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Beware the Bitter Root

Aug 15

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In the Bible in Hebrews 12:15, it states: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any  root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”   In Deuteronomy 29:18, the last part of it says: “lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall (poison) and wormwood.”

The definition of diligent is: Persevering and careful in work; hard-working, industrious,; done with careful, steady effort; painstaking. Bitterness is defined as: Causing or showing sorrow, discomfort, or pain; grievous; sharp and disagreeable; harsh; severe; characterized by strong feelings of hatred, resentment, cynicism, etc. Defiled has a synonym: Contaminate. Gall is: Something that is bitter or distasteful; bitter feeling; rancor; to irritate; annoy; vex. Wormwood is a bitter, unpleasant, or mortifying experience.

Just looking at these definitions, my mind conjures up so many instances of negative feelings that it is almost overwhelming. Small daily irritations take on a new depth of meaning: Someone cuts you off in traffic; you have ugly words with a loved one that you cannot take back — even though they were spoken in haste and in the heat of a moment, you do not truly mean them or the way you said it; the boss chides you in front of others; your child says, “I hate you!” in frustration because you are correcting his/her behavior; someone does a spiteful thing to you on purpose; ad infinitum ad nauseam. LIFE HAPPENS ONE MOMENT AT A TIME! Think of all the times you felt irritated, annoyed, or vexed. I imagine it happens on a daily basis.

This truth spoken here is worthy of careful contemplation. Why, you might ask? Because it is a poison so strong that it wilts the spirit of the one who holds onto it. It is like a parasite that sucks the very life out of you. Your livingness is diminished so greatly that you cannot live your life fully.

The greatest problem with the bitter root is that it enters in quietly, as a rule. You do not even know it is there. Yet its roots are invasive, grow quickly, and are very hard to eradicate once they are established.

How many times have you thought, “I wish thus and so did (or did not) happen.” Or perhaps it is an “If only…” expression. Then you dwell on it. Your emotions get caught up usually in the negative aspects of something and you cannot (or do not) stop it. Soon you are dwelling on yesterdays, with perhaps fear being created for your tomorrows, while today slips by, unnoticed. Isn’t it sad that, when one looks back at all the wasted hours, you cannot recreate them and take positive steps to make changes?

Synergy continues.

The only way to stop it is to change what you are contemplating about NOW. Let go of YESTERDAY‘s events and fear not for TOMORROW!

Daily events create emotions in all of us, both personal and impersonal. Sometimes we take things way too seriously as the circumstances do not warrant the garbage created in our minds. You have had such a bad day that you collapse on the couch when you get home, grab the TV remote to get away from the unpleasantness of it all, or hop on the computer and use social media. The idea of processing the incoming information from the events does not occur to you, keeping that which is good and trashing that which is not. I call it mental housekeeping. The emotions need released as well, hopefully with exercise that raises the endorphins and calms the mind. Dare I suggest meditation and deep breathing? Or perhaps a massage? The problem with emotions that never get processed is that they tie your body into knots, and it is not long before you have ill health because the dis-ease (literally) is nourished by the negative energies. It all is stored somewhere or released. Which would you choose?

Ephesians 4:26 states: “Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” In verses 31 and 32, it says: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…”

In light of the preceding paragraph, that is excellent advice for the longer you hold onto something, the harder it is to eradicate the bitter root.

Each day is a precious commodity — once spent, it cannot be regained. Each moment that goes by is history and cannot be altered. The only question you need to ask yourself is: How do I want to remember this day – with good thoughts or bad; with joy or sorrow; with anger or release? It is your choice, after all. Choose wisely.

God’s blessings on your journey!

Your response makes a difference inner peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Death is Merely a Journey

May 8

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Because I have personally experienced the loss of so many loved ones, I wanted to express some thoughts that have comforted me along the way.

It has been said that: “Death is merely another journey, one we all must take.”

Kahlil Gibran in “The Prophet” states: “For  life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one…For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

Mary Elizabeth Fry (11-13-1905 to 9-15-2004) wrote a poem:

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep

“Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.”

It has been determined that, when a person dies, their weight decreases by one ounce immediately. Is this the weight of that person’s Spirit/Soul/Essence of Being? Interesting idea, to say the least.

Our Spirit is Us, undeniably. Apart from any religious beliefs, we are all the same. We, the living, forget that our Spirit is indestructible and is more than our bodies, which merely provide us with a place to live and learn while we are on this plane of existence.

John Denver sang about life as: “Just a gathering of memories and then we are gone.”

Hollywood does a good job of stating in pictures that the person who has made his/her transition is still here with us in our hearts as feelings and in our minds as memories.

Christians state: “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Perhaps they say: “We know that person is now with Jesus and is not in pain anymore.”

Other religions state it differently, but it is the same idea: That person’s Spirit has moved on, leaving only the shell behind.

Testimonies of people who have clinically died and been brought back have one thing in common: They saw Beautiful Beings and White Light, which was so peaceful. That idea comforts me.

Sometimes death comes in a tragic, unexpected way. That leaves dear ones dismayed by the suddenness of it all. Sometimes it comes to one who has lingered terribly long, so that death is a release from the agony.  Sometimes it comes calling when one least expects it.

Grief over the loss of a loved one can come in many forms: Anticipatory Grief when someone is lingering, Instant Grief when one leaves unexpectedly or a relationship ends. There are many books out there to aid the ones left behind.

Death is, indeed, a part of life. It is a journey we all must take at some time or another. The weird thing is that one does not contemplate one’s own demise. It is as if we will go on forever. When we are reminded of how fickle the Grim Reaper can be, reminding us of our mortality, we usually shrug it off and move on down the road.

My question is this: How can you truly live if you don’t accept the inescapable fact that death is inevitable, sometime?

