Do you ever notice how other people affect you simply by their looks, their personality, or just the way they look at you? Do you ever judge them? Just today, a man cut me off on the freeway, and I felt immediate anger. Is it possible that he was in a crisis in his life, was very unhappy, or not paying attention? Yet, I judged him with full intent and responsibility for making me angry. Hmmm. Doesn't it go the other way, that I am responsible for my own perceptions? What was the name of that famous psychologist that said it is not the event that makes one react, but rather one's perception of that event?
On the other hand, the Course in Miracles states that what we perceive in bodily form is merely a shell each of us carries in this lifetime, as is our personality, and our perceptions. The only reality is that each of us is a soul. When I remember that one thought, that we are all connected as spiritual beings, which is rarely these days, I find that people respond with strong connections. For instance, have you ever tried to simply smile at strangers in grocery stores, not a fake smile, but a really genuine one? It is amazing to witness the reactions you will get. It is rare to never that when I remember to smile, to see each individual as a soul within a body, that they do not smile back, with a genuine smile. Do you think that when you give a loving, kind smile to others, that it spreads to those they come into contact with, and with the next, and the next? Might they come home to their own family feeling more loved, thus being more loving? I wonder. What do you think?
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| Hawaiin Beach |
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| Hawaii |
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| Hawaii |
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| Hawaii's "Grand Canyon" |
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| Ohio River via Fishing Boat |
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| Hawaii |
