Prohibitions

Why are certain things prohibited? Why impose restrictions? Could a prohibition be a sign of Love?

Photo by Marcial Bollinger on Unsplash

When we are children, we use to hear the word no a lot. For example:

• Do not put your finger in the socket.
• Don't bite your brother.
• Do not take cold.
• Don't go there because it's dangerous.
• Do not do it.
• Do not do that.

Parents use a list of prohibitions to save and protect their children from the evils that could befall them as a result of certain actions.

The younger the child, the less able to understand the extent to which certain attitudes can generate. The parents, then, do not negotiate. They impose prohibitions to preserve themselves from dangers and suffering, both to themselves and to those around them.

As the child matures, the ability to understand grows. The more mature, the greater the sense of the relationship between cause and effect.

Not putting the finger in the socket makes sense because the shock will cause pain. Not biting the brother is understandable because, in addition to causing pain in the other, there may be retaliation. Not taking cold protects you from getting sick and bedridden.

In summary, that list of prohibitions has the character of preserving pain and evil, a sign that parents care and love their children.

A balanced life

When Humanity was in its infancy, out of barbarism, God, Father of infinite love, sent, through Moses, a list of rules for a more balanced life and a harmonious coexistence on Earth.

This list contains the Ten Commandments and, among them, several prohibitions:

1. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
2. You will not kill.
3. You will not commit adultery.
4. You will not steal.
5. You will not say false testimony against your neighbor.
6. You will not want the next man's wife.
7. You shall not covet your neighbor's house, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.

At that time, Humanity was unable to understand the scope of these rules.

It was not aware that these commandments brought the essence of the Divine Laws, the only knowledge necessary for happiness. God has put these laws in our own consciences to guide us towards good. With discernment, we know what we must or not do and are guided to happiness when we follow them, or to unhappinness whenever we violate them.

In the same way that some children defy their parents and violate the rules suffering later, many of us also refuse to follow the Divine Laws. Our immaturity and rebellion against these laws is what causes sufferings for ourselves and for others around us.

Final Thoughts

The only way to live a peaceful and happy life is to not see these prohibitions as authoritarian, but as proof of love.

Those who don't fight with God and its Laws, know that doing so will only make them suffer. They understand that God is a loving Father, waiting for His children (us) to mature and to love and understand these Laws that rule the Earth and the whole Universe.

And God knows that when that happens, no prohibition will be necessary as human beings will act with conscience always aiming for the good of everything and everyone.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on April 19, 2016

See Also

• The Power of Love
• Weighted observation
• The most important bridge
• Bridge of Life
• A Thinking Power
• Divine Poem

When I won my Parents

It doesn't matter if we were planned or not. Our parents had us but we won them.

Photo by Natalya Zaritskaya on Unsplash

That seemed to be more of a simple school task for an eight-year-old girl. The handout had problems to be solved and several questions on different subjects.

However, on the last page there was this task: "Make a drawing that represents a remarkable fact of your life."

The young girl drew a woman with a baby in her arms and, beside her, a man, both smiling. Above the scene written in a neat handwriting was: "When I won my parents."

How to contain the tears before such a simple declaration of love?

The girl remembered, with affection, that she had arrived at that loving home, just over eight years ago, through the blessed way of adoption. It was one of the first moments when the little heart thanked God for the opportunity to have a loving family on Earth.

Other children remembered trips, Christmas gifts and trips. Nothing close to how she thanked her parents:

When I won my parents, I also gained the certainty of being loved

When I won my parents, I was flooded with willpower, the desire to get it right and to love too.

When I won my parents, I decided to give love one more chance, and then another, and then another ...

When I won my parents, that's when I really felt protected ...

Be Grateful

Do you remember when you won your parents?

Yes, they are the greatest gift we receive when we are born. We may not yet understand this well, but time and memories will help us understand how everything makes sense.

We all won our parents. And they are not just any parents chosen by the force of randomness, they are the parents we needed, when we needed them.

Let us be grateful for having parents, for our life, for our family, for the love that was given to us, for living a respectful life, for learning so much from their examples. Gratitude is good for everyone. It is good for those who carry it in their hearts. It is good for those who receive it as unexpected fragrant flowers that fall on their hands and make life happier. 

Final Thoughts

Why wait to say thanks? Why wait for that special occasion to acknowledge and express our gratitude to our parents? Why are we so embarrassed to say: "you are important to me, I love you very much!" 

Why be ashamed to love and to say thank you?

Thank your parents while there is time. Thank them still today.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on August 13, 2016.

See Also

• The Power of Love
• Weighted observation
• The most important bridge
• Bridge of Life
• A Thinking Power
• Divine Poem

A Poem to God

Would you be able to imagine what a soul would write to God?

Photo by Free To Use Sounds on Unsplash

One day, a soul awakens and delights itself with the morning that stretches on the horizon. It feels as if it is hovering above and beyond the human scale. It remembers being the daughter of a loving and good Father, a Creator who provides everything for everyone. Full of gratitude, it says this verse:

God, intelligence of intelligences, cause of causes, law of laws, principle of principles, reason of reasons, conscience of consciences. Isaac Newton was right to discover himself, every time he spoke Your Name.

God, kind Father, I find you in nature, your daughter and our mother.

I recognize you, Lord, in the poetry of Creation, in the wind that strums harmonies in the hair of the trees.

In colors that are so diverse in hues and gradations.

In the rolling waters, silent, in tiny streams, in the noisy waterfalls, of considerable heights, in the green of the grass that carpets the garden and the squares.

I recognize you, Father, in the flower of gardens and orchards, in the grass of the valleys, in the hue of the fields, in the breeze of the meadows.

Lord, I find you in the scent of the fields, in the murmur of the fountains, in the rumble of the smallest branches of the treetops.

I also discover you in the music of the woods, in the placidity of the lakes, in the pride of the mountains, in the expanse of the oceans, in the majesty of the firmament.

I see you, Lord, in the child who smiles, plays, jumps and spreads joy and laughter.

I recognize you, Father, in the old man who walks slowly, who stumbles. But, above all, in the intelligence he reveals, the result of his well-lived experiences.

I discover you in the beggar who begs, in the helping hand, in the mother who watches, in the father who instructs, in the apostle who evangelizes.

God! I recognize you in my wife's love, in my son's affection, in my sister's esteem, in your indulgent mercy.

And I find you, Lord, in the faith of what you have, in the hope of the peoples, in the charity of the good, in the integrity of the whole.

I recognize you, Lord, in the inspiration of the poet, in the eloquence of the speaker, in the creativity of the artist.

I also find you in the wisdom of the philosopher, in the intellectuality of the scholar, in the fires of the genius!

And you are still in the polar dawns, in the silvery of the moon, in the brightness of the sun, in the brightness of the stars, in the brightness of the constellations.

God! I recognize you in the formation of the nebulae, in the origin of the worlds, in the genesis of the suns, in the cradle of the humanities, in the wonder, in the splendor, in the sublime of the infinite!

Finally, I understand when Jesus prays "Our Father who art in heaven..."  or when angels sing: "Glory to God on high..."

May you find peace you look for in your heart! 🌹🧡🙏

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on September 12, 2016.

See Also

• Weighted observation
• The most important bridge
• Bridge of Life
• A Thinking Power
• Divine Poem