The cottonwood floats down like big fluffy snowflakes against a bright blue sky. The sunshine reminds me that the drought continues. This year, my allergies have been particularly severe; air quality all over the country is poor. It's not just because of grass pollens, or cottonwood, it's smog. The elderly and children were recommended to stay indoors in some parts of the country. Anyone with immunodeficiency is at risk, too. It's been the worst spring that way since 2012. Given all three of the recent tragedies that occurred in Orlando, it does seem like something is in the air....
I talk a lot about the importance of positive energy on social media and here on this blog; in Kabbalah, even just thinking negative thoughts is believed to have a negative affect on our environment. The spring season started off with the beheading of two different four-year olds in two different countries about a month apart. Mass shootings have increased. Domestic violence is so high, women's shelters are turning more than 70,000 women away in a given month. Stalker-related deaths are increasing. In the last six months, there were no less than three local murders of women and two murders of women from the entertainment world. And, that's not all: People you've known for years--who you were generous and kind to--are suddenly strangers. Cancer is on the rise in younger and younger people. Issues with clean water, homelessness and hunger persist...and we haven't even touched on employment and debt!
There is SO MUCH negative energy right now, world-wide, that it's no wonder our physical environment seems to be just as inhospitable. But, how is that possible??? You may be thinking, "Thoughts aren't magic. What I think doesn't matter...." Except, it does.
Have you ever had a really good year? You know what I'm talking about...a year where everything just seemed to fall into place??? If you think about that year, I bet you can also see how happy you were. How positive you felt about your future. Good things were happening...you may believe your positivity was a result of that. But, what preceded those good things? For me, my best year to date was preceded by my taking back control of my life. I began working out. Every day. No exceptions. I was feeling great, looking great, and it translated into everything I was doing. Success after success seemed to magically appear. Except, it wasn't magic. It was me. I was exuding positive energy. And, people started to take notice.
The down turn happened when I stopped taking care of myself. My decisions were always based on supporting someone else. I began sacrificing more and more. And just as quickly as things improved the year before, the bad luck began flooding in. It was one thing after another, after another. But, the moment I decided to make major sacrifices for my own benefit again, things began to improve. Almost immediately.
My life is good today. Yes, I still have problems, but the only problems I have come from self-sabotage--prioritizing something else over what is best for me. Throwing myself under the proverbial bus, as it were. Why would anyone do that??? Everyone indulges in self-punishment once in a while. For me, being raised in the Northeast where our dark Puritanical roots are still showing is a definite part of my foundational psyche. Puritans believed good looking, healthy, and/or rich people were beloved by God. If you had none such gifts, you were clearly evil.
I recently read a comment thread about the percentage of people who still willingly consume the carcinogens in diet soda. One Millennial female posted about how her mother-in-law lacks the income to eat healthy, so now has cancer. Other than my first thought being, "Well, why don't you help her then???", it struck me as odd that poverty was linked to cancer. Very Puritanesque. Cancer is something that does not happen overnight. And, rich people get it, too. Everything from the environment, to genetics, to stress levels contribute to a cancer diagnosis. Though lack of education is linked to poverty and abuse, I know people who earn healthy six-figure incomes and hold MD's, but are still ignorant about much more than they should be. Including kindness.
Kindness and honesty go hand-in-hand. Positive energy derives from kindness. A man who openly criticizes women may not see himself as cruel, because he is not physically beating women up, but we are never justified in our actions that push others down. That is the opposite of kindness. And, when you do things that are the opposite of kind, you are cruel.
I've discussed before how everyone lies. And, it's true. You're at a friend's new house and you tell her the decorating is beautiful even though she made her accent wall acid-green and it's beyond hideous but she has a right to express her sense of color and balance however she wishes. So, instead of saying how it offends your eyes to look at her color choices, you smile and nod and give a plethora of compliments. That's not really a lie; it's called being kind. Your friend cares about what you think. She is clearly excited and happy. You want to support that sense of joy and promote peace. That's why you are kind. It does not hurt you or your friend in anyway to give her the reassurance she is asking for. In fact, it strengthens your bonds of friendship while also giving joy and peace to someone you care about. THAT is positive energy. It's quite a different thing, however, when you lie to protect yourself, knowing your lie will likely cause physical harm to another. Even financial ruin. But you lie because you, and only you, are getting some short-term reward for that behavior. That's cruelty in a nutshell. Any gains you receive from another's suffering come from negative energy. And, negative energy has away of eating at you. It's different if you are victimized by someone who is cruel. As long as you do not allow that cruelty--that negative energy--to infect who you are, you will escape it.
