LETTING THE SUNSHINE IN – “This improved perception of humility starts another revolutionary change in our outlook. Our eyes begin to open to the immense values which have come straight out of painful ego-puncturing.” (12 & 12, p. 52)
“Tis better to be lowly born, And range with humble livers in content, Than to be perked up in a glistering grief. And wear a golden sorrow.”
– William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616), UK, “King Henry VIII”, Act 2 scene 3
What’s the scariest thing about your own ego you’ve discovered, lately?
The Arrogant Swans:
In a far away kingdom, there was a river. This river was home to many golden swans. The swans spent most of their time on the banks of the river. Every six months, the swans would leave a golden feather as a fee for using the lake. The soldiers of the kingdom would collect the feathers and deposit them in the royal treasury.
One day, a homeless bird saw the river. “The water in this river seems so cool and soothing. I will make my home here,” thought the bird.
As soon as the bird settled down near the river, the golden swans noticed her. They came shouting. “This river belongs to us. We pay a golden feather to the King to use this river. You can not live here.”
“I am homeless, brothers. I too will pay the rent. Please give me shelter,” the bird pleaded. “How will you pay the rent? You do not have golden feathers,” said the swans laughing. They further added, “Stop dreaming and leave once.” The humble bird pleaded many times. But the arrogant swans drove the bird away.
“I will teach them a lesson!”
decided the humiliated bird.
She went to the King and said, “O King! The swans in your river are impolite and unkind. I begged for shelter but they said that they had purchased the river with golden feathers.”
The King was angry with the arrogant swans for having insulted the homeless bird. He ordered his soldiers to bring the arrogant swans to his court. In no time, all the golden swans were brought to the King’s court.
“Do you think the royal treasury depends upon your golden feathers? You can not decide who lives by the river. Leave the river at once or you all will be beheaded!” shouted the King.
The swans shivered with fear on hearing the King. They flew away never to return. The bird built her home near the river and lived there happily forever. The bird gave shelter to all other birds in the river.
“The process of the Seventh Step brings about a peace of mind that we never dreamed possible. We sense that what is present throughout our search for spiritual growth is our ability to feel our Higher Power’s love for us.” “It doesn’t matter that we will not attain a state of perfection or complete humility in our life-time.” (It Works, How & Why, p. 53) “Affirm divine calmness and peace, and send out only thoughts of love and goodwill if you want to live in peace and harmony. Never get angry, for anger poisons your system.” – Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 – 1953) renowned Bengali Yogi
What have you done to achieve “peace and harmony”, lately?
Peace XVIII
by Khalil Gibran
The tempest calmed after bending the branches of the trees and leaning heavily upon the grain in the field. The stars appeared as broken remnants of lightning. But now silence prevailed overall as if Nature’s war had never been fought.
At that hour a young woman entered her chamber and knelt by her bed sobbing bitterly. Her heart flamed with agony. But she could finally open her lips and say, “Oh Lord, bring him home safely to me. I have exhausted my tears and can offer no more, oh Lord, full of love and mercy. My patience is drained and calamity is seeking possession of my heart. Save him, oh Lord, from the iron paws of War; deliver him from such unmerciful Death, for he is weak, governed by the strong. Oh Lord, save my beloved, who is Thine own son, from the foe, who is Thy foe. Keep him from the forced pathway to Death’s door; let him see me, or come and take me to him.”
Quietly a young man entered.
He wrapped head in bandage soaked with escaping life.
So he approached her with a greeting of tears and laughter, then took her hand and placed against it his flaming lips. And with a voice which bespoke past sorrow, and joy of union. And uncertainty of her reaction, he said, “Fear me not, for I am the object of your plea. Be glad, for Peace has carried me back safely to you, and humanity has restored what greed essayed to take from us. And be not sad. But smile, my beloved. Do not express bewilderment. For Love has a power that dispels Death; a charm that conquers the enemy. I am your one. Think me not a specter emerging from the House of Death to visit your Home of Beauty.
“Do not be frightened, for I am now Truth, spared from swords and fire to reveal to the people the triumph of Love over War. I am Word uttering introduction to the play of happiness and peace.”
Then the young man became speechless and his tears spoke the language of the heart, and the angels of Joy hovered about that dwelling, and the two hearts restored the singleness which had been taken from them.
At dawn, the two stood in the middle of the field contemplating the beauty of Nature injured by the tempest. After a deep and comforting silence, the soldier said to his sweetheart, “Look at the Darkness, giving birth to the Sun.”
WISE PRAYER CAN CHANGE THE WORLD – “God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change. Courage to change the things we can. And wisdom to know the difference.” (12 & 12, p. 52)
“Prayer power is real. By putting it into action, we will be able to stay more constantly in higher awareness than ever before. If we can do that, the world will quickly change.” – James Redfield (1950 – ) U.S., spiritual author
What type of powerful change has prayer enhanced the serenity in your life, lately?
At a Lunar Eclipse
by Thomas Hardy
Thy shadow, Earth, from Pole to Central Sea,
Now steals along upon the Moon’s meek shine
In even monochrome and curving line
Of imperturbable serenity.
