REAL SCARY

I received a text from a friend recently that stated “it’s jealousy and spite masked as righteousness.” He was referring to a Facebook post we had both seen, and were disturbed by. His words struck me and I have mulled them over for some time. In this modern world of social media and advanced technology it is easy to open your phone or computer and “vent”, whether to a friend in private, or for the whole world (or at least your virtual friends) to see and digest. I admit I have been guilty, and on more than one occasion have posted something, and then, a few hours later, deleted it- when sanity returned. I  am a woman in recovery. I have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. At one time in my life, alcohol was my master. I say this without hesitation or shame, as this is no longer the case. This begs the question- who or what is my Master now? Is it money, property and prestige? Is it worldly clamors? Or is it a deep and effective relationship with a Power greater than myself whom I choose to call God? If I’m rigorously honest, as my program of recovery requires, and I watch my actions rather than my words, it has vacillated. Sometimes I get too focused on work, and what others think of me. Sometimes I have fallen victim to the delusion that I can achieve happiness and satisfaction by managing my outside circumstances well. I believe all humans (or at least the ones I know) can say the same. At the end of the day we all want security and love. I know in my heart, and from my own experience that this belief system is faulty, and never results in peace and joy. But sometimes, delusion feels like common sense. A+B must equal C, right? Not so much. The spiritual life is not a theory. It requires constant self examination and correction. It requires me to not hold others to a higher standard than I hold myself. It requires me to trust God, and not self. And it definitely requires me to practice principles before personalities. Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” My commitment to myself and to my HP is just that. There’s a lot wrong in our world, and there’s also a lot right. If I start, and stay started, examining only the woman in the mirror, I have a fighting chance at staying connected and practicing principles. If I get sidetracked and swept up in examining other’s “sides of the street” it’s game over. Righteousness is too big for me. So as Andra Day famously sings, let’s “Rise Up”…Now THAT, I can do! Peace and Light -Marsha Stone, CEO