The source of all glory is acceptance of whatsoever the Lord hath bestowed, and contentment with that which God hath ordained. ~Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 155
The workshop I attended on the weekend has me preoccupied with thoughts around my emotions. In particular how to process them effectively so that they do not become stuck inside me, fester and morph into negativity. A friend reminded me yesterday that when we exude negative emotions into our environment it affects those around us and even the inanimate objects. I had accepted this in respect to the people around me knowing that we have invisible energy frequencies where our emotions are transmitted from one person to another without the medium of words. But what of inanimate things....? This required some more thought and then it came to me. All the negative thoughts, words and behaviour that I have conjured and directed toward my new home all summer long, has had the effect of there being something going wrong with one thing or another. Arrogantly, I chalked it up to faulty workmanship and bad choices made by my landlord. Yesterday, I realised that the appliances and structure of my home may in fact be reacting to the lovelessness I was spewing freely around inside! How can anything exist and persist in such an environment? It struck me like a sledgehammer yesterday morning that the energy I am exuding needs to change. This had been an awareness that I had been working to adopt in my attitude for a few days now but now I knew that I had to put more conviction behind this way of being. It was having a very real effect on the house and its fixings and fixtures. The appearance of contentment too, confirms this. It amazes me that when I have read and written about my understanding of the connections between us as human beings extends even further than I had originally imagined. I know that kind thoughts and words directed toward plants and animals have a positive effect but I had never extended it to things. It is true that at this moment I need to be aware of the sufficiency that exists in and around me. Although it is easier to make this determination around material things, it also is true for who and what I am. I have enough and I am enough. The thoughts that are generated by stating this out loud sometimes feel uncomfortable and strange. This I believe is due to the abundance of messaging I receive and what it is I perceive to the contrary. These messages serve only to create a sense of longing and greed that can never be fulfilled. To step out of that cycle and live in the space below the turbulent waters, where the stillness of the vasty deep is calming and peaceful, the place where contentment resides, I need to let settle in my heart the assurance that life provides what I need when I need it. How do I begin such a practice? This past summer I have lived in the opposite way, longing for luxury and opulence and disregarding what I have. I know that this practice requires honesty. Today I have a home that shields me from the wind and rain, a reliable edifice that keeps the elements of the weather at bay and running hot water that warms me through to my bones. Appreciating the simple things will help me to practice cultivating a peaceful heart, thankful for all that is and what might not yet be. This is where growth happens...