I believe that no problem has the power to defeat us if we will upgrade our attitude about it. The humbling part is that we cannot upgrade our attitude all on our own...as a self-determined objective. We can try but we will fail...beat our breasts, wail...give up...try again. Several times. It is our own self-will that finally must fold.
A friend of mine told me of his awful what-to-do panicky morning. He was facing an enormous challenge at work, and there was no apparent good outcome for him.
On the way to work, he ran into a group of friends with whom he had coffee, and they talked about his situation. He went on to work with an uplifted spirit. The work problem remained exactly the same, but his attitude about it had been upgraded, and he was freed. Freed from the bondage of self.
Is that the only real bondage there is...the bondage of self? The gazillion what about mes?...what ifs? The future garbage that sends otherwise rational people to an early grave or a desire for it...or their medicine cabinets. God, who?
I'm guessing we all have what-to-do panicky mornings no matter how deep our spiritual growth. The trick is to limit the time we give to that panic, that self-centered fear that, given into, walks, talks and cries like a baby in our own head.
Changing our attitude...changing our mind. It takes a minimal amount of time...a heartbeat...to turn our thoughts toward God. It is our ego that links up with fear that we must needs detach from. It only has as much power as we give it, but when we give it an inch we have given it our all.
The paradox is that all we need do to detach is to kiss it on the lips. Resist it not, by a shaky but sincere "thank you," and God has us in his arms again. We know it and we show it.
Thank you.
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