Pride Begone

While hiking in the beautiful 'Pacific Palisades' in Malibu California the other day, with my visiting and insightful French friend, it dawned on me how self-centered we humans can be. We were admiring the mountains at one point, in between heading steadily towards the top, as we were told there would be a lovely water-fall found at the end. And he shared with me an experience he and his friends had while hiking a mountain in Geneva, Switzerland; he said that it was there for his first time he had actually heard his echo in a mountain, and not only once, but 7 times. This story stayed with me; I found it quite extraordinary to not only hear yourself once or twice but actually 7 times in a row, and as he described surrounding them. I wondered also, what did he shout so that he could identify his echo, and he had said that it was simply laughter. This story not only brought a smile to my face, but got my imaginative writing-gears churning as well. J

You see, it is one thing to love yourself, to have self-worth, to have self-respect, and to treat your body and mind healthy and positively; but then there's the other side of the spectrum, which some, adopt mostly or fully quite easily, those attributes of arrogance, self-centeredness, pride, and lack of thoughtfulness. The prior are encouraged, but the latter should be greatly disheartened.

Despite mankind being able to accomplish, build and create many great technologies and accomplish outstanding feats, we still must remember that we are not 'all', or the most significant beings on the planet. We do not 'rule the world' or have control over all things and we must remember that just because we are wonderful, the world does not revolve around us, and everything isn't either about us. It is a big world, and an even larger Universe and we are not the creators of the grander scheme of things. So when you begin thinking, "Why is this happening to me?" or "Why are people doing this to me?" We must take a step back and in turn ask ourselves, "Why am I reacting this way, because of this situation?" or "Why am I allowing something to completely envelope my life and make me upset?" Always try to see the brighter side, don't over-exaggerate, or over-react, which we are many times guilty of. Don't take things so personally, for other's have their own feats as well.

Remember that we are all connected, like the rivers that flow into the vast ocean, and despite our differences we are all reflections of each other at different learning stages through-out our life. You are no better than your fellow brother or sister and to think otherwise is to be judgmental and downright haughty. Therefore, let go of your pride and say how you truly feel, speak the truth and trust in the truth that is given in return; for you receive what you give (not necessarily from the same people – so never expect that either). Don't ever doubt the Universe/God with a question mark, where he has put a full-stop. For, we for the most part are blind, un-willing to be open to the truth which we don't usually see straight away. We must be humble enough to be guided along our journey in life. When you struggle against the truth, you will always be miserable; it is better to walk one step at a time, at a steady pace with faith than instead violently swimming upstream, almost drowning to say, "Look at me, I'm doing what I want!" The problem here is…what 'you want to do', and 'what you need to do'. We all have strong desires, but not always for the right reasons. Find out what it is you 'need' to do versus what you 'want' to do; and usually when you begin doing what you 'need' to do, you end up doing what it is you 'want' to do! Be of service, and find out how you are able to give back to your fellow man through the desires you hold in your heart. Not only will this bring you deep-rooted satisfaction and fulfillment, but also joy in knowing that you will be accomplishing both love for yourself as well as your fellow man; being aware of the reflections in your life. J

And in conclusion, if you happen to not get any of this [ha-ha] or find it dull or un-interesting, remember to just laugh at yourself. Laugh at yourself every day, don't take yourselves too seriously, you can only do so much, and you are exactly where you're supposed to be in this moment of time. Look in the mirror and make a silly face, enjoy a baby's babble, and old man's slow tale, or witness a dog simply wagging not only his tail, but his entire bum! J Know that you're surrounded by your heavenly team, who's always a step ahead of you, only wishing for you to reach out to them so that they can continue to spread goodwill and joy to you, or perhaps simply echoes of laughter, to remind you that they're there for you always as well! J

Bless-up!

Jair