So, this Saturday I woke up at what I amusingly call “The Butt-Crack o’ Dawn”.
5:30am. Ug.
(And after only 5 hours of sleep– when I’m a solid 9-hour girl.)
Needless to say, my brain was feeling grumpy, and my fuse was feeling short.
And I was praying I could hopefully, possibly, maybe fall back asleep — and enjoy a WELL-RESTED day.
(But that was NOT in the cards.)
As I laid there, watching and pondering my thoughts… bringing myself over and over again back into the power of the present moment… a thought popped into my head:
“GET UP AND GO TO YOUR SATURDAY SPIRITUAL GROUP!!!”
And the minute I had that thought, my Father (in spirit) whispered into my right ear: “YES!!!!!!”
This group is a deep, intense 3-hour soul-circle that I absolutely ADORE – yet the early-morning start-time can often be challenging for my erratic sleep patterns…)
But following Dad’s directions, I showered, got dressed… then spent 20 minutes scraping frost from my car windows.
(Which also meant I was running 20 minutes late.)
Exhaustedly, determinedly I hit the road — with my weary mind still wanting to dip into the Land of Snarkiness with effortless ease…
But then about 5 minutes down the road, I looked up at the SUV in front of me — only to see a large, half-full cup of coffee fly right out of the driver’s side window, soar through the air, and bounce off the blacktop…
Then it splat into a caramel-colored puddle, as it spread across the pavement.
…And that’s when my inner Little-Miss-Snarky-Pants LOST HER EVER-LOVIN’ SHIT!!!!!
“How dare he?” I grumbled in my head.
“What the F*CK is wrong with people?” I said out loud.
“Who raised this Royal Butt-Head?” I concluded — as I pulled up beside the passenger window, ready to give him: “THE LOOK.”
But… within 15-seconds of this mini-emotional Pissy-Party … Everything shifted.
As I looked through the SUV window I saw an older man with a weathered face, and weathered hands… who was oblivious to his Litter-Bug trash-fest, and my own disdain for his sheer existence.
And it was as if a veil lifted. And I saw past his car, his body… to see the SOUL behind it all.
Instantly, my mind rewound the whole scene back in time — back to the moment the coffee cup flew out of the car window…
And I smiled as I recalled what I REALLY saw – underneath my stories of judgment…
As if in slow-motion, I watched a BEAUTIFUL shift of shapes – as the creamer-rich coffee splashed its colors across the road.
Being a painter originally, the truth was: It had been aesthetically STUNNING (aside from my pissy attitude).
And it was like I was experiencing a split in reality – like watching 2 TV screens layered one on top of the other:
- The reality of my MIND – lost in its illusion of lack, anger, judgement and frustration.
- The reality of my SOUL — with its Truth that everything is always beautifully perfect.
And within less than a few seconds – I could see so clearly how we goofy, innocent, well-meaning humans have been getting it all wrong, all these countless years.
It was almost comical to see that my “being pissed off” in order to have a cleaner, happier planet… made absolutely NO sense, whatsoever.
I had also put myself ABOVE this man. And him BELOW.
(And nothing good ever comes from that…as history has painfully shown us.)
Without knowing his story, his life, his past, his intentions — I separated myself from him (even though he’s a part of my sweet Soul Family, at our core).
I was ready to dump a whole bucket of blame and shame onto another fellow human being. (Which at best, would only make him feel: defensive, bad about himself, or pissed off toward annoying “Do-Gooders” like me.)
…Maybe there’s more to his story than meets the eye?
…Maybe he’d just lost someone he loved?
…Maybe he’d been in a deep suicidal funk?
…What if tossing that cup let off enough steam that he didn’t go home and beat his wife that day?
…Or what if he was just following Spirit’s nudge – to give the (moderately-arrogant) redhead in the car behind him a lesson she wouldn’t forget?
: )
Who F-ing knows.
But without realizing it, I had clicked into a well-worn cerebral groove – firing those old familiar synapses of “Righteous Anger”.
Yet me being a bitch — would NEVER inspire this man to fall in love with keeping planet Earth clean.
Me giving him “The Look” wasn’t going to crack open his heart, so he would finally pick up his trash.
And I thought: What if I actually WASN’T the Trash-Savior for the Planet? (Heaven forbid.)
….What if it was the other way around?
(Because that’s what I was being shown by my Guides.)
This old man was not MAKING me angry: I was CHOOSING this response.
It was being generated entirely WITHIN me, BY me.
(And it was the same, familiar emotion that I’ve subconsciously used toward myself for DECADES — toward my body, my “flaws”, my imperfections, failures, etc.)
So… What if this man’s Spirit came to teach ME something about MYSELF that morning instead?
…To mirror back something within me — that had yet to be healed?
I saw the grace I’d been gifted with — THROUGH and BECAUSE of this man, not in spite of him. Because it’s SO easy to feel entitled – when we think that we’re “right”, and another is “wrong”.
– FIGHTING for peace can be a seductive slippery slope.
– Being ENRAGED about environmental matters can seem like a total no-brainer.
– Being SHIT-FACED over injustices can seem like a pretty darn wise move.
…But IS it?
Perhaps there’s a different way. Maybe, just maybe…
A Middle-Way, if you will.
– Perhaps this middle way is about coming TOGETHER with others — vs. separating ourselves?
– Perhaps it’s about UNDERSTANDING another’s viewpoint — vs. pointing a finger of blame?
– Perhaps it’s about having FIERCE, PASSIONATE CONVICTION and persistence – while also still having a soft and tender heart?
When I saw what I was (innocently) doing — I was flooded with deep compassion (for myself and the older man).
And I actually felt better… uplifted… my heart felt a hundred miles wide.
All from a tossed coffee cup on the road.
(Who knew?)
And now what had made me MAD just moments ago – had officially MADE MY DAY!
We all have to remind ourselves that we get to CHOOSE how we view anything, anyone, or any situation.
It’s all up to interpretation. 100%.
– So will you choose to question your perspectives?
– Will you be brave enough to challenge what you’ve long believed?
– Will you seek out a more loving peaceful way to STILL get your goals met, or your dreams realized?
Here’s a SHOCKING story:
I once heard of a Native American tribe that did something RADICAL as part of their normal social rules:
Whenever a tribe-member would ever get in trouble, break the law or do something not-so-very-nice… They would gather everyone together, put the “Perpetrator” into the center of the town square…
AND SHOUT COMPLIMENTS AT HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
– They would LOVE him.
– REMIND him of who he really was.
– TELL him that he was lovable and worthy, no matter what he had done.
Because these people knew the TRUTH.
They knew that lack of self-love was ALWAYS the cause of wonky actions.
And they understood that this loving approach was the only way to end war – inside and out.
Because only LOVE heals — for ourselves, for others, or for the planet.
So join with me on a radical quest to seek out LOVING solutions – to your biggest or most burdensome issues: with your clients, your family, your friends, or strangers in the street.
Oh sure, you’ll be very human like me, and have your own Snark-ball moments. That’s normal. And par for the course.
But STAY the course, anyway.
Seek out love wherever you can.
And don’t accept anything LESS than that — because you deserve nothing less than that, Beautiful!!!
