Recognizing Temptation
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God." Marianne Williamson
"Who are you not to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!" What would happen if we actually believed this? What would happen if we could embrace the truth that each and every one of us is amazing and uniquely gifted to reveal our amazingness (apologies to the grammar police!)? What would happen if each of us remembered that we are loved and that we ARE love? What would happen if we freely and openly shared this love in the world? What would our world be like if each person recognized their unique giftedness and shared it openly? This is what would happen: We would know peace. We would know happiness. We would have harmony. Everyone would be clothed, sheltered and fed. As a species we would know peace and joy. To use an old cliché, we would experience heaven on earth!
As much as we would like to believe the truth that we are totally awesome, something distorted inside of us tells us something else. This voice of discord (the ego), most frequently reminds us of all the ways we have forgotten our awesomeness. It tells us, "You can't do that." "Nobody loves you." "There is no God." "You are alone." "You are not special." You have nothing to share in the world." This voice of discord is the loud and obtrusive voice of temptation. It is the obstacle (the meaning of the word satan), doing all it can to keep us from remembering the truth of love so that we can forever wallow in the pits of separation, never realizing the fullness of our potential as vessels of God's love, peace and joy in the world.
Temptation is a word that many of us would like to avoid. It stirs up images of the little guy in the red suit with horns on his head and pitchfork in hand. While these images may no longer serve us, temptation is very real and a crucial stage in our journey toward wholeness. Temptation forces us to confront our fears, our doubts, our insecurities and our pride. Temptation gives us an opportunity to exercise our free will. Do I choose to continue to live in the illusion of fear and separation and in the world of my small self? Or, do I choose the life that God intended for me - a life of contentment, happiness and joy, thus embracing myself as a living Son or Daughter of God? The choice, in the end, is ours. Do we choose the voice of fear or do we choose the voice of truth? Only by entering into the process of temptation will our choices be revealed.
"Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Marianne Williamson
copyright 2009 Lauri Lumby Schmidt
