THE ONLY ROAD WE HAVE

I used to wonder how we would tell the difference between "the still small voice" and delusion or even wishful thinking.

When I had my first what I called "a blinding flash of the obvious," I tended to discount its importance because it was so obviously true that anyone would know it and probably did know it because I knew it. Then more and more came, and I just referred to them as my "BFOs" and still did not realize this for the "still small voice."

But I knew within myself that these were not delusion nor wishful thinking, mainly because, in the beginning, they almost always clarified a spiritual truth my reasoning mind could not accept. As in, "We have given up fighting everything and everybody." How could that be true when my goal was peace of mind? I had tried that, and it did not work. I tried to give up fighting and just became a fighting doormat.

Then I remembered being gifted with an understanding of the Sermon's charge to "Resist not evil." I resisted those very words until out of the clear came a BFO reminding me that any compulsion I've ever had only grew uglier with a deeper hold on me the more I resisted it...tried to manage it, control it, stop it. I quit resisting, surrendered in a word, and I was freed of the compulsion. "What you resist, persists" is true.

I came to realize that the word "fighting" was my hook. I needed to quit fighting, i.e., resisting, the various people and things that I disagreed with and start trying to find a mutual space of agreement no matter how small the space. That's the sliver of gold.

"We have given up fighting everything and everybody" could then become "We have begun to accept everything and everybody." Then we have a peaceful return-to place...for we seldom are able to accept that which looks wrong to us just by saying that we accept it. We now know to look (and look repeatedly) within ourselves for the change...not out there to the person, the thing we are resisting.

The road to acceptance is not cheap...but it's the only road we have.

Thank You.