Finding God at WalMart

How absolutely amazing are the myriad ways that human beings work together to perpetuate our forgetting who we are.  As a group, we have entered into an agreement with each other to support our tremendously limited view of ourselves.

We are raised by parents who themselves were raised by people who could not see the greatness in themselves, and so could not impart that truth to their children.  We grow up feeling a need to struggle for a place here, to know that we are good enough, and worthy of being loved fully for all that we are.  For most people this dynamic continues throughout life, when in school and in careers and in our dealings with others we experience a world that doesn't always accept us just as we are.

As we internalize the pain of rejection, we learn to lessen it by judging others, and the cycle continues.  In this way, we create an entire world of people who don't trust each other, who expect others to think unkindly about them without even knowing them, who can't communicate effectively with each other, and don't feel comfortable standing tall in the truth of who they are, which is the embodiment of divinity.

This may seem a sad dynamic in human interaction, and on one hand it is.  But on the other, it is an excellent opportunity for remembering.  There is tremendous grace in moving beyond judgment of another to acceptance.  There is a huge gift in learning to see past another's judgment of us to recognizing the pain of forgetting who they are that prompts it.   When we can see the person who is most different from us, the one who embodies all of the attributes that push our own buttons and make us feel defensive, the one who can't see our greatness, in all of her greatness, the light of truth shines on everyone involved, and the entire world.

I think I've lived my entire lifetime just to learn not to take another thing someone does personally, but instead to keep my eyes open to the light of God shining through their eyes. It's hard sometimes.  It's painful to watch people who have deeply forgotten the truth of themselves. It's painful when we ourselves forget.

We won't always remember that everyone is a perfect expression of a loving God, but every time we make that often difficult choice to do so, the world sings.

May this tool be a blessing. . .