This article was previously published in 2018.
If we are lucky, or perhaps I should say if we are spiritual, there comes a time when we glance into our own metaphorical mirrors and face the truth of what we see staring back at us. Becoming cognizant that we are responsible for ourselves, we no longer possess the luxury of blaming others. This is the very definition of ‘growing up,’ and becoming acutely aware of our own adulthood. In the past, when we found success, we may have celebrated ourselves and our work. However, if things did not go the way we had hoped, we may have found ourselves turning our heads looking for whom to blame. Eventually, however, there is no one left to blame but the person staring back in that mirror. When we take responsibility for our lives, we begin to recognize that we are the captains of our own ships. Life may not always be easy to navigate, but there is joy in owning our experiences. This week, the cosmos is offering the lesson of self-realization, self-awareness, and spiritual maturity. We see the good in our lives and embrace our accomplishments. We are also willing to see the aspects of our experience that are not favorable, and we are given the courage to take responsibility for them. This week, we toss out feelings of victimhood and take life by the wheel. We hear the call to self-empowerment and self-renewal. We become the masters of our destiny.
"Spiritual maturity is the awareness that life is a mirror."
Our roadmap this week is the portion of the bible called Chukat. Trials and tribulations continue this week for the Israelites as their desert journey toward the Promised Land continues. However, solutions find their way for the Israelites, too. The Creator always helps them find a method of correction and repair any damage done. Chukat contains the antidote for the negativity from the creation of the Golden Calf, which historically occurs in this month, the month of Cancer. Creating the Golden Calf was a choice by the Israelites to derive energy from a lesser source than from the Creator, directly. Their choice to downgrade their connection resulted in the loss of immortality and the creation of the energy of death. In this week’s portion, we receive the antidote and correction to this. It is a great gift to us all, bolstering us with renewal and the energy of continuity. Later we read, the Israelites wished to pass through the land of Edom, but were denied access by its leaders. They are then forced to circumvent Edom creating further delay and inconvenience. In the past, the Israelites had witnessed miracle after miracle, and yet now, they seem to be unable to even travel without constant obstacles. The Israelites began to be conscious of the part they played in their troubles. They reached a state of spiritual maturity. They started to see it was their consciousness and actions that created their own difficulties. Further trouble came as a nearby nation attacked them, taking some as prisoners. This initiated even heavier reflection. As if things could not get any worse, they began to complain to Moses about their lack of food and water, something they knew was better not to do. Unfortunately, snakes appeared, biting them, and many became sick, and even died. They saw the error in their doubting the Creator and quickly begged Moses for help. The Israelites, having awoken to a new sense of self-realization and responsibility, initiated a new path. As the chapter ends they go on to win many battles and acquired land. Thankfully, a happy ending to this chapter and for the Israelites.
It was one thing after another this week for the Israelites. But is life not like that for us? Buddhism teaches that there can be 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows in life. But often, we are more than willing to pat ourselves on the back for the joys, while the sorrows we blame others for creating. If we wish to live a life with more joy and less sorrow, the time comes when we need to look in the mirror at the part we play. We have created all that we see around us, the blessings and the challenges. Spiritual maturity is the awareness that life is a mirror. If we smile into it, the image smiles back and conversely, if we frown into it, it will frown back. What we inject into the Universe has a way of coming back to us. We can be empowered to know that we can create the tomorrow of our dreams by planting the right seeds of love and human dignity today. Socrates said that “an unexamined life is not worth living.” We are here in what is an Earth School to learn about ourselves, find areas that need improvement, and most importantly, to develop the spark of the Creator within. Developing the attributes of love, human dignity, and care is our mission. We are here to learn the power we possess inside to create the lives of our dreams and to be the cause behind removing the chaos from the world. The Creator is only love. If we find in our lives anything other than love, it is we who created it, but also, we who can remove it. With the power of love in our hearts, we can always change our present and future for the better.
"We become the masters of our destiny."
This week in your meditations, take yourself back to the time as a child when you felt your first taste of freedom. Can you remember when you rode your bicycle all alone for the very first time? No one was around to help, but you were in control to go wherever you pleased. You were free. The wind blew through your hair and the world felt like your own to conquer. You knew innately that any challenge which could arise you would need to handle yourself. You were excited in your self-empowerment. Let us remember that feeling. Today, you are that same little child tasting the world for the first time. There is no end to what you may accomplish and no limit to your spiritual strengths. Awaken your power within to be a channel of Divinity and create for yourself more joy and more happiness. You are the master of your life and master of your destiny.
Life is an empty canvas, and with it comes the ability to paint whatever picture we wish. When you color your days with love and kindness, the picture will look all the more beautiful for it.
