Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Decisions


Someone sent me a list of slogans today and this was one of them:
It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.
I agree.

Many people who come to talk to me tend to fuss about what "God's will" for their life might be. And what they are talking about is the so-called big decisions: where to live, what job to take, whom to marry, whether or not to be ordained --- those sorts of things.

Of course, there is no way of knowing. What I'm very sure of, however, is the nature of God's will no matter what life choices they make. It is very clear that we are to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When you think about it, it really doesn't matter what we do in terms of those seemingly important decisions. What matters is how we go about carrying out those decisions once they are made. Are we going to be competitive and grasping and self-centered? Or are we going to practice compassion and loving-kindness?

2 comments:

  1. What a great thought. Thank you, Ellie.

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  2. Funny -- I was talking to my guide Friday night, who said something about being kind, and I said I thought kindness was under-rated in the world. He said his guide used to have a really hard edge, and prayed every day to become a gentle man -- and he did. Thanks, Ellie.

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