“We know all too well that we have a God who shows mercy on evil-doers, for if He didn’t, we’d all be in big trouble.” ~ Shane Claiborne

Evil comes from malice …
… which is nothing more than crystallized hatred,
… which is nothing more than crystallized anger,
… which is nothing more than crystallized fear,
… which is nothing more than crystallized greed,
… which is nothing more than crystallized selfishness.

Simply put, what this means is that every time you choose to be selfish, you are supporting “evil”.

For example, every time you look away from a homeless beggar because you feel uncomfortable or afraid, you are supporting “evil”,

… and every time you rationalize “taking care of yourself first” so that you might someday thereafter care for someone else, you are supporting “evil”,

… and every time you gossip about another person behind their back or criticize them to their face, you are supporting “evil”,

… and every time you watch a “CSI” show on TV or an action film in the theater and celebrate the death of one of the “bad guys”, you are supporting “evil”.

“To lose your Soul doesn’t mean you someday die to go to hell. Whenever we don’t enliven who we truly are, we are already in hell; seeking fulfillment in the wrong places and the wrong ways.” ~ Dalton Roberts

Kind of a shocker, I know, and yet please remember that — even though we have all done one or more (or all) of these things in our recent lives — this doesn’t mean that we are “lost” or “primitive” or “bad” or even “evil”.

It simply means that we all still have some “Waking UP” to do …

It simply means that we all have certain situations in our lives where we continue respond with cowardly fear instead courageous Kindness.

Some would say that this is simply the way of things; that we are all “only human”.

I would offer a different Truth: that even though we will be forever tempted to respond with callousness over intimacy & selfishness over generosity & fear over Love, we are NOT “only human” …

The Truth of the matter is — WE ARE HUMAN(e)!!!

Every person out there who can read these words has a functioning neo-cortex inside their head, and if your neo-cortex is working, then the power of choice is still available to you.

This life does not require you to behave like an animal when things get rough.

You are not required to “unleash the inner dragon” whenever you are tired or hurting or afraid. In fact, you are much much much more than your primal, selfish, judgmental instincts would have you believe.

Indeed, you have received a priceless Gift — a Gift that arrived at your conception — a Gift that remains yours even if you have never opened its package before now — a Gift that will remain within you for the rest of your days …

This Gift is THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE how you respond to fear.

Now giving radical, selfless, unconditional LOVE to strangers and enemies (and dragons) alike is quite difficult. I can attest to this … And yet this option is always available to you, and in those moments when you do choose to follow its path, it is a choice that allWays brings great Peace.

wishing each of you the same …

S

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are really princesses waiting to see us act, just once, with some beauty and some courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, simply something that is itself afraid — something helpless that wants our Love.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Filed under: Wisdoms from the Journey by Scaughdt