I think back to the fall of 2014, when my life seemed to be faced with one obstacle after another, after another. When you find yourself constantly taking hits, you need to look at who is standing next to you. Big "yes" knock to that. Sometimes, you inherit problems through relationships, but that is something you can manage together and get through. Basically, work as a team to clear the negatives. That's kindness. It's cruel to reject a person burdened by a pre-existing problem that they themselves inherited. Especially a person willing to improve your life and their own. Someone who is full of positive energy is far from a destroyer. They just may be socially disadvantaged by gender, race, ethnicity, etc.. Social disadvantages always translate to things like abuse and financial difficulties. That's the essence of being socially disadvantaged. But being born different from the dominant social group does not mean one is not also positive in nature. In fact, being met with constant social resistance tends to breed gratitude and kindness. You just feel lucky to be alive...you don't feel entitled or owed. You know the true meaning of happiness so you tend to promote it whenever possible.
Context is important. What precedes a person's positive energy, or negative energy? That will determine the nature of the lie. Was their kindness an act? Or, is the cruelty a temporary reaction to environmental stimuli? Time will answer the question for you, of course. Just don't let another person's problems become yours. When you find yourself steeped in negatives, get out of that situation immediately. Do whatever necessary to free yourself from the negative influences constantly requiring sacrifice. From you, and only you. No one who cares for you will ever ask you to compromise yourself in that way. If they do, understand they are negative people full of negative energy. Cruelty is their modus operandi. Any kindness you receive hinges on your continued submission. That's what unnecessary sacrifice is. Submission.
Being submissive during role play for sex once in a while is not at all the same as a person asking you to constantly sacrifice your needs (your time, your money, your energy, and yourself) for them. That's cruelty. Because it is destroying you. It is designed to destroy.
Healthy people are kind people. When I say "healthy," I mean emotionally healthy. Psychologically healthy. Someone who understands the difference between kindness and cruelty, and chooses positives over negatives on a regular basis, despite the difficulties within their lives. That's a healthy person. Surround yourself with healthy people as often as possible. Avoid the insecure, the fearful. Don't be Puritanesque in your thinking. Outer beauty is not a sign of kindness. Nor does it show the potential for such. You may wish that were the case, but a pretty face is a random genetic event. A pretty soul isn't--it's a choice.
Keep the positives in mind. Remember, it's a choice. We all have free will to some degree. Even a person living in the most hateful of circumstances can be positive, can show kindness, and, by doing so, help influence others in the same way. Negative energy is just as infectious as positive energy--maybe more so. It feels easier to hate. To be angry. To blame others for your problems. Love is hard. Very hard. It doesn't judge. Love remains open. It's unconditional. Because, it is derived from kindness.
I am kind because I choose to be. I don't have to be. There are a plethora of reasons why I shouldn't be. But I see solutions in every problem. I see beauty in the places most people find ugly. I see potential in the most unlikely of souls. Nothing and no one will ever change that. Another big "yes" knock in agreement. Kindness even extends to the unseen. To the spider on your bathroom wall. To the moth trapped inside your screen. To the cricket or frog perilously unaware they are in the middle of a bike path and need help moving out of harm's way. Even a slug, an earthworm, a snail deserve kindness. For, they have been asked to survive the physical plane without complex brains or opposable thumbs. Anyone who has an advantage over another needs to be mindful of that fact.
Kindness should be automatic. It is for healthy people. Unhealthy people are quite good at mimicking kindness. It is their ultimate cruelty. You will love them completely before they show you their kindness was a lie. But if you look backwards, you will see that they were showing you who they were all along. Because you are kind, you gave them the benefit of the doubt. However, that is not being kind to yourself.
When you are kind, you are light incarnate. You will attract all types of people. Recognize true kindness, but also, understand the red flags for true cruelty. A man who seeks to seduce you while married with a family is cruel. His seductions seem kind, but it is no different than a fisherman using food to hide the sharp hook. Look for omissions. Look for the gaps. When you see the truth, cruel people will always disappear. Kind ones stay the course. You do not have to be cruel to separate from a cruel person. Just be kind, and you will find your kindness is your shield. The cruel will be repelled by it. Threatened. Your unconditional love and kind heart will ultimately drive a cruel person away. Consistently sharing positive energy is an affront to their cruelty. The ultimate power trip for the cruel is changing the heart of someone who is kind. But that's so fruitless. Like cruelty itself.
Kindness is the Tree of Life. It's designed to encourage love, happiness, peace, and joy. While cruelty is designed to crush the spirit, create chaos, misery, and general destruction. Let the cruel destroy themselves and the unlucky few they "love." Do not concern yourself with the cruel. You are on a different evolutionary level. You don't have to change your behavior at all. That is a fallacy of the fearful. All a kind person need do is remain consistent. Everything else will fall into place.
