“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.”
-Maori Proverb
We live in a world of choices. Small choices: do I wake up and feel happy today or do I wake up and complain? Do I eat a bag of chips for lunch or a salad? And bigger ones: what do I do when faced with a person or situation that I feel strongly against? Someone that behaves so out of the realm of how I would? We’ve all been there – a boss, a politician, a neighbor, someone driving in front of you on the highway. It’s so easy to drop into the “I’m right – he’s wrong” mode of thinking. Judgement.
I do this too, so I’m not preaching from the stage in this post. I write this just as much for myself as I do for the person reading it. What if instead of choosing to jump to judgement we stopped ourselves for a second. Rather than say “he’s wrong, he’s a bad person” – we took a moment and used discernment instead.
Discernment
noun : dis~ern~ment
“the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure:
skill in discerning”
Using discernment – instead of being entrenched and tied to a person energetically in the muck of judgement – we can imagine ourselves a detached observer of the person or situation. This can be challenging at first, but simply bringing awareness to your judgements is lessening their hold on you. It is allowing yourself to see the other person for the soul they are. Not just the mask they are wearing.
Why do this? Well let’s say there’s a politician (ahem – this is not a political blog but this is an issue that’s relevant to our current climate in the US) that you disagree with. You loathe him or her when they voice their opinions. You shout at the TV, “I am right! You are wrong!” Now what is happening to you inside? In your heart and in your energy field? You are dropping yourself down right into that energy that you are shouting against. Notice yourself complaining and panicking and feeling fear over this person. This brings you right into the very energy that you are saying you disagree with. I’m guilty of this too – and I have learned from experience over and over again that it feels terrible.
In fact, we as a society are feeling the stress of dealing with all that’s going on in the world, and taking it on not only mentally, but physically. A recent Harris Poll found that “66 percent of Americans reported stress about the future of the country, 57 percent about the current political climate, and 49 percent about the election outcome” (Itkowitz, The Washington Post). How much of this stress can be eased by taking a step back and gaining some perspective?
How can we use discernment instead of judgement to keep our minds and bodies healthier, and also create positive change in the world? You can still disagree with something a person says or does. You just withhold judgement. It goes without saying that we all aren’t going to agree on everything. Some of us are more evolved than others, some of us don’t want to grow as people – we each are on our own journey.
We can discern that we do not resonate with this person and we can rise above it rather than judge them. If you go in the trenches of judgement – which is essentially fear energy – you cannot help but welcome that fear into your existence. After all, this person you are “so different” from and “so much better than” is connected to you through the energy field we all share. The Universal Energy, The Field, The Holy Spirit, The Source, that we all have running through our bodies and connecting us all. We are not just co-existing with others on Earth – we are all in the same pot of stew my friends! So if you hate someone for what they are doing – that hate you hold for them spreads. It spreads not only in your body but out into your aura – out to your children, your spouse, your neighbors, and on and on.
Discern. Note what you don’t agree with, what frustrates you – but don’t get down into it. Be in the moment and connect through your heart with your Divine Self. Someone cheat on you? Treat you unfairly? Imagine yourself looking down on the situation from a higher place. How silly it all looks from the mountain top.
Take peaceful, thoughtful action when prompted. Only through action motivated by love and peace can we raise the vibration of those who have their eyes closed. People are taking on acts of Divine action every day. Look at peaceful protests, the innocent and unconditional love of a child, humanitarians, spiritual leaders.
Using discernment does not equate to inaction. If someone is coming at you with a chainsaw, please use your judgement and run in the other direction. But in a non-life-threatening situation, using discernment means stepping back for a moment, taking the higher view, and making an informed and purposeful decision for the better of all.
Even those we cannot understand – someone who has hurt or abandoned us, or someone who infuriates us that we haven’t even met in person yet we read about in the news – whether you like it or not, this person is OF YOU. They are connected to you. Not just by location (Earth) but through the web of energy that binds us all together. Be the leader. Be the light. It may seem small, but this is a huge choice you can make. It may sound cheesy, but in these times of such polarities in our world, the only way to heal us all is through love.
If a person offends you, look at them through the eyes of a detached observer. Take away any power their words or actions want to have on you and you elevate them and the situation. This is how true change and transformation can happen on a personal and global scale.
Remember: our thoughts create our reality. Change your thoughts and reactions – change our reality.
I’ll try – you try – encourage others to try – it’s the small thing we can each decide to do each day. Read the news, observe, take the high road, act when prompted. It may not be the easy choice but it will lift the energy of the collective as time goes on. The higher vibration can not help but lift the lower vibration over time.
In closing, I’m reminded of the well known Native American Legend that ties up the power of choice nicely:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
“Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
In gratitude,
Nicki
