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Have you had the experience where the Universe provides you with some homework?
My assignment so far this week is all about my desire to change practically everything, and how I need to let that desire go. I’m really aware so far this week how of this desire is robbing me of contentment and joy. I’m realizing that...
- I need to let go of my desire to change society.
- I need to let go of my desire to change the people around me especially other drivers - seriously.
- I need to let go of the pressure I perceive from others to change.
- I need to let go of my desire to change the things about me that I don’t like.
....and simply STAND as it says in Ephesians 6:13... “and after you have done everything, to stand.”
I think what lies beneath and supports our ability to stand is we’re given everything we need to stand and to just be. We’re given Spirit, righteousness, faith, truth, and peace. It’s all available and are gifts that are freely given. We just need to do our part and be open to receive.
I invite you to be open. Be open, and be open some more.
The good news is the One who gives us these homework assignments gives us the ability to complete them too. All it takes is our openness and cooperation.
The desire to change everything gets in the way of openness and acceptance. Not being content with the way things are is a huge impediment to peace and contentment.
There are a lot of powerful internal and external forces that work against our contentment, isn’t there? I won’t make a list, but you can delve into this by becoming aware of your own lack of contentment by asking yourself “why am I not feeling content?” when that feeling arises. Talk about opening Pandora’s box! If you’re not coming up with anything, go for a drive around my apartment block. It’s an excellent awareness exercise - seriously.
I want to conclude this with some sort of “if you do this you will live happily ever after,” but I’m only guessing (kind of) what the outcome will be for myself or anyone who’s still reading this and decides that they want to let go of their desire to change too. By now, after receiving and going through a number of similar homework assignments and invitations from the Universe, the result for me (if I do my homework) is almost always a deepening of my relationship with God and a difference in the way I show up in the world which often includes a more loving and present stance.
Take good care,
Rod
The meditation I created is called Experiencing Oneness in a Divided World. In it, we explore a deep and comforting truth: that everything is connected.
As I venture out this morning, I'm thinking about the Mary Oliver poem, wild Geese, where she says, “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
I just want to bow 🙇♂️ in gratitude (also laugh because there’s a 🙇 bowing emoji)
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snowy days (meditation) Hints of Gladness
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