Sunrise Pages July

Aham Prema, Glorious Creator!

We are in a different place, this morning, but it’s lovely.  The sun is bright and skies are blue, and there’s a cool breeze blowing through the open windows.  Today is supposed to get steamy again, but right now it’s really nice.

So, although I’m in a different spot with a different view, I’ve got certain “tools” with me, that are familiar and help me feel comfortable.  I write on the same clipboard each morning, and I write with one certain pen that feels special to me.  I write in blue most days, which is different than the black ink I use everywhere else.

I even get a sense of accomplishment each time I empty a refill of blue ink, knowing I’ve hand-written many of these pages.  I wonder how many refill tubes of blue ink I’ve laid down in letters, words, and ideas here.  It’s certainly more than I ever would have imagined.

All these items, these writing tools to help me feel comfortable, to help things feel familiar – yet, I’m grasping to find something to help me understand how, once again, we choose to do harm to one another.

Writing these Sunrise Pages this morning is helping, actually.  I didn’t expect that it would.

It saddens me, certainly.  But, when I ask the question, “How can someone…?,” I am given the answer – “Just like you, Dear One, when you are hurting and scared; when you feel disgraced, disrespected, and offended; when you feel defenseless and helpless to change things.”

I’ve definitely felt helpless; I’ve felt like the victim.  To not see my circumstances from that perspective has taken a lot of work; a lot of letting go.  It took time and practice for me to understand the choices I have, even in those situations.

The first choice I have is to accept What Is.  When I grasp onto wanting reality to be different than what it is, it does not serve me; it only brings me heartache.  By choosing to accept What Is, I can enlist my creativity and resourcefulness for change.

The second choice I have is to not view myself the victim.  When I tell myself others are the cause of my pain, I make myself powerless.  Instead, I choose to accept the reality I face, and see myself as the creative, resourceful, and resilient Self to create change.

I do recognize, though, how difficult it can be to face the pain and challenges that stem from the actions and choices of others, and the biases and prejudices of our society.

We are taught to place blame.  We are taught to feel victimized. We are taught to face vulnerability and suffering with retaliation, anger, and hate.

An eye for an eye.  Payback.  Man up, and make them suffer.

I get it.

But, I just can’t do it any longer.  It just doesn’t make sense.

Yeah, I may be hurting, and you might have done something to cause me to hurt.  You may have even intended to cause me harm.

What if…I choose not to hate you because of my pain?

What if…I choose to forgive you?

What if…I recognize that my choices cause pain for people sometimes, too?  That, sometimes, some pain just can’t be avoided?

What if…I choose to put my energy into healing my suffering, instead of hating and hurting you?

What if…I choose to love you and hold you with compassion, trying to understand why we all do things that hurt, and we all hurt?

What if…I choose to love you, because that is the most direct way to heal me, heal us both, and stop my pain, stop our pain?

Can I deal with my suffering, and heal my suffering, without blaming another and causing them to suffer?

I plan to find out.

strong enough

 

Please consider Today’s Prompt:

Imagine a situation being divided into two sides – the problem/the solution.

Every time you are focused on blame and responsibility or your pain and suffering, you are pouring your energy into the problem side, making it bigger and stronger.

When you focus on your healing and making changes to make things better, you are using your energy for solutions and moving forward.

 

Aham Prema – My Dear Guides.  I am Well.  We can be Well!