conflict
Charity Begins At Home
My mother always said, “Charity begins at home.” But what exactly is this supposed to mean?
The first thing we might do is attempt to identify what a ‘home’ is and what it means to us. You could own a mansion, live in a studio apartment, or reside in a mobile home. No matter where we live, home is typically where we make ourselves comfortable, cook our meals, watch TV, care for our children, and rest after a long day at work. It is that safe, comfy place that we create for ourselves, based on our values and beliefs about who we are and what we hope to accomplish.
However, there is a different kind of home that each of us dwells in, that is also based on our sense of self, what belief systems we hold, and what we think we can accomplish for ourselves. This is our ‘inner home.’
In our ‘outer home’ we may have a big screen TV, state of the appliances and designer furniture. We are often so amazingly proud of ourselves, that we were able to accumulate all these luxury items that the world outside has convinced us we must have.
But then one day, we come home from work and discover someone has broken in and stolen all our expensive accumulations. What a disaster! Fortunately, these material things can easily be replaced.
The Wisdom Of Supporting Others
Being kind, compassionate, supportive and treating others as we want to be treated, is important for our physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Negative energy at work and in our personal lives, can drain our energy and negatively impact the health of mind, body and soul.
Work related issues carry their own special stress, since that has a direct impact on financial well-being, as well as personal happiness. It is best to avoid the envy, jealousy, gossip and betrayal. Beware the eye-rolling, personal attacks, whispers behind closed doors, and the divulging of information that isn’t meant to be shared, as well as the ‘just plain pettiness.’
If you are the one being attacked or targeted, resist the temptation to respond in kind. A public battle of words, or ‘tit-for-tat’ gossip, will change nothing. Adding fuel to the fire will only guarantee that the battle will continue and become even more nasty.
You don’t need to be phony, but it is advisable, and always empowering, to be civil and dignified, and to stay centered. Sometimes it is best to just remain silent. Let your actions speak for you, and to your character.
You don’t need to make excuses for, or feel sorry for the other person, or the group. Just remember what your goals and purpose are. Reach beyond that, and implement an energetic and spiritual practice that will empower both yourself and others.
Choosing Peace Over Conflict
There will always be moments in life when we have to choose between peace or conflict. This was the case for me just yesterday.
About half an hour prior to the incident, I had taken my dogs for a walk in the countryside surrounding my home. Adjacent to the pathway we walked, there were a few men working in the field. I didn’t actually see them, but their car was parked up close by, and what I assumed was their lunch had been perched in a plastic bag in one of the olive trees.
Knowing that the curiosity of my dogs would be stirred by that bag of food, I kept a beady eye on them, particularly the two that were off-leash. Thankfully, the only thing my youngest dog appeared to be interested in was someone else’s medium-sized dog that was also in the vicinity of the workman’s feast. I’d assumed that this dog was with the workers, but on taking the same route this morning, I realized that he belongs to the actual farm there.
So, yesterday, after the walk, I was outside my house, when the worker’s car pulled up to my fence. Two young men got out and one of them asked, “Why did you allow your dogs to steal the old man’s bocadillo (a sandwich made with Spanish bread)?”
“They didn’t steal it?” I replied.
“Oh, but they did,” he said. “My friend here saw it happen!”
I took a moment and thought about how to handle this situation in the most peaceful and spiritually aware manner. It wasn’t such a big deal, but obviously the old man felt that he had been robbed.
Soul Friends
Soul friends are different from soulmates. Your soulmate is your romantic or life partner, the one you share your life with. Your soul friend is your best friend. Even when you haven’t talked with each other for a long time, you always seem to know what is going on with them.
We have several spiritual friendships in our lifetime. Those special friendships are part of our soul contract or life plan while we are here on Earth. Before we came here we made an agreement with certain members of our soul group to find and support each other while in this lifetime.
How do you know when someone is from your soul group? There is an instant connection right away. Your laughter, and humor, and way of thinking, just seems to fit. You immediately ‘get’ each other’s ‘vibe.’ We have more than one soul friend in every lifetime, which may even include siblings and co-workers.
