Courage

The moment we live is of great challenges. Do we have courage to bear all the challenges we face? 

Photo by Oliver Cole on Unsplash

The moment we now live on Earth is of great challenges, requiring a lot of courage, to behave according to the Divine Laws.

Courage to maintain honesty when almost everything around us conspires against the right attitudes.

Courage not to strike back at the blows of insanity, maintaining understanding and praying the blessings of heaven for your unbalanced brother.

Courage not to deviate from humility and integrity when, with power in our hands, we do not allow pride and selfishness to take over.

Courage to cultivate moderation and patience when we realize that the difficulties are getting worse.

Courage to maintain patience, even if your heart is beaten by the onslaught of cruel feelings that reach us.

Courage to preserve in serenity when the storms of discord and disagreements roar, threatening to bring us down.

Moral Courage

When we carry the Gospel of Jesus in our hearts, we know that it is not by running away from obstacles that we overcome them, but by facing them with calm, serenity and confidence. We understand that the first virtue of those who trust God is moral courage.

Courage that is necessary to achieve self-discipline to remain in balance in the face of attacks of less noble feelings and attitudes.

Courage that helps bearing difficulties with serenity, making the necessary efforts to overcome them.

Courage to persevere in the face of difficulties, without allowing ourselves to give up.

Our journey, in this life, reserves us many paths to travel, but the peace and happiness that we long for, will only be built with inner courage. And it is this courage that will determine when and how we will achieve our inner improvement, which will be reflected in our individual fulfillment.

The greater the achievement, the calmer our attitudes will be, helping us continue our personal journey.

Final Thoughts

Faced with the most embarrassing situations of his material life, Jesus endured all the injuries, all the humiliations that were inflicted on him, maintaining the purity of the high ideal for which he endeavored to the extreme sacrifice.

Let us have the courage to act like Him, maintaining serenity and moving on.

Let us have compassion of those who have lost their faith and stumbled upon violence.

Let us look at those who despaired and were lost in the revolt.

Let us keep in mind that true courage arises from resilience and calm in times of challenge, suffering and imbalance.

Let us protect ourselves in good. When we are about to utter any thoughtless phrase or take the least action against others, let us pray and be silent because heaven hears us. God will always sustain us in our good efforts.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on April 07, 2018.

See Also

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

Vibrating Bridge

How do you deal with the challenges and stresses of the modern life?

Photo by Andre Xavier on Unsplash

She returned from school, where she worked for many years. She was discouraged by the routine situation. The violence in the children's actions and words left her actionless, after so many attempts to resolve them.

Every day she worked hard doing her best. She guided and corrected their attitudes so that the children would become kinder to each other, so that they felt like family.  However, she saw that none of her efforts was effective.

Discouraged, she sat on the bench in the garden and cried. Her father, seeing her there, came over and stroked her hair in silence. With her beloved presence, she allowed herself to give more freedom to emotions. She hugged him and let the tears flow.

When she calmed down a little, he spoke calmly: "I don't know what your problem is, but we can establish a vibrating bridge to the sky, from where you will come calm and tranquility to solve what ails you." Remember what we have been taught: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you will get it and what you will grant will be what you ask for."

She smiled slightly and, because she still felt a little tormented, she asked him to formulate the prayer for her, for her work and for the children at school. Right there, among the flowers, he prayed. She, following her words mentally, felt her heart calm and hope to be reborn.

Later, they went into the house, had tea and continued to talk. She found that she was now calmer and more confident, envisioning other possible solutions.

The mechanism of prayer

It is important to know the mechanism of prayer. Jesus, the sweet Rabbi of Galilee, used to walk away from the crowd in order to pray to the Father in silence.

An enlightened creature wrote: prayer is the emanation of well-directed thinking and rich in vibratory content, establishing the creature's exchange with the Creator. Therefore, thoughts driven by love and charged with positive energies can perform real miracles.

Prayer not only dilutes negative energies, it renews the moral forces of being, saturating it with higher vibrations that alter mental, emotional and organic landscapes.

The act of praying is an expression of humility towards life and an awakening of the conscience to understand the goals to which one must give oneself.

