Blessings of Enlightenment

What would you do if you were asked to be an Earth Angel?

What would you do if suddenly God appeared before you and asked you to be one of his Earth Angels for just one day?  You would be free to help whoever you would like to help and do whatever you felt necessary to ease someone’s journey on earth.   Would you accept readily?  Would you hide and refuse to help?  Would you make excuses that you are just one little person and could not possibly help?  Would you step outside your family and reach out to a stranger? The rewards would guarantee advancement of your own soul and recognition from God. 

If you were faced with the daunting task of being an Angel remember the goal would be to help another and not glorify yourself.  You would be doing this with little recognition here on earth.  It would be a task that you choose to do that will bring peace to another no matter how small.

I decided last year that I would seriously devote just one day of the week in my life in service to God and his children.  I would not take on tasks that were impossible but doable.  Tasks that would make a difference in another’s life.  It was very hard for me to set aside even one day of the week when I really thought about it at first.  I started using Sunday as my day to give to another and soon my Sundays would be filled with family and obligations and I put the day off until Monday and then I promised I would think of another and do something that would be pleasing in the eyes of God.  I would do wonderfully well for a few weeks and then fall back into my habits of caring for home and family and not stepping out of my comfort zone.  Then…I decided that I would make the days I spent at the women’s shelter my chance to be God’s messenger of love.  It has paid off for me in many ways that I cannot tell you at the moment but that was not enough for the need was great there I admit but I knew in my heart there was more for me to do.

When you really want to make a difference in this world you will do so.  It simply means stepping outside your comfort zone and reaching out to another no matter what the need is. It is defining a need that you see and helping to provide a solution. It may be the simple act of helping a neighborhood child find a pet or giving a portion of what you earn to the poor and needy.  It may be volunteer work or contribution to a shelter but it can be anything where you see the need. 

 I have expanded my giving to once a day doing one act of kindness that I know will reflect on another and these simple acts have elevated my soul in ways I cannot define.  My tolerance for others has increased.  Especially for the more unfortunate ones I encounter along the way.  I no longer feel the necessity to pass judgment on others for I see their pain and share it for I make it a point to do so.  I am not trying to say that I am an Angel …not by any means but I am striving to act as an emissary of God and doing for others as I know his Angels in heaven do for us all.  Simple acts of kindness and understanding of another’s need is all it takes to change your life and turn your world around.

As I traveled on my journey of discovery this year there were times when I felt that this was an impossible task I had set out to do and that people did not give a darn no matter how much you reached out to them but I was so mistaken.  I am learning by giving to others that I am elevated by spirit.  That my needs become smaller and theirs become more evident.  At first I found it very difficult to find others that really wanted my assistance and I got a little upset with that but now God sends them to me.  I even believe that the calls I receive on Keen are sent to me for a purpose I don’t always identify at first.  It is a divine union you forge with God when you begin a journey of giving to others. 

When I became wheelchair bound and my activity was restricted I felt that I was not going to be able to do much but I forgot that my greatest gift from God was my ability to feel others pain and find ways to help them overcome grief and loss in their lives. 

I started a journal at the beginning of the year that I have devoted to simple acts of kindness that I can and strive to accomplish each day and when I go back and read where I started and how I felt at the beginning I am amazed at how much peace has been added to my soul. 

I hope to encourage you all to start a similar plan of action and to not be afraid to begin this journey.  Get an 8x10 spiral notebook and begin to write one page a day. If you only have time for one sentence that is okay but begin no matter what.   Record your feelings about this quest and what you would like to accomplish.  Plot out the things that you think you can do with your resources at hand.  If you do not have unlimited resources (the majority of us do not) then don’t let that stop you for just taking the time to take a neighbor shopping or picking up your girlfriends child from the day care because she has a hectic day is a place to start.  Just little simple acts of kindness that will fill your heart with song and lift your spirit.  It is amazing how you want to feel that feeling you get from giving more and more.  You will be amazed at how creative you will become when you are thinking outside your own needs and looking for ways to help another.

I have been watching Oprah’s show on my computer “The Big Give” and it also made me realize that although this was a commercial way to do for others it pointed out one important fact that we can as individuals make a difference in the well being of others. 

Giving of yourself becomes addictive.  It is the best addiction in the world and it spreads like wildfire from one person to another.  What you do for one they pass it along I guarantee that.  It is the divine “Pay it Forward” concept.  That was a movie that inspired my soul and which I watch again and again and cry and cry through the entire film.  It moves me to action.  One little boy’s determination to provide for those in need.  We are elevated by that purpose and now when the world is showing us how terrible things are for others it is time each and every one of us become an Earth Angel and reach out where we find need.

When you begin to look at others and their frailties you stop pointing fingers and finding fault.  You realize truthfully that “But for the Grace of God go I” when you see despair and poverty. 

I did not begin this post to preach to anyone I just am hoping that by capitalizing on our own abilities and using them to help others is just what we need and the world needs right now.  Healing occurs with selfless acts of kindness.  Let us start healing the world one little act of kindness at a time.

 Rosie