The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

There was once a woman who very much loved to bring peace to the downtrodden people of her village. She knew that if they would just follow the path of righteousness, all suffering would cease. People are weak, she knew from her own experience, and there is a slow, steady climb that everyone must take. The quickest way to get to the place of peace is through gratitude, faith, and prayer.

One day she had an idea that sparked the interest of several people. She took photographs when no one was looking. These photographs were not your average black-and-white or colored film, but they were inside the woman. She carefully observed what made people tick. When she saw the fire inside of them that brought forth their very best, she took a picture. No one but her could see these photographs because they were inside her own mind.

But one day they will see! One day I will help them realize their own true natures, and all suffering will cease.

She got out her tablet.

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life," she began, and then she listed all of the people's names she wanted on her team.

She thought, What the heck? I can always ask!

Next, she began to draw. These drawings were not ordinary drawings but ones divinely brought forth from within. She put the paper in front of her and had markers close at hand. By the time she was finished, she had several pages with the directions needed to begin the life she had always been preparing for.

Her God was love, and she knew that if she just loved people, they would begin to love others. If she cooked for them, they would learn how to eat well, and one day, they too would pass that along to someone else. If there was enough support for people to bring forth their true hopes and dreams, they would not need to make other people miserable by robbing them of theirs, and selfishness would fade into universal love.

The one thing the woman didn't know was that several other people were praying for the same thing. The only difference was that they did not have the fortitude to step forward and make their dreams come true. When she realized the energy she was capable of sharing with others, she began to pray the way St. Francis of Assisi had long before her.

"Dear Master," she asked with great humility and sincere devotion. "Won't you let me be an instrument of your peace? I'm willing to do whatever it takes, my Lord, to bring love where there is hatred, forgiveness where there is injury, faith where there is doubt, truth where there is error, joy where there is sadness, and where shadows lurk, let me bring light!"

The years had proven to her that self-seeking comforts only brought pain and that the desire to be understood and loved brought nothing but misery. She asked God to please let her seek to comfort rather than to be comforted, to understand rather than wanting to be understood, and to love instead of trying to get love for herself. As she prayed, she began to know that by giving, one receives and that by pardoning, one is pardoned. Through these realizations, she became aware that when the selfish parts die, only then does one awaken to eternal light. And so it came to be.

A New Day Is Coming

Now one day, the woman had the desire for her husband of days gone by to come to work with her and for their family to have the chance to become one as they once were. She'd always believed in the family unit but did not have the basic principles needed to make it harmonious.

Her youngest son was her ally, she thought, but he was actually tearing her dreams apart, bit by bit. He spoke about losers like he had a bad taste in his mouth and wondered why his mother couldn't see things his way. He'd begun doing religious rituals with her and drawing pictures of saints by making tiny circles with his pens. He even did the spiritual austerities of his mother, but it was all just a lure to keep her nearby.

She didn't try to teach him anymore because he was once again in control and he wanted to keep it that way. Her eldest son began making his way in life, encouraging his younger brother through letters and phone calls. His mother was pleased to see their attachment, thinking that it was the basis of a family unit.

Attachment will hold us together, she told herself. Blood is thicker than water. Look at my brothers. They do everything for their kids!

She suddenly remembered the words of her spiritual master.

"Ego, attachment, and desire," he'd written. "These are the three-headed demon that must be slain. With attachment comes pain, because all attachments eventually break when someone leaves home, divorces, or dies. The ego actually thinks it's the boss and will never desert the spirit. But the truth is, God is the all in all, the one in many and many in one. Ego is only a function, an evolute of the mind."

As the woman pondered these things, she thought, What about desire? Must all desire go too?

"No," her teacher explained, again and again. "The desires must be turned toward spiritual evolution. We can't start at the top of the ladder and expect to be where others are without taking the same steps they took."

The woman went back to her writing. She knew that the root of her spirituality had something to do with her writing but didn't know how to teach her son about faith without getting ridiculed. The face of the prison chaplain popped into her mind.

"I saw you on my way to the prison today," he admitted. "I was going to stop and offer you a ride, but I was afraid you would get angry or reject my kindness. You were walking with such great determination. It was snowing, and you looked so cold. I almost turned around and went back for you."

The woman gave him some very appropriate advice. "Even if people reject you, you must still offer to help them. If they refuse your kindness 108 times, you must offer the 109th time and they might take the glass of water. When the glass of water is finally accepted, you have done your duty. The duty was not to get them to drink but to build your own strength of character. If you offer what is in your heart, you are living the truth. That is when the principle of truth will live through you and peace will reign supreme."

The priest liked the woman's advice, but her son was a little dismayed. He liked to compare himself to others, so when he saw his mother light up while talking to the priest, he became a little distracted.

Why isn't my mother's attention on me? This visit is all about me, and she is neglecting to speak of me, introduce me, or like me in any way because she prefers the priestly type much better...