He cheated on his wife with a much younger employee. She abandoned her newborn baby. He drinks until he beats his children. She manipulates her feminine wiles to get what she wants from men. He took their hard-earned money and then squandered it for selfish motives. She killed him. He raped her. She sells her body for money. He heads up a sex trafficking ring. She molests children. He sells drugs to teenagers…

You might judge all of these people, labeling them as “immoral” or “wrong”. But as I described in my recent article Are You “Spiritual But Not Religious?”, I think spirituality is largely about choosing to withhold judgment, trusting that everyone’s soul is on its own journey, learning what it’s here to learn (and teach), and everyone is entitled to their own journey.

I’m in no way condoning such behaviors, but what if, instead of your judgment, you could perceive these individuals as suffering beings and offer them your love and compassion instead? What if Reverend John Watson was right when he said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle?” What if we all grew our empathy muscles instead of judging? 

Randi G. Fine, Contributor
Waking Times

When Acceptance Is The Only Choice

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. “ ~Serenity Prayer~

We all find ourselves overwhelmed at times by situations that we have no control over; situations that we cannot change no matter how hard we try or what we do.

We all have difficulty accepting situations that are not the way we wish they would be. This difficulty manifests itself in feelings of frustration, anger, jealousy and regrets. These negative feelings interfere with our day to day peace of mind. They prevent us from forgetting or forgiving that which is well beyond our control. They impact our ability to move forward.

There is a sweet relief that comes with surrender. Many of you feel like it is a terrifying sensation. Nothing could be further than the truth!

If you are feeling panicked by the idea of surrender, it is because you are attempting to move into accelerated movement while still in fear, doubt and resistance. Of course, trying to find forward movement and resisting at the same time is going to cause discomfort! Trying to find comfort in fast moving energies without faith is going to be very difficult, as well.

But surrender, true surrender, with your whole heart and full faith, is one of the most delicious and profound things you can ever do as a human being. It is open-heartedly falling into the loving embrace of the universe, and from that action, the magic, and the transformation, begins. ~Archangel Gabriel

If someone is making you feel good, bad, angry or hurt, you are denying your own truth and choosing to let someone else have the responsibility for your existence. Ultimately, you are the only person responsible for you. ~ Creator

Your life is where you are. You take yourself with you wherever you go. You, yourself, are the sum total of your life. Your consciousness is what your life is about. Your awareness and vision – your life is about these. Certainly, what occurs in life affects you, yet you are the decider of how it affects you. Your life is about you, and how you respond to what occurs. Therefore, I say that your life is all about you.
 
Your life isn’t dependent upon what happens to you. Your life depends upon how you see what happens, for as you perceive, you respond. You draw the pictures of your life by the conclusions you draw. The conclusions you draw are the assumptions you make. It is not unheard of for you to conclude something that is not true. You made one thing of it when you could have made something else of it.
 
Your understanding is not infallible. You are the chef of your thoughts and reactions. You base your recipes for life on your construing of the facts.
 
This is only one good reason why it is better for you to refrain from judging. The story of your life is your putting two and two together, and it is easy to be mistaken. If you would deal differently with an earlier situation now, then you know you have seen amiss. Of course, you would lead your life differently now. You are a human being who learns and grows. No matter how you convince yourself at the time how right you are, the angle of light you look from changes.
 
Noting this change is all to the good. This is how you can see your growth.