It may seem obvious, but I remember standing in my bathroom looking myself in the eye and thinking, “This is not the person I am.” With that realization, I immediately began living according to the dictates of the character that I desired.
Each of us faces our internal demons and often we fall prey to actions based in habits unconsciously formed. It is at this point that the shame of our thoughtlessness continually barrages our minds.
We think thoughts such as “How could I have done that?” or “What was I thinking?”
The truth is often that we are not thinking at all. Yet when our mind catches up to us, we feel ashamed that we have been making choices and living so unconsciously.
But it is precisely at the moment of renewed consciousness when we are most powerful. That moment of presence is the time to make better (or different) choices. It is in that moment of lucidity that our power lies.
At those moments, our souls stand before a spiritual mirror and ask who we are and who we will become. It is in the power of our will to answer that question—to choose what manner of man or woman we will be.
1 comment:
wow, lots of really great food for thought here! i can completely relate to having had many of those "how could i have done that?" moments in my life. and yes, they do serve as an (often quite painful) wakeup call that has the effect of renewing awareness. this moment of waking up is full of potential... for me the challenge has often been how to move forward without carrying the guilt and shame of past mistakes with me. i try to remember the scene from "Angela's Ashes" when the main character is beating himself up for a mistake he made. the priest says to him, "You have to forgive yourself, because God forgives you." in other words, continuing to beat ourselves up is just ego. once the apologies and reparations have been made, it's time to forgive ourselves and move forward, with a renewed commitment to pay closer attention-- in other words, to stay present, because it is only with present moment awareness that we can receive Divine guidance...
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