Let us Find the Promised Rest

 this morning as i prepared to write this blog post, i was thinking of how our minds work.  what surprises me is our ability to change our thought processes.  we can either allow our conscious minds to control us or we can choose to control them.  our thoughts are not who we are, they are the products of what we are becoming.  not long ago, i lived my life reactively.  if others spoke to me in an unkind or thoughtless way, i either lashed out at them or stewed over how to get back at them.  i spent much of my time thinking of petty annoyances and slights, as i harbored thoughts of how much i disliked this or that other person.  i dwelt on my past, filled with resentments towards those who had held me back as i grew up.  i was quick to become angry and felt a sense of superiority regarding others.

as i've gotten older, i've come to realize that no one is out to cause me suffering and grief.  when others speak to me in ways that are hurtful and spiteful, they are not really being hateful to me.  instead, their words or actions are coming from a place of deep hurt, and i happen to be a convenient target to express the suffering they feel.  if i let go of the initial desire to return their mean words, i can feel a deep compassion for them and wish them peace and relief from their pain.  my own impulse to hurt others doesn't come from a natural enmity towards them but rather from my own suffering.  when we stop the pettiness of our thoughts and turn from the superficial propensity to behave with unkindness and turn to our deepest desires to be whole and to help others to find wholeness, we see that we are all alike.  often we don't stop before we act or speak in order to discern why others treat us as they do.  when we train our minds to be calm and turn to our deep well of goodness and compassion, we can stop the compulsion to treat those who injure us with an equal measure of hurt.

may we calm our minds and in that stillness find compassion towards those who seem to feel little compassion for us.  may we look at a situation from many perspectives, not just from our first reaction of hurt or anger.  may we be grateful to those who wound us for allowing us an opportunity to practice lovingkindness.  may we find peace that allows us to show love when our first inclination is to return hate for hate and injury for injury.  shalom.