Goal is to reach out unconditionally.
March 23, 2021
It is indeed the God to whom you pray, the God with whom you live, that embraces each of you with a loving bond that is inseparable.
All human beings have been given life for one purpose only, and that is to be an expression of a loving presence that you identify as being God. For many human beings, there is no direct recognition of God within their own day to day lives, for they are consumed by concerns that are immediate—health, relationships, survival, their own sense of self. For many, as you of course know, life is basically a constant struggle. In the midst of that struggle, some may wish to ask if there is meaning which can be drawn from this. But for countless people, there is little inclination for such reflection.
How is it, then, that you who are growing in your awareness of God’s presence can feel a true connection to those whose attentions are directed elsewhere? It is ultimately the challenge of connecting. The secret to establishing a connection is in your ability to relate to others. We are not speaking specifically about the friends you have, the people with whom you work, your immediate family. We’re talking about the relationship that goes considerably beyond those superficial measurements of being connected.
In order to strengthen your true commitment to connecting through love to another, you must begin with how you connect to yourself. When we talk about your relationship to yourself as a person, in no way are we implying the value of a selfishness that is concerned about self at the expense of all others. Rather it is your effort to connect in your understanding of what makes you who you are. This identification of who you are is not what your occupation is or what your activities are or what’s important to you. This identification with self is instead a clearer understanding of your own reactions and a further understanding of the “why” question. You may recognize you respond to certain stimuli in a particular way, but if you really want to understand self you must delve more deeply and explore why your response is as it is.
Your interaction with life around you is not a simple, spontaneous response. It comes from somewhere more deeply rooted than merely reacting. Your efforts to understand yourself can be rewarded through a greater commitment to acknowledging that what you think, say, and do emanates from a deeper source. As you begin to understand what that source is, what makes you human, in fact, is precisely what resides deep within all people. The expression of what resides within differs, of course, from one to another, but its genesis is shared by all.
As you begin to understand more deeply, at a more intimate level what makes you tick, you will find yourself becoming more comfortable in the realization that the actions, words, and beliefs of others also do not just spontaneously appear. They come from a source deep within. There are, in fact, few people who have a clear understanding of this inner essence from which all they do and say and think evolves. What is important is not so much the absolute identification of why it is you do what you do and think what you think, but rather that all of this comes from a place that is so deep that it is difficult for all to clearly identify.
The neighbor who irritates you or the individual whose perspectives you find contrary to your understanding of a Godly love are responding in their own way to what lies deep within. When you begin to recognize that it is what is deep inside each of you that unites you, it becomes easier to find yourself willing to communicate with another. You can ignore the superficial differences. As the expression goes, what unites you is far greater than what separates you.
You cannot be expected to identify all of what is behind someone in their actions. It suffices merely to recognize without a doubt that there are fundamental principles, fundamental presences, that are not unlike your own. It is in recognizing that common ground from which inevitably differences arise that forms a firm foundation to build relationships that acknowledge how you are truly all the same. It is easy to say, and of course true, that God is in each of you, but what is being meant is that creative essence, that loving foundation, that need for being loved, and the capacity for being loving remain at the core of all human beings. If you are truly the same in such a fundamental way, then you cannot be critical or judgmental of the core of someone.
Yes, of course there are differences in approach, and what works for one person may not work for another in terms of behavior, understandings, attitudes, or actions, but nevertheless what is expressed in those lives is no different than what lies at the core of all human beings. Because it is difficult to identify the “why” that could explain the “who” you are, it is equally difficult for all human beings, and for that reason you cannot assume that you can fairly evaluate someone’s actions or ideas from a perspective of unrelenting criticism.
The family of humankind has many personalities which is just as true when considering billions of human beings as it is true of a small family. Every person is on a spiritual journey, that you know, and yet you cannot see the path clearly that another traverses. You may see what they are going through. You may see their emotions. You may see their journey as manifested in many ways, but you don’t see their pathway. Through effort, you may see your own pathways, but such vision is also not perfect.
To become the hand of God and to reach out requires trust as well as love, for trust and love go hand in hand. If you love another and you serve another, you trust that in so doing, you are giving another strength regardless of their reaction. You trust, you have faith that what is being done is in its way reflective of the heart of God. It is the heart of God that informs the hand of God. It is your understanding of the meaning of love that strengthens your outreach as the hand of God to another.
This trust that you exercise in communicating and reaching out in love has no expectations in return. You do what you do as a reflection of your understanding of who you are and why, but your deeds, whether they are deeds of prayer and concern or material ways of reaching out, cannot come with an expectation that such will be a) recognized, or b) appreciated. You do not reach out to others with love in which a condition becomes part of the offering. You reach out because you are motivated to serve another in a meaningful way. You are not motivated by an expectation of thanks or acknowledgment because then what is offered is offered conditionally. Just as God’s love for you is unconditional, your goal is to reach out to others with no condition as part of that outreach. You reach out because you sense your connection. The communication that you have with others then is a natural outgrowth of the insight you have achieved as you explore who you are and why you are.
There are no easy ways to achieve insight into self, and yet its real value is in all you do to achieve that understanding. It is not simply the understanding itself. When you truly acknowledge the core within, even imperfect as your understanding may be, you are then able to accept that similar core that belongs to all others. It is in this reaching out through a recognition of how you are the same that leads to a peaceful resolution to interpersonal conflicts, to war, to behaviors of one culture toward another. A foundation for a nonjudgmental connection becomes strong and powerful.
Seek those opportunities when you can reflect upon your own self. Look for the who. Look for the why. Separate yourself from the specific manifestations you may observe in others and in yourself. As you are able to recognize and separate what is seen from what truly is, you will find yourself in a stronger position of loving self which in turn enables you to love others in such a way that you serve as hands of God. Each of you seeks peace as defined in many ways, but the road, the path, the way toward peace begins with the inward journey of self, and the response to that journey is a loving expression of the true essence of all human beings.
We, who are your guides, acknowledge your essence. We affirm it, and because we are fully aware of that brilliant light within, we identify with you in pure love. We know our essence. We see within us that spark of light that is the brilliance of God, and seeing that spark, the light from that spark illuminates our pathway to serving you and clarifies our own recognition of the spark that each of us shares for all time.
You are blessed in your searching. You’re blessed in your discoveries. You’re blessed in your outreach. You’re blessed as always by the enveloping light of God.
Amen.