I can’t give much detail now, but trust that when I fart my opinions into these articles, I speak from bitter and painful experiences. I am at the part of my journey where I want to turn and warn the others of the pitfalls that lie ahead: If you are confronted by pure evil, you will fall down a rabbit hole of despair, and without mysticism or the divine, you will barely survive.
If your logic rejects the notion of the divine, it’s okay — I did for many years. Just ask your rational self: Do I believe in evil? If yes, then surely you believe in its opposite. It’s like bookkeeping: Assets + Liabilities = Owner’s Equity. One cannot exist without the other, or it voids the whole premise.
When you are attacked, there is a battle for your soul, your thoughts, your energy. Fear eats you up. You take life at face value and obsess about the plot. You try to control it, make sense of it, fight back, defend. You are emotionally wrought with every development. You feel a sense of outrage watching it happen, over and over. But friend, please hear me: This is not living. It simply will not do.
I was blessed with an amazing friend who introduced me to meditation and the idea that thoughts are physics — we are collapsing particle waves into reality when we focus on things, so we must be very careful with what we focus on.
However, in learning to meditate, my intentions for positivity and manifestation were hijacked by a deeper understanding of the higher order. I came to know meaning and purpose. Spoiler alert – it’s love. Anyway, things took a spiritual bend.
I do not have a religion. I appreciate the positive messages they promote, and I borrow from them freely (my signature line is Saint Teresa of Ávila – I hope the Catholics don’t mind). I believe divinity (or Source, or God) is far bigger and more powerful than any one group can define. If religion brings someone comfort and joy, I am pleased. I hope that does not offend.
Anyway, back to the cheat code. I know gratitude is trendy. But it doesn’t work without its essential equation, love + humility.
What is humility? Another misused word.
In my current understanding, humility is the radical acceptance of who you truly are. Not the version you thought you were, or the role you’re playing out there in the world – just you and all your flaws laid bare, and you say “ok. I accept that.”
Humility is not cruel. It is given to you with love. It is not meant to judge you, or make you feel shame. It just invites you to tell and hold the truth. It forsakes all agendas.
Humility also stops you from spiritually bypassing your accountability and flogging people with your shiny new God-and-gratitude knowledge. (Yes, I feel the irony as I write this article.)
However, you cannot enter humility without feeling unconditional love. Think of that for a moment – because most people do it backwards. They shame themselves in a perverse definition of humility, and then deny themselves love. That hurts my soul. If you cannot first accept that you are worthy of love, that you were born of love, and that you will return to love, then you cannot truly enter humility. You’re only flirting with shame.
Humility is brave. It is radical acceptance and rigorous honesty. It is the power to look at a situation and say: “Well, that’s true. That’s not. Huh. I wonder how it will all turn out. I defer to the higher order. I am grateful for this beautiful day.” And because you’ve done your inventory, you can believe your own words. You can trust yourself.
With love, humility calms you down. It’s a return-to-centre exercise. You sit calmly in peace, and a sudden, automatic spring of gratitude begins to flow. How deeply gratitude flows in that state! Why? Because you are truly free.
This freedom lets you move forward with your purposeful world work. You spread kindness and compassion easily. You help more freely. You resent so much less. You feel joy. You have abundance. You have genuine gratitude.
This is a far-out concept if you’re struggling with spiritual ideas. You may not like it at all. But this is the cheat code of the pacifist. Love + Humility = Gratitude. And now you know.
Until next time, Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things pass away; God (Source, Physics) never changes. Patience obtains all things. They who have God (Source, Physics) find they lack nothing; God alone suffices.
Love, Jen
The pink skies of April 2024.