What If It Isn't Broken?

There's a lot going on in my life right now. My mom is having heart problems. My husband is dealing with his own health issues and isn't working presently. My daughter is having personal struggles. Finances are stretched tight, and my eleven year old car has been in the shop for the better part of two weeks. Needless to say, my stress levels are at an all time high with no end in sight. Tears have been a daily occurrence of late as I struggle to cope with it all. Still, with everything that is taking place I find myself asking this question: What if it isn't broken?

As humans, we are conditioned to see the world in black and white--good/bad, right/wrong, sin/righteousness, etc. We are also programmed to do what we can to fix what is perceived as broken. I'll admit, some of this comes naturally as what we see as problems often bring pain. Very few of us enjoy living with pain so we work to achieve something different.

What if the circumstances of our lives are not really problems? What if they are only perceived as problems? What if the goal our life is not to avoid situations deemed sinful or wrong or bad but to experience all the nuances that this three-dimensional life has to offer? What if we came to earth to play in everything--messy, outrageous or otherwise?

Yes, I am stressed out. Yes, I know it will all pass eventually. What experiences are to be gained in this moment of now? What insights? What awarenesses? How can I use all the messy circumstances of my life to grow as a person?

I have said this before. We didn't come to planet Earth to be perfect. We came to Earth to be human. BEing human encompasses the full range of experiences and emotions--not just those considered "good". 

There are many things in my life at present I have been conditioned to see as bad--things I am supposed to fix. I'll ask again: what if it isn't broken? What if I am here to feel...to experience...to think...to grow? What if this series of events is designed to expand me so much I am a new creation?

It is only in brokenness we are made whole.

~CSE

The Source Of Our Anger

It's funny. I am forever talking about how important it is for us to stop fighting among ourselves, especially on social media. A lot of people will agree with me. Then I hear them talking and/or read their posts and I know they truly just don't get it.

They fight over guns. They fight over politics, religion, and the role of religion in politics. They fight over women in church hierarchy. They fight over the issues of homosexuality and changing genders. They fight over racism. They fight over culture. They fight over socioeconomic status. And the list goes on...and on...and on...

Once and for all, I would like people to sit back and really think about it instead of just paying the idea of peace lip service. Do they REALLY think guns are bad (or good)? Do they REALLY think only Democrats or Republicans have a monopoly on morals/values? Do they REALLY think homosexuality is a choice in all circumstances?

In my experience, absolutes are limitations. The vast majority of people don't fit in neat little boxes that are easily defined. We are all a mix of good and bad, right and wrong. Sometimes we do things well and sometimes we make terrible mistakes. It's what makes us human.

If people really took the time to look at things, they might just discover that they have a lot more in common with those folks they consider "different". They might understand that beyond the differences, we are all connected through our humanness. We are all connected through our hearts, through love.

Maybe if they stopped and thought about it, they would understand that the source of their anger was not based on that internal connection but on some external force trying to separate where no real separation exists. This force is the nature of duality and what we all came here to experience.

It is time to see the source of our anger for what it is and understand that we have spent enough time in separation. We may not look alike. We may not act alike. We may not think alike. Regardless, we are all connected through our hearts. We are all One.


~CSE

Change Your Perception, Change Your Outcome

I came into contact with the work of Dr. Wayne Dyer over nineteen years ago--around the time I became a single mom. Over the years, his thoughts and words became a source of hope and inspiration for someone who needed frequent help remembering what is important in life. Although I mourn his death, those things he left behind continue to illumine and empower me.

I have watched his movie "The Shift" several times this week. Each time, it has enabled me to see past the expectations I have for myself and my life. Each time, I have a growing awareness of how all the circumstances in my life that seem "bad" are really just there to help me learn. As I become thankful for those same things, my life begins to "shift" in unexpected ways. Blocks that were there because of my expectations of the way things were supposed to be are removed because I no longer see them as problems. I invite them--even encourage them--to come into my life. I don't judge them. I allow them (and that is why they are no longer blocks).

For example, my relationship with my daughter has always been rockier than my relationships with my sons. My daughter is very different from me. I have a tendency to work within society's guidelines, even while being a rebel in my mind. My daughter is definitely someone who marches to her own drummer. For someone as perfectionistic as I am, having a daughter who does not do things the way society deems them appropriate has been difficult.

However, after immersing myself in the thoughts and feelings "The Shift" brings out, I am looking at my relationship with her in a whole new light. Instead of seeing her rebellion and problems as negative things, I am beginning to perceive them as part of her growth and, inevitably, part of mine. The really cool part is, as I leave the struggle--the block--behind, my daughter's anger and frustration are decreasing. As I no longer feel like I am responsible for her and allow her to be more responsible for herself, she is growing in her ability to be responsible. We still have a ways to go, but things are changing for the better. While I don't expect things to be perfect, I do expect the problems that show up to be there in utter perfection.

Dr. Dyer's quote is really true! "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." When you begin to see the world's problems in their infinite perfection and become thankful for what they can teach you, the problems have a way of working themselves out. They are no longer problems but tools for growth and development!

When you change your perceptions, you change your outcomes. The power has always been within.

~CSE