THE BUCK STOPS WITH ME.

Ultimately I guess that the scariest thing and the most exciting thing I’ve learned is that the buck really does stop with me! It is up to me to make the very best of this life and to touch as many people with my uniqueness and individuality as possible. Knowing that we have the ultimate choice, the free will and responsibility for every decision we make can be quite a frightening thing but on the positive side it is also a liberating opportunity. There are so many things to consider when we realise that we have the ultimate power over all aspects of our lives. We can allow ourselves to be hurt, manipulated, downtrodden etc. or we can turn away from the perpetrators and walk away giving them the full responsibility for their actions.

I remember a conversation I had with one of my brothers recently. He said that he believes that he has only one shot at it in this life so it may as well be a good one to get it right. I replied that I needed to get it right this time so that I didn’t have to repeat the mistakes of the past and have to face the same issues all over again. Both of us want to be the best we can in this life even though our belief systems vary on why we are here and what will happen to us after we die. So, whatever your beliefs in reincarnation it is still important to get it right this time around and therein comes the responsibility to yourself.

There are many questions I had to find the answers too when I started on my spiritual journey. You may well find similar questions facing you as you encounter new teachings and stretch your belief systems along the way.

These are some of the questions which gave me some headaches along my early travellings.

What legacy do I want to leave?
What is it that we want people to remember about us when we are gone? We all know that everyone who dies was a wonderful person and they all did exceptional things. Well, every eulogy I’ve ever heard supports that theory. Every person we come into contact with during our lives is affected by our presence in some way.

Who will miss me when I’m gone?
Our ego demands that everyone will miss us and that we will never be replaced. In reality - life does go on for most of us. The memories will certainly last forever but it is not healthy to make the dead into saints. They certainly do not benefit from that canonisation and it doesn’t help us to move on with our own life and growth. Those who love us will love us forever. Those who don’t will not change their minds either.

One hit wonder?
If this is the only shot we get at life what is the purpose? Why do we go through so much to be born, have so many struggles during life, experience the final battle at death and then have only the options of eternal happiness or damnation? There are enough near death experience testaments to make us question what lies ahead.

There are hundreds of other questions which will rattle your brain and trouble your conscience. It is up to us to look at each new question carefully - to dissect it and think about what sits best with us and our lives. One important thing I have learned is that it is always better to have an open mind about everything and that you also need to be prepared to be honest enough to change your perception if you are given information which alters your original opinion. Flexibility is a wonderful thing to go hand in hand with your spirituality. I’ve found that I can bend with the breeze now like a supple willow branch and that I have a greater tolerance for individual differences. No longer do I become angry or bombastic when my beliefs are questioned or ridiculed. Each to their own I always say. I have to live within my creeds as do others and who am I to say that I am right and they are wrong. All I have to know is that I am right for ME and they are right for THEM! Isn’t this ultimately all that really matters?