“Become more spiritual. Spend more time praying, giving, helping others, loving. Volunteer and express generosity and love. Get rid of pride, ego, selfishness, anger, guilt, vanity and ambition. Spend less time accumulating things, worrying, being in the past or the future, hurting others or being violent in any way. . . You are immortal. You are here to learn, to grow wise, to become God-like. What you learn here you take with you when you die. You cannot take anything else. It is so simple. The kingdom of heaven is within. Stop seeking gurus, and instead find yourself. Soon you will find your real home.” Brian Weiss, M.D. When things happen in this world that don’t seem to make sense, there is a tendency to contract. When things happen in the world that place evil acts at center stage, there is a tendency to close off to others thinking that is the only way to be safe. When things happen in this world that scare us, there is a tendency to look for a way to regain control over ourselves and others. I am only human and I clearly understand the need to find some semblance of order in an otherwise crazy universe. But, in reality, while I know I cannot control what happens around me, I can get in touch with what happens within me. And there, how I respond to external situations will dictate how the universe will respond to the song in my soul. Each one of us is strong, our spirits are strong. Believe that. And the strength of our spirit will help us to endure and make sense during tough times. So instead of closing off to the world when we face situations that cause us to question life, open up to the music of your heart that wants to play loudly. When I ask what is the music of my soul, my answers come from within, I just need to make time to get silent and listen. There are many ways I can do this. I can spend more time in meditation or prayer. I can spend time being with others assisting those who are the most disenfranchised of our community. I can spend more time taking care of myself and others through generosity or kindness. I can reach out and I can be a part of the solution. I can spend time finding myself at my center so that during tough times I can learn to strengthen my resolve, learn, grow and endure. When things happen in this world that spotlight evil, there is no better time for me to become more spiritual. By going within I will stop the evil from infecting me or perpetuating it onto others. In essence, when tragedies happen, we all go through the various stages of grief, anger, denial, revenge. None of these feelings will bring the lost ones back. None of these will erase the fear that seems to plague our society and will build if we allow it. While I wish that I could rewind the clock so that good people never have to suffer, it can be an opportunity to look at my life and pinpoint the times where anger, guilt or ambition have been the norm and make a change for the better. It can be stretch assignment where WE come together to turn a horrible reality into a beautiful transformation. Let us not let the lost lives be in vain. We are here to learn how to love bigger and better, so let’s get to it. Be in the present moment and go within to find that simple voice of love that is so needed in this world no matter what happens on the outside. We all do not need permission from others to govern our actions each day, no guru in this world will know your own beauty and the best way to express it. We all can begin to realize that accumulating material things, worrying about things out of our control or hurting others as a response are not what the world calls for at this time to heal. Find the good in yourself, find your own beauty within. Then act from that place of love. When you do, your lessons in life will bring you and all of us more joy as you continue to learn and grow wise and make a difference on your way. And, with
the introspection, you will gain the strength and courage to keep open to the world and gain endurance through the toughest of times!