Meditations on God

The Loving Truth
Before telling someone the truth, we should consider how it will make them feel.

Not all truth is necessary to be spoken.

Some truth is better left unsaid and some truth is better delivered with softness.

The goal of communicating should not be to simply get our point across, but to get it across in a way that is actually helpful or useful.

Telling the truth in a way that is overly direct, harsh, or abrasive can be an act of cruelty.

No one is served, least of all us, by cruelty delivered as the truth.

We cannot use the truth as an excuse to hurt people.

Of course, we should not lie in order to protect someone from hurt feelings, but we should at least try to present the truth in a way that is loving and kind.

We will find that, not only is truth laced with compassion generally more well received, but also that we are changed for the better through the act of softening our words in order to better reach those with whom we are trying to communicate.

The mere intention to be more compassionate has the power to transform us and, through our transformation into more loving and kind persons, our relationships are made all that much better as well.
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June 14, 2021

compassion, cruelty, kindness, love, truth
Beyond Ourselves
The problem with self-centered people is that they tend to not even realize they are self-centered.

It never occurs to them that the world does not revolve around their desires or demands.

They are so blinded by self that they cannot see what others need or want.

When this is brought to their attention, they are quite often baffled or even offended.

It is probably not their fault, however.

Something in their experience most likely made them that way.

Besides, we are all this way to one degree or another.

Usually, we do not notice our self-centeredness until it causes us difficulty or suffering sufficient enough for us to want to change.

This kind of change is extremely challenging, however.

It forces us to look at ourselves in a way that we will not be comfortable with.

We will not like what we see.

If we can get real honest with ourselves, however, we my find that there is more to life than what we think we need or want.

In fact, there is a whole world outside of our needs and wants waiting for us to discover and interact with it.

We get to choose whether we want to look out for ourselves or whether we want to look beyond ourselves, but we probably cannot do both.
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June 13, 2021

self centeredness, selfishness
Vessels Of Healing
We cannot remove other people’s pain.

The best we can do is to be there for them, for support and comfort.

But, suffering is a solitary experience.

We cannot reach in and take it away from someone.

Nor can anyone else do the same for us.

Often, when we try to prevent or ease another’s suffering, we actually slow down the healing process.

Instead of allowing them to face their pain, we distract them from it and this prolongs their experience of it.

While our assistance may help to lessen the immediate effects of whatever suffering they are going through, the real work, the true healing must be done internally.

In truth, however, while our suffering and our healing are solitary experiences, we are not truly alone in them.

God is always present, both with us and within us.

If in our suffering, we turn to him for guidance and comfort, it will always come to us.

The same is true for others.

This place where our need and God’s grace and mercy meet is where our healing truly happens.

By trying to relieve others of their suffering, we risk standing in the way of their need to commune with that which is within them that will fully heal them.

Of course, we should be there for others with love, compassion, and empathy, but we should also be humble enough to know that it is not we who have the power to relieve their suffering.

At best, we are merely vessels of healing.

We, ourselves, are not the healers.
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June 12, 2021

god, healing, pain, suffering
A Renewable Source Of Happiness
If we spend all of our time chasing our own happiness, we will probably find that it is quite elusive.

The things we think will make us happy rarely do.

More often than not, they leave us disappointed and wanting more.

Once we get more of whatever we wanted, the cycle repeats.

We may have been happy for a brief moment, if at all, but then that feeling fades and we begin the search again.

We tell ourselves that we simply wanted the wrong thing last time as so many times before.

This time it will be different because this new object, experience, or relationship is different.

This time, we will be happy.

Not only that, but we tell ourselves that our yet unfound happiness, once found, will be permanent.

Inevitably, this is not the case.

What we all too often miss is the fact that no amount of chasing, seeking, or pursuing happiness can manifest it in our lives, at least not in a long-lasting and meaningful way.

Paradoxically, happiness tends to come more from what we put into life, what we give of ourselves, than it does from what we try to take out of life for ourselves.

And, the amazing thing about this happiness is that it is infinitely renewable.

We can tap into it any time we want and as many times as we want through altruistic acts of humility, graciousness, and generosity.
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June 11, 2021

altruism, generosity, graciousness, happiness, humility, seeking, self seeking, selfishness
Hindered Progress
If we compare our progress, whether it be personal, professional, relational, or spiritual, with the progress we perceive in others, our progress will be hindered.

We will get frustrated with ourselves and that frustration will slow us down.

It will block our path and it will cause us to lose our bearing.

We will begin to get sidetracked and lose focus on exactly those things that will lead to our growth.

What other people have or experience is really none of our business.

Our focus needs to be on what we can do in order to improve, grow, and facilitate positive change in the world around us.

Anything else is wasted time, energy, and attention.
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June 10, 2021

bearing, focus, growth, progress

The Loving Truth

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Beyond Ourselves

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Vessels Of Healing

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A Renewable Source Of Happiness

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Hindered Progress

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