There once was a hardened criminal. Tough as nails and covered in prison tats. In and out of jail most of his life, how he had been released this last time – surprised even him. On the last day of his life, and without a moment’s hesitation, he saved a small child from being hit by a car. He was struck and killed instead.
Would you consider him to be a ‘good’ person, or not? Was his lifetime of ‘bad’ deeds canceled out by a final heroic act?
Alternately, a very loving and kind man devoted his life to God from a young age. For decades, people would make pilgrimages just to experience his calm and peaceful energy. His very presence, seemed to softly heal some unspoken part in people. Until one day, after a lifetime of service, and for reasons beyond my understanding, he snapped and took three other lives out with his own.
Again, I ask you, was he ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Do his final moments negate a lifetime of peace, love, and devotion?
In the Medicine Wheel training I received, I was taught that, as a Shaman, we try not to take sides.
We see the ‘good’ in the ‘bad’, and the ‘bad’ in the ‘good’. ☯️
We stand in the middle and allow space for the whole. ⭕️
For a long time, I had a real issue with that teaching. Honestly, it’s still something I struggle embodying. I STRONGLY believe in actively creating the world we want to live in! 💪🏼 (In fact, my awakening began when I stepped into Sacred Activism in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre on June 12, 2016. https://energyalchemyarts.com/real-tangible-love/ )
I could never do it justice, but in essence, the reasoning behind non-action (in the physical), is that it all comes down to ‘Oneness’. ☯️ Yin and Yang make up the whole.
Oneness is a big concept for me to grasp. But I think the easiest way for me to understand it – is like waves in the ocean. A wave is not a separate thing moving through the ocean. It IS the Ocean moving through itself. 🌊
And a wave itself, is made up of two parts: the crest & the trough. The Crest is the highest point. The peak. The moment of triumph.
And it is, just a moment, too.
For right behind it, the trough is coming. The dip. The valley. The lowest point now, will have its moment at the top, soon after.
What is low, will rise. What is high, will fall. This rhythm belongs to us all.
(I had that realization sitting in a hospital room ~ in the maternity wing ~ with a late-term miscarriage. One of my worst days was someone else’s – best. And I didn’t have to look far to find them.)
But I like the way Spirit explained ‘Oneness’ to me best: You and I are just instruments of light in a symphony of color.💡🎶🌈 We each hold a different thread / note / fractal of color, in a Divine Masterpiece only completely visible to the Creator.
I imagine, some days, the note and color I play ~ look more vibrant than others.🌈
I imagine we all take turns moving through a minor key. 😢
But I just can’t help but wonder what the tapestry of the Earth’s symphony looks like right now to the Creator. Because from here…
Well…
it looks like 💩
In the week leading up to my departure from Orlando, I happened to find myself inside TWO different churches in the same week.
TWO.
This was somewhat triggering, but ultimately healing, for my ‘recovering-christian upbringing’ wound.
I tried my best to keep my face from showing my internal eye-rolls and cringes, as some of the doctrine was spoken. I tried my best to stifle the anger I felt creeping in, at some of the interpretations that were presented.
But I was given a gift, sitting in those pews, as well. There were more than a few jewels unearthed for me, in those sermons, as I was reminded of the wisdom and love contained in the Bible too. 🕊️
With Easter coming, I’ve been thinking a lot bout Jesus. His teachings and the prophecies of his return.
He was the ultimate hippy, in my book. ✝️Jesus came to Earth, literally to preach love. And he chose to hang out with those society deemed, ‘less desirable’.
“Love one another,” he said.
“It’s the greatest commandment,” according to Him.
I’m not paraphrasing.
Even atheists familiar with Jesus’ teachings will tell you – that many of the loudest on the planet right now – the ones who hold a Bible in one hand and a megaphone in the other – are not modeling Christ’s teachings. Not in the slightest.
Here’s the thing about all that ‘anti-christ’ energy though …
I know Christ better when I recognize what He, most-definitely, is NOT.
So maybe the return of Christ is not only something we wait for, but something we are actively participating in:
The awakening of the ‘Christ Consciousness’ within us all.
Because the louder those preaching hate & division get – the bigger the wave is in response. And maybe, just maybe, the more ‘Christ-like’ our thoughts and actions can actually become. (That is the goal, right?)
Perhaps even all that loud, yucky energy is actually doing us a favor by providing the momentum???
Idk – sometimes, I really have to squint to see the ‘good’ in the ‘bad’. 😉
But when I zoom out – and try to see with the eyes of an eagle, 🦅 I am convinced that what looks like shit to me, might indeed be the greatest piece of artwork the Great Composer has ever created!!
💗Big Love & Many Blessings🌸
~Amanda
©04/26
P.S. Times are tough. Hang in there, love, you’re doing better than you think! Please reach out if you need more support!💗