Sunrise Pages February

Welcome to Another New Day, Great Creator!

Well, winter has made another brief appearance overnight, bringing a sloppy, frozen mess to the morning commute.  We’re getting sleet and freezing rain coating the snow that fell earlier.  Later today the weather will transition to rain, and tomorrow looks like more rain and temperatures likely to hit 50°F – in February.  In New Hampshire.  Then, the temperatures dropping again Friday, probably freezing everything up again, with a little more snow added in.

This all seems consistent with the volatile, unstable, fluctuating weather trends the scientists have been predicting as a consequence of global climate change.  This kind of global crisis can seem overwhelming.  But, even here, holding this concern in your consciousness, and making your choices guided by that consciousness, is something you can do.

Some people are guided to do more.  I am grateful for the scientists who are studying this phenomenon, trying to decipher what has been going on, and what will likely go on in our future.  And, I’m grateful to the scientists and advocates trying to create change and find solutions.

In a lot of ways, when I look at a lot of the crises that face our world – like climate change, war, poverty, racism, religious persecution, gender inequality, starvation, depletion of natural resources, the need for clean drinking water – I see it scaled down to a level of the individual.  I think about what it takes for me to be in community with others, when we are all different from each other, in big ways, and small.

To be a vibrant part of that community, I want to be open and understanding of others, respectful of their practices, values, and needs.  Every relationship has periods of friction and disagreement.  I strive to hold a compassionate space for others as well as myself, that in each moment we are doing our best.

I struggle when I’m in conflict with myself; when I am trying to act or live in a way that is not true for me.  I get frightened when I lose my perspective of self-awareness, and get caught up in “needing” approval and acceptance from others.  I also have become judgmental of others as a self-defense when I’m feeling judged and rejected.  When I’m in this mindset, I can be very reactive and defensive – I see a lot of right versus wrong in this world, and it becomes us versus them.

I am grateful to have experienced that.  Now, I can see that reactive, defensive mindset coming from a smaller, scared self.  When I find myself seeing things in terms of right versus wrong or us versus them, I quickly ask myself to notice the greater commonalities between us all.  There is no them – only Us.

Always just us

And, just as I have times when I disagree, don’t understand, and feel judged by others, and it makes me uncomfortable; I have previously responded with frustration, anger, and my own judgment of others.  So, of course there are times when that is what is going on with the people around me.

It’s a lot to ask of everyone else – to be their best selves all the time.  I know that’s something I’ve learned to accept of myself – letting go of perfection, but striving to be the best I can be in each moment; in authenticity and integrity.

 

Prompt of the day:

Think of a conflict with someone in your life.  Can you see how that person might be doing her/his best, even though you’re in disagreement?

 

Can your new boundary help you see more clearly what your business is in this conflict, and what is hers/his?

 

Thank you for Rest, and Peace in My Heart, Every Day, Dear Guides!