Brave Enough To Be Bliss

Ginger met me right where I was in hate and did not judge me for being there, I had no chance of finding the light. She let me be where I was, accepted me, sat with me, listened to me, and asked me questions. Then as trust developed, she could start lovingly teaching me new things, but she never pushed them on me. She went at my pace versus her pace. She didn’t push me, she just treated me with an unending amount of compassion and love.

“Acceptance is simply love in practice. When you love, you accept, when you lack love, you judge.” Abhijit Naskar

I just looked back at the journal my stepmother gave me when I went to college and realized in a quick scan that the only Bible verses I recorded those first few years were ones that supported the ideas I already had in my mind that I needed to do my very best, do what is right, show deep love for others, be kind to everyone, pray for others, listen much, not be discouraged or give up, not act thoughtlessly, not become angry, don’t criticize, don’t be selfish, think about all you can be glad about, etc. All of these verses read within context can be good to learn from, but, while not a conscious decision at all, I was reading them to feel justified in only loving and caring about other people, and completely avoiding my own thoughts and feelings. Similar to the rape, a healed person can read and hear things as intended, but an unhealed and fearful brain will read them to support the thoughts and feelings that already exist. When I heard this verse, Mark 12:31 (NIV), read out loud in church within the past year, it struck me differently. Another and perhaps the most important, epiphany: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I realized, for the very first time, that is the baseline God is coming from. The assumption is that I actually already have a healthy amount of self-love. That healthy self- love isn’t selfish or wrong, He expects it. I have heard that verse countless times throughout my lifetime, but that was the first time I actually understood it. And the only reason for that is it was the very first time in my life I heard it and thought it was really possible. There was no reason for me to understand something I wouldn’t be able to have or feel. “Spirituality does not come from religion. It comes from our soul. We must stop confusing religion and spirituality. Religion is a set of rules, regulations, and rituals created by humans, which were supposed to help people spiritually. Due to human imperfection religion has become corrupt, political, divisive and a tool for power struggle. Spirituality is not theology or ideology. It is simply a way of life, pure and original as given by the Most High. Spirituality is a network linking us to the Most High, the universe, and each other.” Haile Selassie I Just a reminder, I stated from the beginning of this book that what I share isn’t to convince anyone to believe what I believe. Nor are the wide range of quotes I share to say I believe exactly what all these people believe, but rather it is to show that there are many ways to look at this life and everything in it. We can benefit from a diverse range of perspectives if we can stop being scared long enough to listen for understanding. I didn’t feel any of the dictionary definitions of soul and spirituality and to me those are definitely words you can’t fully understand unless they make you feel something, so for clarity this is how I define those words. You can define them however you want, but since this is my book, I wanted you to understand how I define them for myself. Soul: The inborn essence deep within a human that is pure and good where love, light and joy originate. Spirituality: That which provides a connection to one’s soul , providing strength, meaning and purpose to make this hard life worth living. I've come to a place where I believe religion is something created to give people a sense of control, so they have less fear. No one knows for sure how and why everything works as it does and where it all leads. So, I wish we could all rest somewhere that leads us to become the kindest, most loving people we can be. If we could get there, I think that’s the best chance to inspire others to connect with their souls and embrace spirituality, as well as open their hearts to all humans.

“I truly believe the only way we can create global peace is through not only educating our minds, but our hearts and our souls.” Malala Yousafzai

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