Start improving the world through you. When you do, everything gets better. All thanks to choosing positive energy over negative energy.
And yes, it's really that simple.
#GrowingUp
I talk a lot about the importance of positive energy on social media and here on this blog; in Kabbalah, even just thinking negative thoughts is believed to have a negative affect on our environment. The spring season started off with the beheading of two different four-year olds in two different countries about a month apart. Mass shootings have increased. Domestic violence is so high, women's shelters are turning more than 70,000 women away in a given month. Stalker-related deaths are increasing. In the last six months, there were no less than three local murders of women and two murders of women from the entertainment world. And, that's not all: People you've known for years--who you were generous and kind to--are suddenly strangers. Cancer is on the rise in younger and younger people. Issues with clean water, homelessness and hunger persist...and we haven't even touched on employment and debt!
There is SO MUCH negative energy right now, world-wide, that it's no wonder our physical environment seems to be just as inhospitable. But, how is that possible??? You may be thinking, "Thoughts aren't magic. What I think doesn't matter...." Except, it does.
Have you ever had a really good year? You know what I'm talking about...a year where everything just seemed to fall into place??? If you think about that year, I bet you can also see how happy you were. How positive you felt about your future. Good things were happening...you may believe your positivity was a result of that. But, what preceded those good things? For me, my best year to date was preceded by my taking back control of my life. I began working out. Every day. No exceptions. I was feeling great, looking great, and it translated into everything I was doing. Success after success seemed to magically appear. Except, it wasn't magic. It was me. I was exuding positive energy. And, people started to take notice.
The down turn happened when I stopped taking care of myself. My decisions were always based on supporting someone else. I began sacrificing more and more. And just as quickly as things improved the year before, the bad luck began flooding in. It was one thing after another, after another. But, the moment I decided to make major sacrifices for my own benefit again, things began to improve. Almost immediately.
My life is good today. Yes, I still have problems, but the only problems I have come from self-sabotage--prioritizing something else over what is best for me. Throwing myself under the proverbial bus, as it were. Why would anyone do that??? Everyone indulges in self-punishment once in a while. For me, being raised in the Northeast where our dark Puritanical roots are still showing is a definite part of my foundational psyche. Puritans believed good looking, healthy, and/or rich people were beloved by God. If you had none such gifts, you were clearly evil.
I recently read a comment thread about the percentage of people who still willingly consume the carcinogens in diet soda. One Millennial female posted about how her mother-in-law lacks the income to eat healthy, so now has cancer. Other than my first thought being, "Well, why don't you help her then???", it struck me as odd that poverty was linked to cancer. Very Puritanesque. Cancer is something that does not happen overnight. And, rich people get it, too. Everything from the environment, to genetics, to stress levels contribute to a cancer diagnosis. Though lack of education is linked to poverty and abuse, I know people who earn healthy six-figure incomes and hold MD's, but are still ignorant about much more than they should be. Including kindness.
Kindness and honesty go hand-in-hand. Positive energy derives from kindness. A man who openly criticizes women may not see himself as cruel, because he is not physically beating women up, but we are never justified in our actions that push others down. That is the opposite of kindness. And, when you do things that are the opposite of kind, you are cruel.
I've discussed before how everyone lies. And, it's true. You're at a friend's new house and you tell her the decorating is beautiful even though she made her accent wall acid-green and it's beyond hideous but she has a right to express her sense of color and balance however she wishes. So, instead of saying how it offends your eyes to look at her color choices, you smile and nod and give a plethora of compliments. That's not really a lie; it's called being kind. Your friend cares about what you think. She is clearly excited and happy. You want to support that sense of joy and promote peace. That's why you are kind. It does not hurt you or your friend in anyway to give her the reassurance she is asking for. In fact, it strengthens your bonds of friendship while also giving joy and peace to someone you care about. THAT is positive energy. It's quite a different thing, however, when you lie to protect yourself, knowing your lie will likely cause physical harm to another. Even financial ruin. But you lie because you, and only you, are getting some short-term reward for that behavior. That's cruelty in a nutshell. Any gains you receive from another's suffering come from negative energy. And, negative energy has away of eating at you. It's different if you are victimized by someone who is cruel. As long as you do not allow that cruelty--that negative energy--to infect who you are, you will escape it.
