The Archangels Offer Us a Modern Day Parable about Choice
The other day, a friend of mine told me about a friend of hers who was upset on behalf of her brother who worked for the government and who didn’t get paid as expected due to a hold put on the agency where he worked. She and her family were Trump supporters, and my friend shared with me that, although she didn’t come out and say it, internally, she thought to herself that it served them right for voting for the man who was elected president.
Honestly, the same thought crossed my mind, but I stopped and realized that that was faulty thinking. Instead of rejoicing in someone else’s suffering, I reminded myself that if my pension checks weren’t deposited, I’d be struggling, so how could I be happy that someone else was faced with such a problem?
Who’s to say that the state of Texas won’t deny me my pension at some point? Heck, if they know my political practices, they might want to find a way to do just that! I was able to pause and find compassion for the man who didn’t receive the payday he’d counted on, and even though he voted for the man who was ultimately behind his missed paycheck, I hope the situation was rectified in some way quickly, and he and his family are okay. Nobody deserves to go through something like that, regardless of their voting history. It’s not right.
I’m hearing a lot of sneering from the “losing” side of the election, a lot of “I told you sos,” “that’s what you gets,” and “well, you voted for hims.” What good does that do? Pointing fingers of blame doesn’t get us anywhere, but it’s so tempting to do so, isn’t it? If things continue as they’ve been, we’re in for a lot more trouble and fallout more than likely, although I’m not going to dwell on what ifs, maybe’s and possibilities that may never happen. I’m going to take one day at a time and hope for the best.
I asked the Archangels how we could get past this finger pointing and hostility and anger and narrow some of the gaps between us, and they offered up a modern-day parable I found interesting and appropriate, as follows.
Question: The country continues to be divided after the election. At first, it was the Trump supporters who rubbed in the defeat to the other side. Now, as there are more negative consequences of political actions happening, it’s the “losing” side sneering at the “winning” side that they voted for the person causing the chaos, so it’s their fault, as if they brought these things down on themselves and deserve to suffer. How do we move past this blaming and finger pointing?
Answer:
It is difficult to set aside anger that feels justified and righteous, but it sometimes helps to stop and think of the end result you hope for in the future. Do you wish to be in a position where you can point fingers of blame at others, or do you hope to find lasting solutions? Spend some time in reflection, also, and ask yourself if you cast your vote because you had great faith in your chosen candidate, or because you feared what would happen if the opposing candidate won? We will tell you that most voters did not vote for a candidate as much as they voted against the other. When fear is behind choices, rather than confidence, there is a lot of room for failure on the part of whoever wins and gross speculation of how much better it would have been had someone else won. This is a waste of time.
Many people believe the two voting sides vary greatly in beliefs, goals, hopes, and visions, yet you are closer than you think. It is easier to paint with a wide brush, but when you do, the smaller details are sloppy or completely painted over and hidden. Many believe “they” are as different from “we” as they can be, that the opposite side is made up of extremists, when in fact, there are fewer extremists on both sides than there are moderates. It was fear of extremes that led people to vote for whichever candidate they chose.
One side accused the other of bigotry, entitlement, and only caring about themselves, while the other side made blanket exaggerations of opening the floodgates to all, caring about strangers more than their own people, forcing restrictions and taking away rights that would deplete and end lifestyles.
In reality, most people on both sides wanted to survive with as little hardship and threat as possible, but they had differing ideas of who could give them that. People are quick to believe damaging information about those they perceive as their enemies, which makes them easy to manipulate and control. Then, when someone steps in and offers them a scapegoat, an end to their misery, or protection from their perceived threats, they often follow blindly.
For there to be sustainable progress, people must be willing to listen and try to understand each other, whether or not they agree with the other viewpoints. This has yet to happen on a large enough scale to provide unity and common goals or to challenge those who instigated the division in the first place and continue to feed the chaos, fear, and anger that widen the gap.
Until you stop blaming each other and believing the opposition is stupid, backward, and evil, bridges cannot be built, and problems cannot be solved. What you all must grow to realize is that it will be up to the masses to make needed changes that help you, rather than the leaders currently in office who only serve themselves, rather than the people. You must find a way to come together, to join forces for change.