How shall I link such sun-cast symmetry
With the torn troubled form I know as thine,
That profile, placid as a brow divine,
With continents of moil and misery?
And can immense Mortality but throw
So small a shade, and Heaven’s high human scheme
Be hemmed within the coasts yon arc implies?
Is such the stellar gauge of earthly show,
Nation at war with nation, brains that teem,
Heroes, and women fairer than the skies?
THEN REMOVING ALL SELF-SERVING DESIRE COMES NEXT – “When we ask our Higher Power to remove these shortcomings, we ask for freedom from anything which limits our recovery. We ask for help because we cannot do it alone.” (It Works, How & Why, p. 49)
“Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem.”
– Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986) Indian spiritual author/guru
What solutions have been revealed to you lately after having asked for help?
The Origin of Coconut Tree
A Hindu Mythological Story
King Trishanku was a saintly man whose one great desire was to ascend bodily into heaven.He had once done a good turn to sage Vishwamitra and the sage decided to help him fulfill his desire.
Accordingly, he performed a yagna and Trishanku began to rise heavenwards.
When Indra, King of the gods, saw Trishanku at the gates of Heaven, he was furious and catching hold of him, threw him down. Vishwamitra saw Trishanku hurtling downwards and shouted:”Let Trishanku stay where he is now!”
Trishanku’s fall was arrested. As Indra would not let him ascend into heaven and Vishwamitra would not allow him to come down, Trishanku became suspended between heaven and earth.
Folklore has expanded this mythological story to explain the origin of the coconut tree: Vishwamitra knew that Trishanku would eventually fall to earth unless held up by physical means, so he propped him up with a long pole.
The pole eventually turned into a coconut tree and Trishanku’s head became its fruit. The fibre around the coconut is Trishanku’s beard. When you take it off, you see his eyes peering at you.
How would you describe the “main ingredient” of your own spiritual growth, nowadays?
IT ALLOWS US TO LOOK DEEPER –
“… when we have
taken a square look
at some of these de-
fects, have discussed
them with another, and
have become willing to
have them removed, our
thinking about humility
commences to have
a wider meaning.”
(12 & 12, p. 74)
THE MAIN INGREDIENT –
“We couldn’t handle
the ordeal of life by our-
selves. It wasn’t until we
made a mess of our lives
that we realized we couldn’t
do it alone. By admitting
this, we achieved a glim-
pse of humility. This is
the main ingredient of
Step Seven.” (The
Basic Text, p. 36)
“I can trust
my friends. These
people force me to
examine myself,
encourage me
to grow.”
For months, the son was asking his father for a new car, knowing that his father had more than enough money.
When graduation day came, the young man’s father called him into the study. The father handed him a wrapped gift and congratulated the new about to be graduated on his achievement.
Looking disappointed, the son opened the gift to find a lovely, leather bound journal, with the young man’s name embossed on the cover. He angrily raised his voice, threw down the journal and stormed out.
The young man had not seen his father since graduation day. He became successful and was wealthy like his father, with a beautiful home and family. He came to realize his father was aging and it may be time to put the past behind them.
Just then, he received a message that his father had passed, and he had to return home to take care of the estate.
As the mourning son regretfully returned home, he began searching through his father’s important papers and saw that still new journal, just as he had left it.
He opened it, and as he flipped through the pages a car key dropped from the back of the journal.
A dealer tag was attached to the key that read “Paid in full. Wherever this car takes you, write about it to remember it forever. Love, Dad”
No matter what you expect, be grateful for what you are given. It may be more of a blessing than you think.
“A great turning point in our lives came when we sought for humility as something we really wanted; rather than as something we must have.” (12 & 12, p. 75)
“My turning point was my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It was then that I, who had dedicated most of my life to penetrate the ‘secrets’ of the universe; realized that there are no secrets. Life is and will always be a mystery.” – Paulo Coelho (1947 – ) Brazilian spiritual author
What has been one of your most memorable turning points you’ve experienced on your recovery journey?
THE FORK IN THE ROAD – a short story
Posted on February 24, 2012
Two young men walked shoulder to shoulder, talking quietly under the hot summer sun.
“I don’t know,” Harry said. “I just can’t accept the idea that there is some sort of being that is in control of everything.” He looked at his friend and raised his brows in challenge. “And I don’t think there’s anything when you die. I think you just die and that’s the end.”
“But,” argued John, “why are we here then? What’s the point of this life if we just waste it away and then die without ever doing anything important?”
“I think we are here to have fun, to do what we want to do. I mean, it’s my life; why can’t I do what I want when I want?”
John thought about that question, knowing there should be an answer, but he didn’t know what it was.
As they walked a short way further, John looked a little ahead, studying the heat rising from the pavement. The road they walked along was wide, paved and smooth, with no potholes or bumps to mar its surface. He frowned, wondering if this was indeed what life was supposed to be like.
[L]ooked to each side, taking in the dark quiet of the woods that flanked each side of the road.
