WILLINGNESS

Willingness has been a word for my contemplation this week. I think it is very important that we be willing whatever the nature of our desires before anything can happen, change. materialize (come into being or be created), or transform. For example, in order for the Spirit to become the guiding principle in our lives, we must be willing and open not to the "law" of religion per se but rather to the Love within.

In order to create something, make something, fix something, we have to be willing.

In order to experience the Presence within, we must be willing.

In order to love we must be willing to love, to be open to receiving and giving of it.

In order to be peaceful we must be willing to think and behave in a peaceful manner.

In order to be brave or hopeful or courageous or anything, we must be willing.

In order to put Love/God first we must be willing to put aside our differences, our opinions, and our desire to make everything and everyone conform to our idea of the ideal.

We must be willing to live the principles we wish to see evident in ourselves and in the world.

We must be willing or nothing happens.

Some of us may stumble over this thing because we are so hung up on "God's will". If you insist on there being God's will as opposed to your will you will get hung up. I think that "God's will" (if there is any such thing) is to be the Love that we are and if we are being that then we are being all that we were created to be and I don't think we can go wrong. When we are not being the Love that we are then, sure, we can do unloving things and create pain for ourselves and/or for others. But again, we have to be willing.

We are never forced to care, to love, to seek, to be happy, to be peaceful, or to be prosperous in all our spheres. Neither are we forced to live in poverty, fear, pain, loneliness, anguish, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, worry, illness or terror. We are never forced to give up our right to be "right” either. Love never forces us one way or the other.

Here's a shortcut for you. We don’t need to fight poverty, illness, pain, fear, loneliness, anguish, drug addiction, or any painful or negative things in ourselves or others; but, what we do need to do instead is to be willing that joy, peace, love, prosperity, companionship, health, freedom, hope, and safety flow into our lives and in the lives of others.

Some folks may think that we need to suffer to be “holy” or “okay” or “acceptable”. These things can turn us around and get us to “right thinking” when they happen in our lives but it doesn’t have to come that way. We don’t have to seek out and chose these in order to “wake up” but we can use them to wake us up from our spiritual sleep once they are in our lives.

If you should find that somehow pain, suffering, worry, fear, etc. has come to visit you don’t have to waste time wondering why it is there but you can use it as an opportunity to examine how willing or unwilling you are to be loved and blessed. Use it for a wake up call. The call is alway to Love. Are you willing to answer that call?

We are invited but never forced to do anything. When you feel someone pushing or forcing you to do or to be what they think is the “right" way for you to do or be, then please know that this is not born of love but of fear. Love gives example. Love is what it is. Love is effective and affective. It transforms without a word. It performs its duties in silence and gentleness. It allows us to be willing. It allows us to love ourselves and all that is. It allows us to reach our full potential as human beings.

The question is, “Are you willing”? Are you willing to answer the "call"?