I think back to the fall of 2014, when my life seemed to be faced with one obstacle after another, after another. When you find yourself constantly taking hits, you need to look at who is standing next to you. Big "yes" knock to that. Sometimes, you inherit problems through relationships, but that is something you can manage together and get through. Basically, work as a team to clear the negatives. That's kindness. It's cruel to reject a person burdened by a pre-existing problem that they themselves inherited. Especially a person willing to improve your life and their own. Someone who is full of positive energy is far from a destroyer. They just may be socially disadvantaged by gender, race, ethnicity, etc.. Social disadvantages always translate to things like abuse and financial difficulties. That's the essence of being socially disadvantaged. But being born different from the dominant social group does not mean one is not also positive in nature. In fact, being met with constant social resistance tends to breed gratitude and kindness. You just feel lucky to be alive...you don't feel entitled or owed. You know the true meaning of happiness so you tend to promote it whenever possible.
Context is important. What precedes a person's positive energy, or negative energy? That will determine the nature of the lie. Was their kindness an act? Or, is the cruelty a temporary reaction to environmental stimuli? Time will answer the question for you, of course. Just don't let another person's problems become yours. When you find yourself steeped in negatives, get out of that situation immediately. Do whatever necessary to free yourself from the negative influences constantly requiring sacrifice. From you, and only you. No one who cares for you will ever ask you to compromise yourself in that way. If they do, understand they are negative people full of negative energy. Cruelty is their modus operandi. Any kindness you receive hinges on your continued submission. That's what unnecessary sacrifice is. Submission.
Being submissive during role play for sex once in a while is not at all the same as a person asking you to constantly sacrifice your needs (your time, your money, your energy, and yourself) for them. That's cruelty. Because it is destroying you. It is designed to destroy.
Healthy people are kind people. When I say "healthy," I mean emotionally healthy. Psychologically healthy. Someone who understands the difference between kindness and cruelty, and chooses positives over negatives on a regular basis, despite the difficulties within their lives. That's a healthy person. Surround yourself with healthy people as often as possible. Avoid the insecure, the fearful. Don't be Puritanesque in your thinking. Outer beauty is not a sign of kindness. Nor does it show the potential for such. You may wish that were the case, but a pretty face is a random genetic event. A pretty soul isn't--it's a choice.
Keep the positives in mind. Remember, it's a choice. We all have free will to some degree. Even a person living in the most hateful of circumstances can be positive, can show kindness, and, by doing so, help influence others in the same way. Negative energy is just as infectious as positive energy--maybe more so. It feels easier to hate. To be angry. To blame others for your problems. Love is hard. Very hard. It doesn't judge. Love remains open. It's unconditional. Because, it is derived from kindness.
I am kind because I choose to be. I don't have to be. There are a plethora of reasons why I shouldn't be. But I see solutions in every problem. I see beauty in the places most people find ugly. I see potential in the most unlikely of souls. Nothing and no one will ever change that. Another big "yes" knock in agreement. Kindness even extends to the unseen. To the spider on your bathroom wall. To the moth trapped inside your screen. To the cricket or frog perilously unaware they are in the middle of a bike path and need help moving out of harm's way. Even a slug, an earthworm, a snail deserve kindness. For, they have been asked to survive the physical plane without complex brains or opposable thumbs. Anyone who has an advantage over another needs to be mindful of that fact.
Kindness should be automatic. It is for healthy people. Unhealthy people are quite good at mimicking kindness. It is their ultimate cruelty. You will love them completely before they show you their kindness was a lie. But if you look backwards, you will see that they were showing you who they were all along. Because you are kind, you gave them the benefit of the doubt. However, that is not being kind to yourself.
When you are kind, you are light incarnate. You will attract all types of people. Recognize true kindness, but also, understand the red flags for true cruelty. A man who seeks to seduce you while married with a family is cruel. His seductions seem kind, but it is no different than a fisherman using food to hide the sharp hook. Look for omissions. Look for the gaps. When you see the truth, cruel people will always disappear. Kind ones stay the course. You do not have to be cruel to separate from a cruel person. Just be kind, and you will find your kindness is your shield. The cruel will be repelled by it. Threatened. Your unconditional love and kind heart will ultimately drive a cruel person away. Consistently sharing positive energy is an affront to their cruelty. The ultimate power trip for the cruel is changing the heart of someone who is kind. But that's so fruitless. Like cruelty itself.
Kindness is the Tree of Life. It's designed to encourage love, happiness, peace, and joy. While cruelty is designed to crush the spirit, create chaos, misery, and general destruction. Let the cruel destroy themselves and the unlucky few they "love." Do not concern yourself with the cruel. You are on a different evolutionary level. You don't have to change your behavior at all. That is a fallacy of the fearful. All a kind person need do is remain consistent. Everything else will fall into place.
Start improving the world through you. When you do, everything gets better. All thanks to choosing positive energy over negative energy.
And yes, it's really that simple.
#GrowingUp
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