Why is having soul friends important? Well, because soul friends help, support and guide us along our journey in this lifetime. You can usually talk about anything with them, without feeling judged or criticized, or feeling obligated sometimes.
As you are thinking of them, almost instantly the phone might ring and it’s them, saying that they were thinking of you and wanted to reach out. It makes our journey so much easier when we have them in our lives, because with soul friends you can be who you truly are. Continue reading
Inside And Outside – What Your Home Says About You
Can we define someone by looking beyond their personal space, such as how they tend to the exterior of their home and garden? Well, I fully believe this can be accomplished by eyeing a few simple details.
I recently had a visit from a lady that I have known for a very long time. She comes from a large family and has had some difficulties over the years with particular family members. Her younger sister has always been a source of contention with her. Recently, she felt it was time to sit down and have a serious chat with this sister, to see if they could come to terms with the rift between them.
After they had their talk, it seemed to her that all of the past differences had finally been resolved, and they now could proceed into the future with a more gentle and sincere approach towards one another. But soon she was shocked to find her sister pulling an unwarranted and mean-spirited stunt.
She was quite mystified after this spiteful event. It left her feeling hurt and confused. She then asked me if we could examine the situation, to see if we could find a just cause for the younger sister’s unacceptable behavior.
As it happened, I had recently paid a visit to the younger sister’s home. I had not been to see her for a very long time and held no preconceived ideas as to what condition she, or her home, would be in.
The younger sister has been married for a very long time, to a man who is not a bad guy by the world’s standards, but certainly can be defined as a ‘wet blanket.’ I know she had found it a bit trying at times to be in a relationship such as this one, but she did what a lot of people do under the circumstances – they pretend everything is okay in order to keep up appearances. This I could understand to some extent, although I could not conceive how difficult it would be to live under those circumstances for a very long time.
The Power You Hold Within
There are days in everyone’s life when it feels as if you are at the end of your rope, and unable to face another day. These are actually the times that you have the most power!
When you are stressed, frustrated or lacking in energy, take time to go within and tap into your inner guidance. Quiet your mind, just for a few minutes, breathe and allow your guides and angels to connect with your energy. It doesn’t matter what type of energy you have going at the moment; it can be negative, positive, angry, happy, sad. It simply does not matter.
Once your guides connect with you, they can either enhance the positive energy, or they can take the negative energy away. They have the ability to lessen the pain, the anxiety, the frustration. They are also able to show you a new path, to enable you to walk away from the drama in your life.
It is vital to “cast your worries and cares to a Higher place.” When you let your guides and angels take these things off your shoulders, you will start to see a clearer path ahead. It won’t happen immediately, but with practice you will find that there is insignificance in most of the issues and drama. Even the ‘big stuff’ will just not feel as big anymore.
Relationships are a huge area of stress for many. Too often someone has chosen the wrong partner to spend their life with. Yet, when the relationship eventually falls apart, they often feel that the end of their world is upon them. They even believe their mismatched partner is the only person that will ever make them happy. This way of thinking is wrong in every way. No one else can make you happy. True happiness comes from within.
Do It Anyway
No matter what we go through in life and with who, we always come back to the same place… a familiar place of being alone. The thought occurred to me the other day that we come into this world alone, and we go out alone.
Though we may be surrounded by others, at the end of the day, we are still alone when we go to sleep at night. Even if we are married, or in a relationship with someone who sleeps next to us, we still enter into the sleep state or dream state, alone.
Have you ever noticed that people who are comfortable being alone, have somehow mastered being alone without being lonely? There is a true comfort, freedom, and delight in being by oneself, alone. When we are alone, we can take an honest inventory of our life, who we choose to spend time with, and also decide how we wish to spend our time.
The relationship arena seems to be one of the most challenging areas of life. We all fall into traps and pitfalls that can steer us away from our natural state of happiness , which we come home to when we are alone. However, relationships also seem to provide a fast track for our own personal growth by revealing how we interact with other people.
Our relationships point out areas within ourselves that may require growth or increased self-love. Simply put, relationships show us exactly where we need to focus on to come back to a state of wholeness.