Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth's rite of Passage? His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man! Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.







Let's be more aware of all the choices, situations, twists and turns that brought us to this place right here and now. They May Be Miracles.



Monday, October 3, 2011

Forgiveness

If you're having trouble forgiving someone, you might want to consider that whatever it is they supposedly did to you had nothing to do with you at all. Hatred, bullying, and acts unbecoming of a human usually come from a selfish place - a place where a person is trying to prove that what they believe is true. They really don't care about what you think or what your feelings are - they don't care that you're angry, or sad, or hurt - they don't EVEN KNOW that they've offended you. Stop the cycle of hatred and instead return love and forgiveness. When you choose to return a grudge or walk around with sadness, burden and a hardened heart, you too are coming from an equally selfish place. Contrary, love is the only unselfish existence you can choose. To love means to forgive and understand that you may be right, or they may be right, but ultimately it doesn't matter...what matters is that you live a life of gratitude and servitude. People who care more about their beliefs or their truth more than the people around them will find themselves standing alone in their selfishness...it is enough.