It is not morbid to contemplate it. It ultimately gives one the freedom to really live! Be in the NOW!

We can comfort others in their sorrow, knowing that they feel deprived of the presence of their loved one. We can have compassion for them during their grieving process. The normal grieving period is two years. It is that period of time when you think of that person, and it stops you in your tracks. Perhaps the tears flow as you miss that one so very much. Even though times goes by, your memory of that person is as fresh as yesterday when you think of them.

Very few people who are going about their daily lives ever really think that: ‘Today is the day when I will cease to be on this planet.” When you kiss a loved one good-bye, you do not know that will be the last time you see him/her.

I always make sure to tell the people in my life that I love them. When my husband and I part, there is always a kiss and a goodbye said. I am comforted that, come what may, I left on a happy note as would he.

Can you say the same about your loved ones? Or are you still fussing over the burned toast or a hasty word spoken in anger? You never have the assurance that will be the last thing spoken or done. Always be aware of it.

Life is a funny thing – it goes to the living. My question is: Are you living? Or are you just existing? Are you doing that which is best for you and your loved ones? It is always your choice in action.

No one who was caught in the 911 catastrophe knew that would be their last moments on earth, or even in plane, car, or train crashes. One woman became so afraid of flying that she took the train, which derailed. The only person who died was her.

Fear of death is an awesome thing and takes a terrible toll. Fear paralyzes one’s abilities such that inaction becomes the order of the day. Sad to say, but when Fear rules, that person loses so much life force and ability to function, which can never be recovered.

“Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.” -Mark Twain

If “Life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one,” how can you go on ignoring the reality of it all?

Your choice is all you have to enable you to be 100 percent functional. Are you willing to use it wisely?

God’s blessings on your journey!

 

 

 

 

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Guidance

Mar 26

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Everyone looks outside of themselves for guidance. Ask a friend. Ask an associate. Ask a boss. Ask a parent. You name it. There are as many opinions out there as there are people.

A child needs the help and guidance of the parent/parents as he/she grows. God designed it that way.

However, as we mature, we have to come to the idea that we have to make decisions on our own. One cannot depend on exterior sources forever. We can inquire into many resolutions in any way that seems fitting to us…all exterior to our minds. They can help us sort it all out. But we have to know: THE MOMENT OF ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY WILL NEVER ARRIVE!

Sooner or later, we have to decide: Get into the boat with both feet and begin to row, or get out on the bank with both feet and find a different path. You cannot go anywhere by having one foot in the boat and one on the land.

For me, it is vital to make the connection/recognition of the God Self within — the Inner Companion who will always be there for me, waiting for my attention, recognition,  and listening ability. First, last, and foremost, Prayer can help me sort out what is important and what is not. My mind can be jumbled like the Dr. Dolittle’s Pushmi-pullyu. I can feel stressed out, thinking about some problem that is of significance to me at that moment. Once I enter my meditation and calmness breathing, I can sort things out so much quicker. I can KNOW that everything is going to be all right, no questions asked. You see, Prayer, Meditation, and Breathing are all one — not separate functions.

Life unfolds before me in its fullness. I know that all my loved ones, problems notwithstanding, are being held in the hands of God. Each one is God’s child, too. Sooner or later, each one will find whatever it is that is needed to guide them and provide for them in every way.

Doubt is the killer here. If God’s phone is on busy, and I am not deserving, I am pleading for naught.

Belief is vital. God is With Me = Emmanuel.   That is what it means. If God be for me, then who can be against me? Together, we form a majority. I ASK, BELIEVING that it is already done. It is moving from the unseen into the seen. When I say Amen, I know it will appear in whatever form it needs to take. I watch answered prayer every day of my life. How, then, could I not believe?

I ask God questions all the time by writing them down in a book and date it. When I get the answers, I also write them down. God is faithful and always responds through any avenue He sees fit. It might not be the answer I thought of, but it is an answer nonetheless.

God is so good to me. I can truthfully say that. I can look back over all the years, and be grateful for the good people who have come into my life: friends, loved ones all, are wonderful to my eyes. My life is full. My cup runneth over, daily. I have wonderful memories of so many delightful things.

I can look back over the tears I have shed by the bucket-full, and know that they served their purpose. I can remember all the sadness, disappointment, and dismay and know the same.

Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet” addresses this very well:

“Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.

And he answered:

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

And how else can it be?

The Deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very woods that was hollowed with knives?

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, ‘Joy is greater than sorrow,’ and others say, ‘Nay, sorrow is the greater.’

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.”

These are treasured words for me.

Would I want to relive any of the bad memories? Nope. They came. They went.

Would I want to revive all of the good memories? Nope. They came. They went. I will treasure them always, but they are not my now.

When I am seeking Guidance, I know in my heart that: LIFE IS LIKE A SYMPHONY — ALL THE GOOD NOTES, ALL OF THE OFF NOTES, ALL THE BAD NOTES —  BECOME ONE — THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

All of life’s memories become a tapestry, where the dark threads only highlight the brightness and color of all the others.

Knowing this has given me great equanimity and calmness, helping me to not only ask for Guidance and in Prayer for the many needs of every single person I know, some very tragic and heart-rending, some just confused, some seemingly lost on the path, some needing healing, etc.

GOD IS THE ANSWER…WHATEVER YOU CONCEIVE OF THAT GOD…WHATEVER RELIGION…WHATEVER BELIEF SYSTEM…GOD IS THE ANSWER.

Matthew 7:7-11: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that seeketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

Additionally, Luke:11:12 “Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?” Same story.

Matthew 21:22 “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.””

Is your life chaotic? Confusing? Are you in need of more information? Guidance is available. ASK, SEEK, KNOCK. Are you willing?

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