God? Some might say that angels have to obey God, but I’m sure many have heard about the rebellion of angels who followed Lucifer. They made their choice, perhaps not knowing what the repercussions or punishment might be. We might now be asking ourselves, if angels do not have guides why are they so loving in their nature, or we might wonder why those who have not strayed, do not stray. Could it be that in seeing the truth and in living the truth, they realize what is lost or can be lost? Could it be that when your heart/spiritual heart has felt the love that exists everywhere and in everything, that there is really only One choice. Sure, one could shun this choice, but for what purpose? If you could be connected to all that is, all that was, and all that ever will be, why would anyone want to be removed from this feeling? Perhaps wonderment/temptation drives us to ask, and in making that choice to turn our backs, we turn our backs and forget what it’s like to be loved and to love. When that love is missing, or rather when we choose to not see it, we do all we can to get to back to that state of bliss.

We look to others to see what they have done. Some claim to be at peace at yet behind closed doors their life is in turmoil. Others may speak about peace and preach love, but behind closed doors they count the coffers. Still others may appear to be in a serene state of mind, while in reality, they fight back the fear that creeps from within. Still others, live their lives going about their daily business, but they love. They share the joy they have experienced in this life with those they meet. They smile, they stop to offer assistance when they can, they speak no ill will towards others, they spread joy, and all the while we look pass these people. Why is that? We’re all in the same boat after all, trying to learn, trying to figure out who we are.

So who are we going to listen to, someone who had their chance to make their own choices and who now wishes to make those choices through others, or are we going to start listening to our own hearts? When you are asked why you made your choices, are you going to say it was because a guide told you it was the best way, or are you going to say it was because you felt it was right at the time? Were you listening to the influences of your mind, or did you allow yourself to feel through your heart?

It doesn’t matter that you may have had past li(v)es, or many past lives. It does not matter that your aura shows that you are open to the Divine, that angels guide your way, or that you are wise and knowledgeable. It does not matter that you can heal the sick, or speak to the dead. It does not matter that you can see the thread that ties us all together. God talks to everyone. Some of us may see and experience all of these things and more, and others may see and experience none of it. Does that mean that a person or being is held with higher esteem with respect to God? Does it mean they are more special, or that they have been given a gift greater than any other has been given? Some say it does, but does it matter if all we do is try to show others how much better we are? Does it matter if all we do is talk about the glory of all that is good, without caring to share the love that has been bestowed upon us? What purpose is there in knowing if we cannot learn to live the life we speak about? We talk about being One and yet we live our lives as though we are afraid someone will outshine us. We talk about living as One and yet we trust no one. God talks to everyone and yet we are afraid to listen to anyone.