Brave Enough To Be Bliss

questions I’ve had about a Higher Power, which I refer to as God, simply to let others know they are not alone if they have also struggled to make sense of this hard life we live.

“We all have the same God we just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all have different names, but they all contain water. So do religions have different names, and they all contain truth, expressed in different ways, forms and ti mes. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew. When you believe in God, you should believe that all people are part of one family. If you love God, you can’t love only some of his children.” Muhammad Ali Human beings search for meaning, have a natural spiritual yearning, but what speaks to me spiritually doesn’t have to be the same as what speaks to you. However, my search for answers may help you feel less alone on your journey — even though we may see things from different perspectives or hold different beliefs. I will share my thoughts about possible reasons why people become so adamant and even sometimes enraged when others have different beliefs. If you find yourself getting upset as you read about anything I say spiritually, that will be your indication to look within at what is really upsetting you . Because I’ve clearly stated, I don’t want or need to convince you of anything. Your spiritual journey is yours to take, I ’ m just sharing mine as an example of one person’s struggle to find connection with a Higher Power. There were some resources I related to more directly than others. But even for those whose perspectives were different than mine, I learned to find something that would challenge me to dig a little deeper and learn something new about myself or those around me. When I was willing to open my mind, and truly be honest with myself and others, I was able to learn something from everyone and everything. There will be places in the book where I may be vague about something, because being more specific would tell someone else’s story , which I have no right to do. I will also refer to my relationships with various people throughout the book, and it’s very important to understand these are my perspectives and recollections, not necessarily facts. I will either use pseudonyms or the individual has given me permission to use his/her real name. My intention is never to place blame or hurt anyone else, it is only to share my life experiences as examples so that others may be encouraged to find healing in theirs. For instance, when I say I “felt” unloved, it doesn’t mean there weren’t people who loved me, I simply didn’t “feel” loved. The references to how I felt or what I thought I heard is my perception/recollection, not necessarily the actual words or what was i ntended from the other person’s perspective. We interpret everything through our own personal lens (experiences, background, thoughts, feelings, etc.) and when we aren’t aware of what’s driving our own behavior, relationships can get complicated. There will also be times when I share pieces of my writing or memories from the past that may differ in some way from an account that I share earlier or later in the book. I did not change the accounts to match because these are excellent examples of how my brain worked and how those memories or lack thereof affected my relationships. I assure you I would have been adamant at each point that it was an accurate account of a situat ion, but that’s why lovingly questioning ourselves and each other is so importa nt. Sometimes, a simple question can prompt us to uncover a piece of information that can literally change our lives. I thought everyone’s brains worked pretty much the same until I learned at 50, they definitely do not. I thought many things were common sense, a given, known. I thought I was pretty much an open book, and everyone should know how their words, actions or behavior would affect me. I honestly thought how I felt is how anyone would feel. I thought when you love someone, you would never hurt them and if you did, then the love wasn’t real. See what I mean? My reality was quite skewed, and especially since I never talked about this with anyone, I just assumed everyone knew how I was thinking and feeling. And I thought I could know their thoughts, feelings, and intentions too. Now it seems so silly that I really believed those things, but I honestly did. It’s not "One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else's survival guide." Brené Brown

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