Odysseus survived mythical monsters as he floated through treacherous waters during his exile. Prometheus endured his suffering, chained to a rock, as punishment for enlightening humanity with the gift of fire. Job moved from patience to frustration to resentment and then triumph as he endured the suffering of physical, emotional and economic disasters. Men and women know how to suffer. Stories ancient and modern provide vivid pictures as references. Are we as adept at facing Spirit, feeling the warm breath of Spirit’s presence in the midst of troubles? Do we get caught up in the shadows, dancing with the stories of our demise, our death? Do we shadowbox with disaster in preparation for our ultimate ruin?
Worries and fears are like Odysseus’ monsters, challenging us to face them and see that they are dangerous only in our unquestioned belief in them. Prometheus not only endures his suffering, he calls for witnesses. Prometheus, comforted by seeing that others agree that he has been wronged, accepts his suffering. Spirit is a constant witness, dwelling inside us, urging us to face ourselves and survive. When we face ourselves and discover our true power, we come out of the shadows, strong and humble and compassionate.
When we face our fears and worries, like Job we survive the onslaught of challenges in our life, and discover that we are stronger and more alive than we at first thought. We are powerful expressions of Spirit. We have boundless energy to survive our fears… if we let go of preparing for the worst, shadowboxing with our imagination.
Life is full of choices. We’ve heard that truth many times. When we choose to trust in our relationship with Spirit, we open ourselves to more than a solid belief in All-That-Is. Belief keeps us locked in our thoughts and rituals, keeping Spirit in a place outside ourselves. Spirit is uncontainable, limitless energy, that must be experienced internally.
We suffer because we depend on our beliefs alone to sustain us through troubles. When we open our hearts to Spirit, we allow Love to release us from our self-imposed burdens, and realize that worries and fears cannot withstand the peaceful love of Spirit. Only then can we come out of the shadows and into the light of Truth.
nine principles for joy 
Okay, I left my book “how to win friends and influence people” somewhere else today. I’ll keep an open mind, but I do wonder if “love” and “spirit” are also other forms of intoxication’s – such as booze, tv religion, sex etc….. are other examples of hiding from our true self.
It seems that when we all see walls with cracks, we all tend to see faces within these cracks. The same can be said about clouds. In other words, we try to ‘put certain pieces into a missing puzzle.’ Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy love, sex and obviously a drink (though normally do not post when having wine) … but I do think that these things can offer too much comfort at some points – which offer an ‘escape route’ from doing some deeper searching from within. This isn’t intended to be a combative posting, but simply offering another perspective.
I agree that simply having a concept of love and spirit can be intoxicating. Meditation can also become a drug of choice, but if we see loving spirit as a way of being because it is who we are anyway, at the core, then it is more than a practice, it is an authentic expression of self. Leonard Cohen said, ” There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light get’s in…” The points of the post were to encourage us to appreciate and stay in the present moment, without spending time worrying about the future – the unpredictable, illusory future.