CUT MY OWN THROAT?

Reaping and sowing. Every spiritual teacher teaches this lesson, past and present, using everything from straightforward prose to arcane parables. Nothing stunts our personal growth, builds a wall to true freedom from the bondage of self, than any insistence to a pecking order to receive Grace or the possibility that anyone is beyond God’s forgiveness. Our thoughts, words and actions are the crop we plant, watered with love and willingness. Regardless of the individual crimes or offenses committed, it is our garden of life we work in, not the other mans. Here is something specific to chew on: Bernie Madoff stole billions of dollars. Worse yet many of those he stole from were wiped out, they went to bed one evening thinking they were comfortably invested, their future financial needs well met only to awaken to the horror of a lifetimes worth of saving gone, their future cast into doubt with little recourse to recoup their loses. Feelings of fear, anger, confusion and retribution are all natural responses, but what is the road less traveled, the spiritual path? Does walking out into my garden, kicking at my plants, cursing the ground they are planted in, denying them water and nourishment have any affect on Bernie Madoff’s garden, the object of my ire? Losing my peace of mind, my serenity, cutting myself off from the true source with “justified” anger and resentment punishes the criminal how? The only garden we will ever work in is our own. Does this mean we should blithely regard those who commit crimes, harm others? Of course not, but we cannot get angry enough to bring peace. No amount of condemnation restores serenity. Seeking revenge will never lead us out of the soul shattering darkness of resentment and condemnation.

So what is our course? Prayer and meditation. Pray for the accused, the transgressor, for God to do for them what they cannot do for themselves and then meditate on pity. Pity for they will reap as they have sown, all books are balanced in the end, one way or another, the justice they ultimately receive far greater than any secular court can hand down. Pray for the aggrieved, the transgressed, for God to do for them what they cannot do for themselves and then meditate on forgiveness. If we are the aggrieved, make the prayer personal. To be clear: Forgiveness does not mean we forget the transgression or wish to ameliorate the punishment the accused brought upon themselves by their actions, we leave them to their demonstration, invoking God’s love and guidance, but refusing to engage in resentment and condemnation.

Do not combine these sessions. Let each stand-alone, clear demonstrations on our part. Finish each session with a prayer of solicitation, that if there is anything God either would have us do to be of service, to the accused or aggrieved, we are willing. If the necessity of this closing prayer is unclear, please read again from the beginning.