God is the connection of all things and all things are connected. That is the heart and soul of my spiritual belief. This means everything and everyone is part of the divine so we should see the divine in everything and everyone.
Seeing the divine (God) in everything and everyone can be very difficult. That mosquito that just bit you isn't likely to make you feel like you just had a divine visit. And the guy driving alongside flipping you the bird in some odd fit of road rage doesn't look divine. The conflicts in our lives don't feel divine.
I truly believe all things are spiritual. My soul seeks peace, love and joy. While I cannot stop the mosquito from biting, the road rage guy, the conflicts that may arise, I can change my reaction to them. If I want to act in love and to experience joy, I must first find peace within.
The one thing I constantly ask is; does this connect and bring peace or does this cause destruction and separation? One is of God and one is not. This is a tough one because sometimes to bring peace, you need to separate but you do not need to cause destruction.
Inflicting pain out of fear is the opposite of love. It will not bring peace. It can't. The opposite of love is not hate it is fear. Those who bully and are demanding are fearful. They need control to feel safe. It's hard to guess if they will ever have enough control to feel safe so that poses a challenge for those around them. If you want peace, it won't happen with this person. They need control to ease their fears and will do whatever they need to do to feel safe.
So what do we do with that and remain true to our spirit and beliefs? As Jesus said, we shake the dust from our shoes. We distance but we don't destroy. We act as much as possible in peace and love. We fear not. That's not easy. But reacting out of our own fear is not peaceful or loving. So, stop and seek instruction from the divine.
I'm not sure what I am going to do about the mosquito that bites me. It's a big stretch to see the divine there and not swat it. Gotta think on that one.