He felt uneasy as he looked into the shadowed depths on the left, as if there were someone in there watching their passage along the road, wishing evil on them.
…
[T]urned his head and looked to the right, feeling a peace fill him that he had previously not known, as if whatever was there was watching over him.
He turned to look at his friend and said, “I don’t know. It just seems to me that there should be something more to life than a never ending stream of parties and friends drinking and playing and having a good time. There has to be more. Otherwise, what’s the point? It seems such an empty, shallow life; if that is all there is.”
Before Harry could respond, they rounded a bend in the road, and came upon another road that went off to the right. This road was narrow and covered in dirt, an uneven surface that would be much more difficult to walk.
They stopped just before the intersection of the two roads, taking in the distant view. The woods ended just a few yards further on and there open fields began. They stood and studied both roads for a bit, then noticed the signs ahead.
…
The sign on the left was a giant billboard, covered with beautiful young people, each holding a bottle of beer while they laughed and talked. The words spread across the bottom of the sign said, “Joe’s Jolly Joint. Where a good time is had by all.” In smaller letters was the address “Fire Street, Brimstone Township”.
Harry chuckled delightedly and rubbed his stomach.
“Ah-h-h … my friend, a welcome sight, this. I am thirsty and in need of entertainment. Come, let us go and get a drink.”
John turned his head and looked at the sign that stood further down the road that led to the right. It was weathered and beaten, the paint chipped and faded; but it was still possible to see the beautiful scene of a glistening lake nestled in the trees and hills. “Serenity Lake. Come and rest.”
He let his eyes focus on the distant view and could see sunlight glinting off water. Suddenly, he was thirsty also, but not for the drink that was beckoning to his friend.
He turned to look at Harry, who was slowly stepping toward the point where the paved road continued to the town that stood silent in the late afternoon sun. The buildings were painted in bright colors that gleamed in the sun, glorious hues that filled the eye with a colorful welcome.
John hesitated, wondering if the lake matched the worn out, battered sign; comparing that image to the bright, eye-catching town that had grown up around the wide highway.
“Come, rest in Me.”
…
The Voice was quiet, beckoning and reassuring at the same time.
“What did you say?” He asked Harry.
Harry had reached the edge of the woods and turned back, brows raised.
“What?”
John frowned. “I asked what you said to me.”
Harry laughed. “Friend I didn’t say anything other than I want to go get a drink.” He pointed to the sign for Joe’s.
John asked, “You didn’t tell me to come with you?”
“What are you doing? Hearing voices?”
…
“You didn’t hear it?”
At this, Harry laughed outright.
“No. I didn’t say anything, I didn’t hear anything.” Then he sighed, getting impatient with the delay. “Now, are you coming or not? I really want to go get a drink, and see what other amusements are available.”
John frowned heavily at the sense of dread that filled him.
“Come, rest in Me.”
…
The quiet Voice came again; and this time he realized that Harry had not heard it because the words were spoken in his own heart.
“Harry, why don’t you come with me? We can get something to drink down at the lake.”
Harry looked both directions, taking in and comparing the two destinations before laughing sardonically. He looked at the two differing roads then back to his old roommate.
“No, I don’t think so,” he responded decisively. “I can’t imagine that road leading to anything good. You’ll probably have all sorts of trouble going that direction. If anything, you should come with me. Aren’t you thirsty? We’ve been walking quite a while.”
“Yes, I’m thirsty too; but I’m going this way.” He raised a hand and pointed toward the sparkling water in the distance. “Please, come with me. I have a bad feeling about that place.” He pointed to the bright town and looked at Harry steadily; but his friend just laughed.
“Seriously? You have a bad feeling? Going psychic on me now?”
John closed his eyes, unable to find the words to keep his friend from making what he was sure would be a deadly mistake.
“Please, Harry, come with me. I don’t know why, but I feel like you should come with me.”
“Ok, you know what? This is nuts. If you want to go to your little lake and break your leg in the process, who am I to try and stop you. Just don’t try to force me to follow you.”
…
Harry turned and walked down the paved road in a huff. John watched him go, sorry to see his college buddy take what felt to be the wrong turn. Why couldn’t he see that it was the wrong way to go? Why didn’t he hear that voice that beckoned so quietly?
He pulled his mind away from the questions and looked to where Harry had been standing a moment before; but all that was there was an ominous black cloud that seemed to be rising from glowing embers in the middle of the road. The town was shrouded in a dark grey covering, somewhat resembling smoke and ash.
Startled, John stepped back.
“He has made his choice and can not turn from it now.” The quiet Voice filled his heart. “He has rejected Me in favor of a good time and having his own way. Now it is your turn to make your choice. Will you come to Me and sup with Me and let Me give you rest? I have living water that once you drink of it, you will never thirst again.” As if reading his hesitance, the Voice continued, “Do not worry about the uneven road. When you have trouble getting to the end, I will be right beside you to help you along. All you’ll have to do is reach for Me.”
John felt peace and love fill his very soul as he turned and hurried toward the lake.