Jesus sought prayer as an effective resource to be linked to the Father, maintaining the exchange for the inspiration and courage that he was always clothed with. Through the constant practice of prayer, He left us an example that we must not abandon.

Final Thoughts

Through sincere prayer, we are in tune with the spheres of light, from which we draw the energies that provide emotional balance and inner peace, which allows us to better reason and act.

A sincere prayer opens the windows of the soul and expands our possibilities of inspiration.

Allow ourselves the exercise of prayer, in all situations of our life. Pray and let yourself be guided by the Celeste Pastor who will send you superior support in any circumstance through this vibrating bridge, called prayer.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on May 06, 2016.

See Also

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

Poverty and Wealth

Why are successful people unhappy? And why are they leaving their social positions to live a modest, humble life?

Photo by Charl Folscher on Unsplash

By the middle of the 20th century, a film The man who knew too much by Alfred Hitchcock was a huge success. The film popularized a song performed by Doris Day, who recorded more than six hundred songs throughout her career. The chorus said:

What will be, will be.
Whatever it is, it will be.
The future is not ours to see.
That will be, will be.

The concern about the future difficulties we face in life has always troubled us. From an early age we hear from our parents - study if you don't want to have a bad job - as if happiness were totally tied to a good job, to the possession of money and material goods.

We observe today though a reality that has never been considered. Successful people who feel unhappy, leave social positions to live modestly, but in a gratifying way. Those who have always lived in large cities, move to smaller towns in search of a simpler life. Others hang their diplomas and abandon outstanding careers to dedicate their time to philanthropy.

How many of us wouldn't find peace close to nature, planting, harvesting and living a simpler life?

Cultivate inner peace

Cultivating inner peace, a pleasure in life, love for nature, peace in the family, and spreading our wealth to those in need can indeed provide us with what we deeply desire.

Poverty and wealth are invaluable invitations to personal growth. In both situations, we will be able to achieve the real objective of our journey on Earth.

In poverty, we have the sacred opportunity to learn to serve, to exercise patience and resignation.

In wealth, we have the opportunity to experience charity and self-sacrifice.

We will know that we are facing poverty properly when we adapt to the simplicity of life and accept the renunciations that we need to carry out. Likewise, in the face of wealth, it is important to be sensible in the use of goods and facilities to which we have access.

Final Thoughts

We all have been exposed to poverty and wealth one way or another.

Poverty, wealth, lack and fortune challenge us for growth and the sublimation effort. Both are opportunities that we are offered so that we learn to manage our condition of material poverty, enriching ourselves with spiritual blessings.

It's up to us use our wisdom, our time and our assets to help those around us. If we do so, we will realize that through these actions we will gain a deeper understanding of live. Cultivating light and peace, regardless of financial situation, will make us feel valuable and happy.

Knowing and respecting the Divine Laws will allow us to direct the steps towards the greater good, will make us truly poor of folly and authentic rich of solidarity and love.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on March 10, 2018.

See Also

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

Divine Poem

All that surrounds us is Divine poetry. Including ourselves.

Photo by Sergey Shmidt on Unsplash

Our Father, who is in heaven, on earth, in fire, in water and in the air. Our Father, who is in the flowers, in the song of the birds, in the beating heart. Who is in compassion, in charity, in patience and in the gesture of forgiveness.

Our Father, who is in me, who is in the one I love, in the one who hurts me, in the one who seeks the truth. Our Father, who is in the one who walks with me and in the one who has already left, leaving my soul wounded by longing.

Hallowed be Your name for all that is beautiful, good, just and graceful, for all the harmony of Creation. Be sanctified for my life, for so many opportunities, for what I am, have and feel and for leading me to perfection.

Thy kingdom of peace and justice, faith and charity, light and love, come to us. Kingdom that I am called upon to build through meekness of spirit, a reflection of inner greatness.

Thy will be done, even though my pleas cherish more my pride than my real needs.

Although I only hear silence as answer to my prayers, I do feel You say: son, wait, the eternity is all yours.

