Personal power. Calm within. The ability of one to remain peaceful, regardless of one’s circumstances. It is a very powerful position for one can think more clearly and respond more effectively. One is not at effect to someone else. One can still maintain one’s focus and self-control. It is an admirable trait, publicly and in private, consistent at one’s core.
If the Universe operated solely by the Law of Cause and Effect, there would be no room for God’s Guiding Hand, there would be no Great Plan, no evolution of Humanity. Cause and Effect without Guidance might only mean more chaos, and certainly not the opportunity for peace and harmony that exists today. There would be no room for miracles.
Society needs all its people. The youth provide the stimulation, excitement and adventure of new possibilities, the older, more mature, offer wisdom and a sense of stability, and the elderly provide a sense of history and continuity. They may have lived through wars and events that the young are just now reading in history books or studying in civics class. All segments of a culture, no matter how diverse, contribute to the rich tapestry a nation can create. Tolerance, patience, understanding, compassion and empathy for another’s path will lead us to peace and harmony within our borders, and without and around them.
Some of our youth feel hopeless. Some of our youth feel trapped in poverty and despair. It is a cause of much of our violence and delinquency. But it is an illusion. We just need to do things differently. All have lessons to learn.
Taking care of oneself is never a matter of time, it is a matter of priorities. When one realizes one is responsible for one’s well-being and health, not the Government, not the doctors and not someone else, then priorities must shift. And one must look at the choices one has made in life, financially, as well, to assess the outcome. We create our today from the choices made years ago. And we can change our future by making different choices. To exercise instead of watch TV. To eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and salads instead of hamburgers and french fries. To save something from every paycheck, no matter how seemingly small. To give to something we believe in. It shows faith in God and is a Universal Principle. Self-responsibility in all areas of one’s life will help create the balance we need. All work and no play, all play and no work. Neither will lead to a satisfying, joy-filled existence.
The illusion is that wealth will bring happiness and it will not. But to a happy person, a person with goals and a vision, wealth can be a tremendous asset, a steppingstone toward influence and power, a tool for philanthropy and charity. Wealth creates opportunities and possibilities for change, for creating a different future, not only for oneself, but for countless others. Wealth is a tool and a gift. What we do with it is up to us.
Too many people abuse wealth, like they abuse alcohol or drugs. It is a narcotic and can be detrimental when used for the self alone. Share your wealth with others but do not enable, do not do for another what they should do for themselves, for that weakens everyone. Used well, wealth is a tremendous tool for healing, enlightenment and power. The power to effect meaningful change. Wealth brings its own challenges and its own rewards.
With pain comes compassion. With sorrow, tenderness. With grief, empathy for another’s loss. There is a reason for all the human emotions.
Sharing from the heart, without obligation or requirement, helps one connect to the Light. It benefits everyone when others share, and it is irregardless of wealth. One can share a meal or a smile, a place to stay, or a phone call to another in distress. There are many ways to show concern for another’s well-being.
Addictions are tools of Spirit to bring us to our knees before God. They are painful, powerful, insidious coping mechanisms to help us handle the crises and pain of our lives and our world. But they themselves become too painful, even deadly, for those unwilling to listen and seek help. But to live a life of true joy and abundance, to be at peace in our world regardless of the exterior circumstances, we must divest ourselves of all addiction. Only then can we become the truly powerful people that we are, imbued with wisdom and insight, perhaps covered up and concealed before. For when one is in pain and in the throes of compulsion and addiction, it is difficult to hear one’s Inner Voice, the soft Voice of the Divine.
The baby trout died because the stream was too warm. Off the coast of Oregon, a huge dead zone miles long where nothing lives because of the lack of oxygen. The rapid decline of the polar ice caps. Perhaps this is enough proof that the Earth is dying and will become uninhabitable for humans. One day enough of us will believe that to force changes in our Government to help protect the environment and the Earth.
We hurt ourselves, sometimes, when we are in pain because it is safest. Who else is there who won’t retaliate? And so we eat too much, smoke too much, drink too much, all in an effort to hide the pain, to conceal it from ourselves and others. We are a nation dependent on pills, sedatives, addictive behavior. And it is robbing us of the joy of life, the zest for living.