To control our destiny we need to harness our will, to do not what we like, but what is in our long-term best interest. -- Eknath Easwaran, "Words to Live By," March 22
I have been reading my Easwaran book since 1996, and only this morning did I realize "what is in our long-term best interest" means...the underlying message, so to speak.
Ah, but we can't always be certain sure what our long-term best interest actually is. That's why sometimes, when we pray for God's will to be done in our life, we pray with our fingers crossed..."Just don't let it be this, please" or "Make it that, if you will."
I'm convinced that our long-term best interest is in what we do for others. The paradoxical part in doing for others lies in what we know our own self to be capable of doing.
Years ago when my dad died, my mother asked me to come home to live with her. That was a physical, mental and spiritual impossibility for me...which probably boils done to I did not want to, but it caused me great stress at the time. I even bought a two-bedroom, two-bath condo for her to come live with me. She chose not which was best for both of us, but there is the root of the paradox: Doing for others sometimes requires saying, "No." And, I'm here to say that takes some long and serious talks with God through our mentor and confidants.
First, it is essential that we know who we are and what we are all about. Until we know our own self from our toenails up, warts and wonders, we will be dragged through the alleys of our own mind by a simple request that required a "no" answer to begin with.
I am reminded of an embroidered pillow on my grandmother's sofa which read, In the end, all that matters is what we do for God.
How do we "do" for God? We do for others...starting with asking God what he has in mind then waiting for his answer.
Thank you.
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