Just as I was falling asleep last night I was thinking of someone who bothered me, and all of a sudden I laughed. In an instant, I remembered how we are all made of the same stuff, breathed into being by the same breath.
And I thought how funny is it that we get so angry or upset with others. Yet, it’s a true and valid view of reality. The person “out there” can do bothersome or harmful things.
How can there be these two viewpoints, both completely valid?
This past period of healing taught me that you cannot neglect the personality OR the spirit within. When one is neglected and the other over-attended, there is a sense of incompleteness in life.
I became the one yelling, the one yelled at, and the one that is inseparable from my oppressors. I had to honor my boundaries and at once see the common thread that’s woven in us all.
I became both good and evil. The one with the smile and the one with the scowl. The enlightened one and the shadowed one.
And I asked spirit, but which of these is Me?
And spirit answered, “None of them.”
How do we maintain a personality, with likes and dislikes, with unreasonable judgments of others, intolerance, as well as unconditional love?
How do I say, “Namaste, the spirit in me sees the spirits in you” and at the same time say, “I hate everything about you” or “you’re annoying”.
This is why I laughed.
“Namaste.”
“Please get away from me.”
Without this aspect of personality and personal preferences, life would be much simpler. We would all just love and hug each other. And yet, our preferences drive conflict and creativity. They allow for a story to be written and lived.
There are times when it is all love and hugs. Just when you think you’re holy enough, life will send you something incredibly inconvenient. “Don’t get too comfortable in whatever mask you wear.” [Whether the mask is bright and smiling or dark and grimacing.]
As I contemplated those from my past and my present that I’ve had difficulties with, I practiced seeing them with my scowl and then seeing them as pure spirit. I practiced seeing the differences and the preferences, and then the background Light that levels us all as One Breath.
It made me ponder, if we’re all the same, why do we experience distaste in others? Why do I see myself in “this way” and others in “that way”? If we’re all One, what makes us appear to be different?
It’s funny how the more we dislike someone, the more “different” they feel. I am this way and they are THAT way. Of course we’re not the same…
And some kind of magic happens when the mind’s eye opens and you can see that even still, we are all branches shooting from the same tree trunk. Not because you have to love everyone, but because then you can let go.
When you say, we are both ‘Earth enlivened by Spirit’, but I don’t like this person…you can free yourself. Because it’s no big deal!
You acknowledge that at the core of it all, it’s all good. There is love and recognition of the validity of the other. A spiritual “nod”. It happens whether we’re loving or fighting.
The “Namaste” or “I see you” happens spirit to spirit, even when we are not consciously connecting with that knowing.
In this realization, you can put down your arms. You can ungrasp and Choose. Because you are choosing your environment the same way you choose yourself. “I don’t have to fight you and I don’t have to love you, because it doesn’t matter either way.” At the core of it, there is no pressure and no force. At the core there is love and recognition, everything else is a play.
When you alleviate the pressure to Like, to Love, to Fight, or to Hate you allow yourself to play. You don’t hold others in a chokehold of adoration or anger, because you don’t need to. You can play with others by fighting or you can play with others by loving, and the choice is wholly yours.
If you look at someone and say “ick”, look somewhere else, knowing that the spirit within you validates and supports both of you.
Think of it as a play and you’re checking in with your fellow actors:
“Hey, what part are you playing?”
“I’m playing this person that looks like This and acts kind of like This.”
“Oh, ok. I’m playing a person that looks like That and acts kind of like That.”
You see how then it would be easy to decide who you’d want to ‘play a scene’ with?
Are you looking to create drama, intrigue, or conflict that allows for character development? Are you wanting a peaceful, loving interaction? Are you looking for fiery passion?
Enjoy the play you are always creating with others and know that you can change the script, the scene and the storyline whenever you choose. You are not bound to each other, because we are all the same stuff interacting with itself.
You can say, “I love you, and I don’t choose you.” or “I love you, and I also choose you.” Knowing that the “you” is always changing anyway. And we are all infinitely, the one You.
Different and the same, everything and nothing. This is an incredibly dynamic experience we’re having, remember it as such. It is not one note, but a whole symphony of notes. Billions of voices harmonizing as one buzzing stream of life.
I hope that today you remember your spirit, the one that’s not held by identification of any kind. It is genderless, faceless, and free.
If you’ve spent too long in the realm of spirit, start enjoying the Things of life. Take a look at your body, adorn it the way you choose, move it intentionally how you want it to move. Look around at wordly things and see what you like, what strikes your fancy?
If you’ve spent too long looking at the world [full immersion] relax into the silence between the noise of your thoughts. Break away from that which defines you. Say, “I am not this and I am not that. I am presence. I am. I exist whether my mind is full or empty. I exist whether my house is full or empty. I exist whether I am known or forgotten, I am.”
With Love,
Heba
Love: 