The problem is, everyone wants things their own way, and you are too different to ever reach an agreement on which way is best. There is no one right way. There is no one size fits all or only one way of doing things. You must move past that and evolve, so that all people can choose a way forward that suits them. The way to do this is to stop trying to control others and inhibit their choices and focus on your choices only, allowing others to do the same.
This means realizing that you cannot force others to choose as you see fit. Leave them to choose their own way. You can still believe your way is the best, but you must accept that it is not the best way for anyone else, unless they choose it for themselves. Acknowledge that they have the right to choose differently, even if you do not like their choices.
Think of life as a buffet with many kinds of food from which to choose. Picture a long line of hungry people. As they move along, rather than choosing whatever they like to eat, the servers will only allow them certain foods and deny them the rest. When they point to a different dish, the server refuses to give it to them and places something else on their plate, which they do not like. Do you think they will calmly sit down, eat their food and enjoy it, or do you think they will rebel and either continue to demand something else or throw away what they are served and leave?
Yet, if everyone is allowed to choose what they want to eat, everyone can take a seat and enjoy their meals, regardless of how different they are. You may not ever choose to eat what the others at your table eat, but you can all enjoy eating together. One way, there is great waste, and the only ones who enjoy their meal are those who like what the servers chose for them. The other way, there is much less waste, no one remains hungry and everyone has a chance to feel satisfied. Why should you care which food satisfies which person? As long as you can eat what you want and everyone walks away replete, everyone benefits.
Not everyone likes to eat the same food. Not everyone likes to worship in the same way. Not everyone chooses the same health practices, relationships, music, cultures, languages, friends, holidays, or lifestyles. There is room for all kinds of choices, and different people will make different choices. Different does not mean good, bad, right, or wrong. It is only different.
If you never want to try a different way of doing something, as long as your choices do not adversely affect others, there is no harm. Perhaps there is a better way of doing things, but it should be entirely up to you whether or not you choose to stay the same or change, just as it should be up to you to make your own choices at a buffet. No one should force you, and you should not force anyone else. Choice should remain individual.
We send you all healing energies of Light and Love.
Final Thoughts
When our kids were younger, one of our favorite places to eat was Furr’s Cafeteria. They had something for everyone, they had great prices, and you could go back and try as many options as you wanted, because it was all you could eat for one price. I usually got the baked fish, and my husband chose chicken fried steak most days. My son usually asked for fried chicken legs, and my daughters chose different things every time. One of my girls liked pickled beets, and the other girl thought they were disgusting. The sheer amount of food on my husband’s plate nearly made me ill, and I lost track of how many times my boy went back for more. None of us could agree on the best meal to order, but we all walked away happy and full, and we enjoyed the time spent together.
People are too different to ever agree on the best choices and ways of doing things. Too many people want to force their choices on others, and that’s just not going to work for any length of time. As more and more people try to do that, more and more others are joining together to stop them. Why do we have to choose sides? Why can’t we just choose, well, choice? Who cares what someone else chooses to do in their life as long as it doesn’t adversely affect others? Why does there have to be just one way? If we’re ever going to learn to live together in harmony, we’re going to have to cut each other some slack and leave the decision making to each individual where their own life is concerned. It’s okay for others to believe, like, and do different things. We don’t need to and shouldn’t make choices for anyone other than ourselves.
Choice is important. The right to choose your own path is crucial. The only person who has to live and be comfortable with our choices is us. If they bother someone else, that’s their problem, as long as those choices do not directly affect others. We tend to be very judgmental, and as long as we believe we have the right to choose for others, we’re not going to be able to move forward. Let’s live and let live, shall we?
The intention for Friday night meditation with the Archangels for the month of February is Love. If you’d like to join us from wherever you are, at whatever time you’re available, you’re more than welcome to send loving energy out to the world. The Archangels will gather it and disperse it to where it’s needed most.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and exercise your freedom to choose what you want to do with your life, while allowing others to do the same. Let’s all work on accepting each other’s differences, yeah? We might be surprised to find these differences are more interesting than they are frightening. Happy Friday, everyone!
Blessings, all.
Comments