Loving others by seeing darkness and light.
November 28, 2022
God is present. God is always present. Your guides are present. Your guides are always present. Your heart’s vision is always present. The pathways that all humans travel upon are at all times in the company of God’s presence, our presence, and yours.
You are present in the lives of others even though you do not know them personally, for your presence makes a difference. The pathway of every person has an impact on the pathways of all.
When there is love that is expressed, that love radiates outward in all directions and impacts all. This impact is not limited only to other human beings. The impact you have is on all that exists whether animate or not.
You ask yourself at times how you can become a presence in what is needed to save the environment. What is saving the environment? What does it mean? How is it accomplished? Who must do what? When you express to another a receptivity that is characterized through the life-giving energy of love, that impact goes beyond another, for that energy is part of a collective energy of concern, a collective energy of respect, a collective energy of compassion for all that is, a collective energy that sees a relationship between human life and all other life, an impact that recognizes the connection that you have to what is seemingly inanimate. There is nothing you do that can be considered as ineffective.
If you increase the negative energies around you, then that negative energy takes on its own reality, its own power, its own presence, its own impact. We have said that thoughts have energy. Indeed, they do. If you are thinking about another in a loving way, you are increasing the energy of love. You are increasing the presence of light. You’re increasing the connection between you and all else. Likewise, if you approach another in your thoughts that are overwhelmingly negative and critical, judgmental, that negative energy is compounded and takes on an even larger presence.
We’re not suggesting that human life must go through a pathway in the belief that all is fine, all is good, all is perfect, all is easy, all is beneficial. That kind of travel along a pathway is blind. For you to move along your pathway, you must acknowledge the presence of negative energy when it is found. Acknowledging doesn’t validate, but it is the first step in being motivated to being a source of light, not darkness. When you devote your energies to what is loving and supportive, that energy of light exceeds the darkness that is encountered.
You are given life to live but living means growing. It means becoming fulfilled according to one’s potential. It means finding what is nourishing and not dwelling upon what is destructive. By recognizing what is nourishing in life, you are not turning a blind eye to the shadows of life, but you are providing light so that those who experience the shadows of life will more readily see the presence of light that is always there.
If you truly feel loving toward others, and we do not mean just a romantic love but a loving spirit towards others, the natural expansive manifestation of that lovingness is an embrace of all that exists. Loving others allows you to see darkness but to recognize that in the darkness are shadows that are created by the presence of light. The attention is on the light without a rejection of the reality of darkness.
If you are consumed by judging others, how can you give value to the world around you, to the trees, the animals, all that exists, rocks, the good earth? You can only embrace all that is when you are able to truly embrace what is close at hand. It is not looking at life through rose-colored glasses, as you would say. It is merely a commitment to find the light, and in seeking the light on your pathway, you will recognize the shadows, but your conscious desire is to express what is good, what is loving, what is welcoming, affirming, sustaining. Whatever you do at the local level on your pathway will therefore resonate on all sides of that pathway—above, below, in front, behind you, on either side of you.
Seeking light means seeking vision. When your vision is strengthened, you can see what is there. It is not a matter of just seeing the light. When your attention, your efforts, are drawn toward your understanding of God’s presence, you will always be traveling with a sense of direction, a sense of purpose, a commitment to understanding, an eagerness to embrace. These are not just idle goals. They are achievable in human life. In achieving those goals, your vision is broadened. It is not a tunnel vision that is directed toward the sunlight. It is a vision in all directions that takes in all that God creates. It is a vision of accepting whatever is observed as being part of what it means to be alive and to be continually growing in ability or capacity to becoming more loving.
Where does judgment fit into this heart vision, this seeking of the light? The sense of judgment is a kind of hurdle, and as you approach the hurdle, you are aware of what is being judged, but with your attention on the endpoint, the presence, the inconvenience, the pain of the hurdle is lessened. You are aware of what is difficult in your life, but you are also aware of your capacity to get beyond it. That capacity is an act of faith. It is a confidence in your ability to keep going. The darkness that you see must be acknowledged for what it is, but it cannot be dwelled upon by being consumed with efforts of judgment.
Yes, of course, there are attitudes and behaviors that are destructive, and God does not ask you to merely accept them, for they are there and must be acknowledged. But by acknowledging those challenges, you are providing yourself with an opportunity to face those issues that seem to merit judgment with a broader vision.
We say you can judge behavior, but you cannot judge the individual. There are bad behaviors, but there are no bad individuals. All human beings are equally valid entities. All human beings are at different points on their pathways to the light. If someone seems to be further back than you perceive yourself to be, there is no purpose to judge where others are on their pathways. Perhaps those behaviors, those attitudes may seem to you to be anything but productive, but that is where they are.
By being able to reach out with love to someone who is close enables you to see what merits love in all others. If you cannot see what merits love close by, there is no way to reach out to another without being judgmental. Being judgmental is a barrier to what is indeed sacred. By concentrating on that negative energy of judgment, you are inhibiting the growth of light.
Your challenges in human form are therefore to be participating in the expansion of light, the expansion of love, the expansion of compassion, respect. You are being asked to affirm the sacredness of all, for all have been created because of the presence of God. It is that presence that accompanies the journeys of all. If God is present, how can anyone deny the value, the sacredness of another? You see, the kind of energy that characterizes your journey has such an impact on the lives, the very existence of all else. You cannot be critical of what God has created.
That creation was not initiated in a human-like effort, for God is not human-like even though many feel that such a concept helps to identify with God. God is a presence, a presence that is always supportive and loving because it is through that presence that anything exists. It makes no difference whether what has been created is breathing, thinking, or just being. All that exists is part of that energy of creation, a kind of umbrella that covers and protects all that is.
You are a part of that loving protective energy. You are part of that power of creation that is referred to as God, and because you are part of that creation, part of that creating energy, you are sacred, and all that you do has a direct connection, a direct impact on all that is.
Seek that light. Seek that evidence of loving presence. Seek out those opportunities for compassion. Seek out greater sensitivity for the love offered by others, and recognize that the love that is seen through the heart is indeed the presence of God.
You are blessed in that positive energy. You are blessed when you are in the presence of darker energy. You are blessed in your seeking and in your finding. You are blessed in your successes and failures. You are blessed when you are among those who express love. You are blessed when you are among those for whom love seems far distant. You are blessed because you are. You are blessed in your connection to all that is, and you are blessed in your awareness of that connection to the creative, brilliant light energy of the Creator.
Amen.