Would you walk a mile in someone else’s shoes
in order to understand them – where they’re coming from and where they’re going? But can we really understand others?
We can keep trying, but at the same time remember,
someone else’s shoes will not always fit.
To understand others better, we have to understand ourselves and walk in our own shoes. Understand who we are, where we’re coming from and where we’re going.
Consciousness
Sometimes, while doing even a special task, our consciousness tends to
become ordinary because of negative feelings for the self or others.
Such thoughts make even a special task into an ordinary one. So what
has to be done in a beautiful way is done in a very ordinary way. So
there is a tendency to just perform action and finish the task at hand,
which does not bring specialty and accuracy as much as it should. We
need to understand that as is the consciousness, so is the feeling
behind the task, and therefore its quality. When we are able to start
each task with a special consciousness, like “I am victorious”, or “I
am powerful” or “this task is for the benefit of all”, we are able to
experience the specialty of doing the task. We are also able to
increase our state of self-respect, whatever the task or however simple
it maybe.
Self Respect
Self-respect depends on knowing who I am, knowing my eternal (ageless), spiritual self. When I have found that sense of spiritual identity, I feel I have a right to be here, to exist. Without the spiritual dimension, it is very difficult to really respect myself deeply. In this case, I base my respect on identifying with the superficial (artificial) aspects of my being: looks, gender, success, my life partner, my intelligence. With such artificial identification, I will never have a stable sense of self-respect, because people’s opinions change. Today they love me, tomorrow they reject me. What is the result of depending on their opinions? I will end up fluctuating all the time – feeling positive when they say good things, and feeling down when they say negative things. To stay stable in my self-respect, I need to have a deeper understanding of my spiritual identity (the foundation of this being that I am a soul) and tap into those riches that are within me forever, waiting to blossom, like the flower from the seed.
As I become spiritually aware, those riches and resources start flowing out of me. The more stable I am in my self-respect and spirituality, the more I radiate what I truly am. I feel a deep sense of contentment and I am happy to be me, however I am. I accept myself as I am.
Message for the day
Simplicity is the promise of happiness.
In Spiritual Service
Brahma Kumaris