Spiritual Freedom - A Personal Challenge

My deep desire for the unification of mankind and for world peace that I wrote about in the preceding piece is something I am totally committed to yet the very idea of the commitment scares me. How on earth can we jump from where we are now to such a different place in my lifetime? Many would say it is impossible but I don’t believe in the impossible: everything is possible if you truly believe in it.

But why it scares me is because I know that I myself struggle with opinions and judgments which, if allowed to reign free, would prevent such an ambitious goal ever coming close to fruition. If I feel judgmental and critical with all my self development, how can I expect most other people to do it. It starts with me (“Be the change you wish to see in the world”, Mahatma Ghandi) and indeed it sort of ends with me in that I cannot change anyone else, only myself.

With this in mind, as I pondered what I had written earlier, fearing I sounded a little pompous and self righteous, I asked the universe, “What can I do about my own judgments, as I am worried I often think judgmental things, yet I don’t like it?” and the answer that came was short and sweet: “Observe, then let go; this is not who you are”. The words were so simple and immediately brought peace to my concern. We live in an imperfect world and to expect to be perfect is unrealistic and indeed unduly restrictive and self punitive.

In essence, what it means is, notice that you are making the judgments in the first place, then let them go, stop thinking about it and remember you are better than such things, that you are, at heart, a far better person than someone who judges others. It brings to mind, “How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the splinter out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.” (Luke 6:42).

I am suitably behumbled by the awareness this has rekindled, something that will ideally form part of a life long personal discipline and over time the noise of the judgments will fade away and leave me in peace and living my dream.