Sharing the Journey

Question: What I am learning about our spiritual journey is very beautiful. How can I share it with my parents (spouse/children/friends)?

Aaron: As you find your path opening before you, of course you want to share the beauty with your loved ones. This is fine. Tell them what you are learning, but be prepared for their less than enthusiastic response.

All beings are on this spiritual path. We are all on our way home. Remember that we travel by many routes, and are in different places, each on our own unique path.

You all tend to want to force your own understandings on those close to you. Do you see that this is a form of violence against your loved one? You can open a door for another, but you cannot force him through.

Trust that each being is exactly where he needs to be. If he does not accept your invitation to enter that door that you've opened, why can you not let it be? For whom are you opening that door, yourself or your beloved companion?

Examine your own need here. What must you prove? What ego is there that asks for approval of your own path? Explore these questions without judgment of yourself. Simply look at what's there, with love and compassion for your own human needs. Doing so will allow you the space to see that forcing your beliefs on another is a violence to that being.

We can teach one another, and lead one another, but only from a space where there is no ego need. When you lead from that place, you open up a space where another may follow when he is ready to do so. There is no need within you that the other being follow. There is compassion for his dilemma, and a sense of wholeness in yourself that needs no reassurance that you are an the right path. Your faith is strong within itself. It does not need to be bolstered by another. You have no need to prove anything to yourself or your companions.

From within that space you can truly teach, not by your words but by your very being. Your loved ones will see your growing sense of peace and wholeness. They will notice the changes in you. When they ask you, then you may share. Your loving actions will speak much louder than all your pleas of "Try this," or "Think about that."

To share is beautiful, but the only person you can work on is yourself. Each being must learn the lessons for himself. You may serve as a guide, a road sign pointing the direction, but each must walk the path themselves, in their own time and at their own pace. Walk your own path with love, faith, courage, and humility, and you will be a glowing beacon that lights the way for others.