Give me our daily bread today so I can share it with my brother. The material comfort I now have are of no use if I do not remember those who live in distress.

Bread of the body, bread of the soul, bread that is life, truth and light. Bread that brings breath and joy, the Gospel of Jesus.

Forgive my offenses, my mistakes, my faults. Forgive when my heart becomes cold, when I allow evil to manifest itself in the form of aggression.

May I listen more than speak. May I seek to welcome others instead of judging them. May I sow peace instead of cultivating violence. May I be able to thank more than ask.

Forgive me, just as I forgive those who offend me, even when my heart is hurt by the bitterness and discomfort of ingratitude of others.

May I, Lord of Life, remember that no pain is eternal and that the only way to sublimity is the humble road of reconciliation.

Do not let me fall into the temptations of errors, addictions and selfishness, which make me a slave to my malevolence. Rather, may Your light be on me, illuminating me, so that I can find you within my soul, as part of my essence.

And deliver me from all evil, from all violence, from all misfortune, from all illness. Deliver me from all pain, all hurt and disappointment.

But still, when such difficulties are necessary, may I have the strength and courage to say: Thank you, Father, for one more lesson!

Final Thoughts

All that surrounds us is Divine poetry. There is a trait of God in every being. Let us seek Him in the blossoming of flowers, in the flow of waters, in the song of the wind, in the twinkling of the stars.

But above all, let us search for Him within us. We just need to close our eyes and feel Him giving rhyme to the verses of our lives.

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on May 06, 2017.

See Also

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

The poetry of life

Is your heart in life and love or in beauty, money and profit?

Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

A poet acquired a piece of land in the middle of the mountains. A place to dream, write and inebriate the soul.

He didn't intend to touch anything. God, after all, had made everything so beautiful already. The stream of crystalline water descending from the top of the mountain forming waterfalls and icy backwaters. Ferns, aprons, profuse princess earrings. Green fields, embroidered with tiny flowers. And huge trees where all kinds of flowers grew.

A piece of heaven full of beauty and life.

But in this beautiful place, there was a bad hill. So bad that not even the grass would grow.

The poet looked at that land, apparently useless, and decided to give nature a helping hand.

He thought he could plant pine trees. A forest full of pine trees, with its crowning crowns, arms raised to the sky, as if asking for blessings.

He asked the local people but no one approved the idea. Pine trees, they said, would take a long time to grow. Why even bother planting them? As the poet was not so young, he was told that he would certainly not even see the grown pines.

Furthermore, you cannot cut trees here, they said. It is protected by law and cutting trees is a crime. So why plant pine trees if they cannot be cut? After all, only cut are they worth money as can they be sold.

The poet was advised to plant eucalyptus instead. They grow up fast, and make a profit on the third year.

The poet returned to his home thinking that he and his neighbors were from different worlds.

He was a being from the forest, unhurried, like the seeds placed in the soil. He wanted to see, small and enjoy the colorful and fragrant spectacle of the lush forest.

His neighbors though, only thought of quick profit, money in the bank. They only had commerce and business in mind. That's why they thought that planting an eucalyptus, a tree that can be cut in three years was much more important than a pine tree that cannot be cut in even fifty years!

And the poet reflected that men who only think about profit, lost the meaning and beauty of life.

He remembered those who look at a huge redwood forest and find that property inhabited only by trees is a terrible waste. In their concept, it would be much better to burn the entire forest and transform it into a luxurious condominium.

After thoughtful consideration the poet decided to plant pine trees. Whether he gets to see them grown up or not, it doesn't matter. It is important that he sowed hope and life that will be able to rejoice other eyes and hearts in the future.

Conclusion

Jesus taught us that wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Is your heart in life, beauty or profit?

Do you want a land full of wonders where our children can live, be enchanted and breathe fresh air or you are simply looking for a place to enjoy everything possible, as quickly as you can?

It only depends on you to decide whether to plant pine trees or eucalyptus in the land of your heart. 

Adapted from Momento Espírita, originally published on April 24, 2017. 

See Also

• Weighted observation
  
• A Thinking Power
• Weighted observation
• Poverty and Wealth
• Divine Poem