I chanced upon an article from a dailyom.com subscription sent to me. I am sharing here as reminder to myself and others who are on the journey. 🙂
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Each of us is on our own path and we all learn differently. Because of this it is important to not interfere with another’s path of growth.
When we care about people, we want to save them from pain by offering them the benefit of our experience. Sometimes we feel like we know what is best for them. Sometimes, like when their safety is involved, we need to step in, but those times are rare. More often we find ourselves becoming frustrated when our close friends or family members do not use our relationship insights or follow our dietary advice, and this is where we find our challenge. We may even find ourselves becoming angry when they choose another path. This strength of feeling is usually a sign that our motivations go beyond merely helping another to indicate that there is a lesson there for us.
First, we need to keep in mind that each of us is on our own path and that we all learn differently. When we trust the universe, we know that there is a higher power at work that knows what is best for our loved one. Since we do not want to deny them experiences of deep feeling that are essential steps in the growth of their spirit, we can instead offer them our counsel. After we have given our gift, it is time to release it, along with our expectations of them and their choices, with love.
Once that is done, we can remind ourselves that our relationships are mirrors that allow us to see ourselves more clearly in the reflection. That is why it is easier for us to see solutions to other people’s problems than to see answers for our own. We can also learn from these experiences when we ask ourselves if we ever do the same thing. Maybe we do not share experiences with relationships, but we do with our finances or our food choices. In being willing to look at ourselves and see why we are being irritated by what other people choose to do with their lives, we can be like an oyster and make irritations into pearls. With these pearls of wisdom, we learn to release the desire for control over others and instead enrich their lives as we enrich our own.
It is also a note for us to also not overextend ourselves to the people we love. We can only encourage and advise. It’s ultimately their own journey and when the time is right, they will know what’s best for them.
What a great article!! I read it twice. Very relevant to me. Stop me from being a smart ass. And even if we share our experiences with others, we should leave it there and then. Sometimes we get affected and just cannot understand why the other person just don’t get it. So it’s a good point to look within and know why we are affected at the first place. Wow!! Great article!!
Yes, we sometimes forget that everyone’s journey is different, all heading towards the same path. We can only share from our own experiences which may not be applicable to another. We also need to be mindful that whatever we share, and whatever others perceive or receive is entirely up to their own willingness and entitlement. My teacher reminds all the time for us to convery rather than convince; for that we set ourselves free from overextending, and others free from underextending. When we allow others their own space to growth whether or not they buy into our sharing, they are empowering themselves and so are we. It cannot be otherwise for we are all mirrors of each other. Even when they buy into or accept our sharing so to speak, it has nothing to do with us. Only they help themselves, by deciding whether what we have shared is beneficial to them, or not. It is they who must rise up to their own greatness. We only provide the support because it gives us joy, irrelevant whether they get it or not. Get it? 😉