There is greatness inside all of us
It is a choice to constrain it or to let it unfold
There is greatness inside all of us.
Reflecting on many choices taken or not taken or deferred across the last 18 months since I started waking up, it was noticed a categorization which simplifies.
Choices which make smaller.
Choices which make greater.
For instance, going along with the unreasonable demands of others is small. Often the choice is out of guilt, shame, uncertainty, doubt, or fear. Our smallness can even feed on negative energy of resentment, making us feel temporarily “good” for having been treated (or allowing ourselves to be treated) a certain way. Sometimes anger prompts one to confrontation which can be unproductive when a loving response of higher energy was available. Instead, the responsibility is to point out the unreasonable demand, hold the line, and to suggest alternatives.
Small concessions quickly shrink a person into someone well skilled in avoiding and evading responsibility. The alternative might be to make a habit of courage, which arises in alignment with the truth. Small acts of courage are preparation for larger ones. Courage though is only the beginning of higher energy states.
The patient persistence of the meek looks to those unfamiliar with courage as courage or bravery. But through the experience of the one who quietly endures, it is not felt as such. In the beginning of courage taking, it is felt by some or observed as sacrifice. But the notion of sacrifice can complicate matters through felt pain and suffering associated with the concept. Those who see themselves as making sacrifices can fall in the trap of expecting someone to notice (and being disappointed when they don’t). Sacrifice ultimately carries a negative energy. Doing something out of acceptance, willingness, and love is significantly different.
As opposed to a sacrificial transactional accounting, those who offer a loving gift do not expect anything back. But miraculously, love begets love, in many, many kinds and flavors. “…love of pets, love of family and friends, love of freedom, love of purpose, love of country, love of attributes, love of creation, ove as virtue, love as enthusiasm, love as forgiveness, love as acceptance, love as motivator, love as appreciation, love as kindness, love as essence of relationship, love as group energy (for example: Alcoholics Anonymous), love as admiration, love as respect, love as valor, love as fraternal bonds of unity (buddies, classmates, shipmates, teammates), love as friendship, love as loyalty, love as affection, love as cherishing, love as self-sacrificing maternal love, love as devotion” (Letting Go, pg 174).
Perhaps this is why it is said to love one’s neighbor. It ripples across the entire world. Perhaps much further.
Accountability to a loving existence is a choice. As put in "Return of the Dove" by Margaret Storm:
"We are personally responsible for all energy which we have misqualified and which is held imprisoned in darkness. We must release that energy by transmuting the darkness into light."
