A troubling thought ... isn't it?
You never talk about it -
But -
Understand: You're not ordinary.
You know -
The ordinary that makes you laugh at someone who's the butt of a joke. The ordinary that plays a trick on somebody else to make them look like a fool. The ordinary that helps you feel, oh so much better, because you took advantage - when advantage wasn't yours to take.
No -
You're different.
More...
To be sure, you fit the norm ...
You have a decent enough car; take pride in turning your house into a home; meet responsibilities - and then some - in your respectable line of work.
But -
You have a secret.
You hold down a second job!
Not another 9-to-5. Nothing part-time.
This one's invisible. Nearly impossible to describe.
It asks you -
To be on the lookout for that something greater than yourself. Weaves itself into everything you say and do. Then, takes you by the hand to show you how to create a life so much better than anything you could on your own.
But now -
You're stymied.
There's a lurker in the shadows. Tugging. Pulling. Dredging out long-forgotten spitefulness - you're not proud of - until you feel like a puppet on a string.
And you're troubled ...
How can I stay true to those deeper spiritual values I'm growing into?
The Common Misperception about Becoming Spiritual
Without a doubt -
You're yanked into a larger-than-life roller coaster ride. The rush of crisis; thrill of combat; squirt of dopamine when something crazy could happen next.
And -
When it does?
You're - more often than not - caught off guard. Then, retreat to that vicious backbiting once serving you in the long distant past. You call him a bully. Expose him as a liar ... self-centered ignoramus; big fat baby.
He shakes things up. Hurls back ... escalates to a new fever-pitch high.
You feel like a dog chasing every stick he throws.
And, know all too well ...
You can't outwit - outsmart - outmaneuver that forked tongue snake.
But -
On the other hand -
Don't want to fall into that all too common mistake ... that it's not spiritual trap. You know the rhetoric: Oh, but I can't do anything - that wouldn't be compassionate. Then roll over in spiritual-defeat.
So -
What if?
What if you ratchet up the courage to stop in your tracks?
Step into a dinghy - in the middle of the ocean - then sail for unknown lands -
Where you're not a Pavlovian dog ... destined to chase after somebody else's stick.
You're a wise. Ferocious. Fearless lion ... facing the thrower instead.
LITTLE-KNOWN #1: Find Your (Spiritual) Backbone
No-one tells you: Stop Running!
Advice you usually get?
Sweat it out - smooth it over - take a pill - distract yourself ...
But -
By all means ...
Make it go away!
No-one tells you: Let Courage Take You by the Hand!
Stand beside you ...
Until -
What you think life looks like is shot down - before your courage steps forward a little bit more. So you can hear the longing that cradles the Earth ...
It's isolation -
Pain.
No-one tells you: Face the Unknown!
Like once experienced - in a run-in - with that homeless woman on the pier. Disheveled. Unkempt. Scab on her nearly hairless scalp as neglected as she.
A forgotten human being ... leaving her mark on the world.
On you.
When -
Your eyes lock in a microscopic-blink.
Then, tumble together into that raw primordial soup you share -
Embraced simply,
By that little-known perennial wisdom: There is no better than ... no less than.
LITTLE-KNOWN #2: Commit to Stay Your (Spiritual) Course
No-one tells you: With Nowhere Left to Hide - Life is Crystal Clear!
You've only got two choices ...
On the one hand -
If you push away - run like crazy - you get to keep your storyline:
Then nosedive into being:
On the other hand -
If you reach into the silence - beyond raw emotion - you get to meet your edge ...
Where -
No-one tells you: You're Unnerved - and Tender - at the Same Time!
Like once experienced - pushed to the brink by your most-trusted friend. Who - after a long spiritual weekend retreat - rebelled: No! I can't do what you're doing ... I'm going back.
Confounding you ...
Go back? To what!
Uncertainty. Chaos ...
Anything to entertain you away from exploring the landscape of your innermost world. Deaden the pain ... incite conflict ... manipulate life so you come out ahead.
Until -
Courage squeezes your hand a little tighter.
When -
You decide: I've traveled too long. Come too far. Spent a lifetime bringing out the best I have to give.
Then step forward a tiny bit more -
Embraced simply,
By that little-known perennial wisdom: Only compare yourself with you.
LITTLE-KNOWN #3: Cross Your (Spiritual) Divide
No-one tells you: When You're Cornered - Everything Falls Into Place!
You call some things good ...
Others bad ...
But -
You really don't know - and you know it!
Will something:
Then again -
Not only big, dramatic questions bring you up short. Sometimes, it's just being spiritual ...
Can you:
Maybe -
Most worrisome of all ...
Can you be spiritual in an ever-growing alien - more powerful - anesthetized Western world?
You. Just. Don't. Know.
Because ...
No-one tells you: You 'Know' - When There's Nothing Left to Say!
Like once experienced ... just ahead of you in the check-out lane - a foreigner asks the clerk: Just those. Please, how much?
Followed by a sigh of resignation: Okay. No.
You don't want them? the clerk double checked. Then separated out two quarts from other groceries bought ...
Leaving your conscience to wrestle:
You scraped the bottom-of-the-barrel with barely enough money to keep your own stomach fed. But know: If I'm going to say something - it better be quick! Then lean over your cart; motion to the clerk: Give them to him - I'll pay.
The clerk looked stunned. Said nothing. You repeat to be sure he understood: I'll pay for them with mine ... before he retrieved the kefir; walked to Eastern-European man's cart; then, gently placed them in.
While -
Kefir-Man ... unsure of what happened - afraid to believe it had ... able only to say: My wife, she will be pleased.
An invisible stranger - in a strange land - locked in a handshake ... beyond money ... beyond kefir ... beyond the pierce through your hardened-heart -
Embraced simply,
By that little-known perennial wisdom: Some things are best left unsaid.
This One-Less Traveled Road Isn't Finished Yet ...
No-one tells you: Your Biggest Obstacle is Your Greatest (Spiritual) Gift!
Because -
You get to pick:
Outdo every little thing your opponent hurls at you ...
Or -
Stand in the shoes-of-compassion you're growing into ...
Until you can look into the eye of your threat ... until you aren't undone by fear. Until you stop trembling. Stop struggling.
Because -
Not having anything to hold on to changes you - in a good way.
You're Not Finished Waking-Up Either!
You watch a lotus bloom above a lily pond. What does its leaf do?
Rests quietly on the water's surface no matter what happens nearby.
When -
You're confronted ... what do you do?
Freeze in shaky - mind numbing - fear that threatens to cheat you out of your spiritual happiness?
Or,
Transform into a wiser ... more awakened ... happier you!
So you -
Leave the world a little better than you find it.
