For years I have been working at becoming better. You know, the self-development track. Creating programs to be a better father, husband, speaker, person, man, body, and so on. Always aware that I would never be good enough to measure up to the standards of the world. Always looking for the next book, seminar, video, or secret word that would allow me to enter the rarified air of the accomplished. Always measuring accomplishments on the standards set by others (in my imagination) and coming up short and unsatisfied by my progress in the world around me. The question has been, how do I get people to like me, listen to me, accept my ideas, support me and appreciate me.
It took quite awhile but I finally realized that the self-development program instigated by me wanting to be better was like the cartoon of the donkey pulling the cart because he had a carrot, tied on the end of a stick in front of him so he was never able to reach the goal of eating the carrot. That carrot kept moving away from him as he moved forward. There was always something changing around me and the goals of being better were part of those changes.
We live in two different worlds. We are a spiritual being having an experience in a physical body and we have forgotten that fact. Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God is within, Paul tells us to let this mind be in you which was in Jesus and then tells us to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
These ideas to me, tell us that we are already accomplished. We already have access to the knowledge of the Universe. We are wonderfully made. We have been measuring ourselves against the corruptible and incorrect standards of the material world and ignoring the loving and nurturing standards of our spiritual world. We are marching to the beat of a different drummer as the poet, Henry David Thoreau said in his poem Walden.
That new, different drummer is the Kingdom of God within you, the Christ of you that is waiting for us to wake up and become aware of our divine heritage. Waiting for us to complete our spiritual development program rather than our self (ego) development program. Anything of God is always perfect and incorruptible, anything of self (ego) is corruptible and subject to change.
I am/you are/we are complete and whole just as we are right now today is the message that Spirit wants us to hear and embody within our consciousness. You/we are already accomplished, loved and appreciated. We are each the center of the Universe creating the world of our experience. As we learn to spread the language of love, harmony, joy, abundance and peace, we experience a world with those characteristics. You/we/they are the light and love of the world.
I am learning to give up my self-development programs and rely on the wonderful spiritual development program that has been nicely laid out for me by the master teacher Jesus. Will you join me as we bring a renewed consciousness of love into our material world?
PS: This article was written on 1-1-21. We are in a new year, and we have survived. We are here. The same story needs to be addressed. Are we stepping into our Christ Self or are we attempting to get better on the tread mill of struggle set up by the world? What are we expecting in our world? Are we still hiding in the basement or are we stepping into the glorious realm of trust and faith in the energy of love that we are?
I love you,
Rev. Robert