The following article was written based upon that meeting and I hope it rings true to many who read this. I know now that his concept and degree of honesty was based upon his love for me as a fellow human being. This sharing was to help me shape my own destiny and repeat his sage sharing to many since that time. This article first appeared in the Christ Church Unity Orlando monthly newsletter.
The Proverbial
Inside Job!
or
A date with my
Sponsor
I had mulled over,
viewed, reviewed, thought of and peered at my problem as much as I could. No resolution is in sight. This is a tough one and obviously one for my
most powerful confidant, counselor and mentor.
That person I have sought out in life to help me when I am unable or do
not want to solve my own problems.
This guy always
has the answers. Why not? He is over 8 decades old, is an ex “flyboy”
from WWII, partial pioneer of a national banking operations system and has
lived through a “recovery of the soul” for over 30 years. This guy has been through it all and is wise
beyond words. I was never sure what God
had up His sleeve when he paired us two together.
So off to a
mentoring session I go. Questions and
answers all lined up in my head. Ready
to lay it all out for him in my articulate manner so he could readily and
easily grasp what I was up against. It
never dawned on me that after all the mental work I had been through with this
current “crisis de jour” that maybe the answer had been staring me in the face
all along and I couldn’t or wouldn’t see it.
All the small
talk is finished and here we go! I start
with my most convincing and eloquent explanation first. Now I have “looked” at this problem from
every angle and I can’t see any resolution whatsoever. Forging ahead quickly I followed that verbal
volley with “it is impossible for me to see how I am going to resolve this
predicament, particularly since “they don’t want to see things my way””. “Oh, “they” would be the other party in my
problem that isn’t seeing things my way”.
Ah, I can sense a change in his posture.
Here it comes, I can feel it. The
answers to my problem are imminent.
“Well” he
says, “I don’t know”. Wait! What did my guru say? “I don’t know”? Although my mind went into a self induced
tailspin he continues. “It has not been
my experience. I just don’t have an
answer for you.” Hey come on! I put a lot of effort into paying attention
to this guy. Where does he get off
saying he has no answers? That is not
exactly how I thought this was going to go. I know, replay the problem to him
in a different set of words and manner and maybe he will see this “tough nut”
for what it is.
There, finished
reiterating my current life dilemma, now he should see it clearly. I have taken special pains to explain this
anguishing situation so even he can get it.
Now I can rest a second and see how this will set with him. Oh, oh.
I once again am hearing, “Don’t know.
Not my experience”. “Really can’t help you with this one”. At this rate I am going to have to solve this
life situation all by myself. Two more
times I endeavor to make this gentle man see where I am coming from. I am getting the same response each
time. “I don’t know. Not my experience”. I think this is where I am supposed to be
quiet and think. It sure appears that is
what I need to do. I am running out of
ways to explain to him that “they” just aren’t doing what I need.
Somewhere along
the line I had shared with this dear soul my thoughts on a piece of
scripture. Saint Paul writes in his letter to the
Ephesians; “…by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask or think…” (Eph 3:20).
I had pondered this tiny bit of wisdom before but was never ever able to
fit a life situation to it for an experiential event. I think my dear friend just moved me in the
direction of an event which I was to grow from.
By him being loving and honest and only sharing that which he has
experience of, he has lovingly forced me to look inside and see if I didn’t
possess an answer that would fit better
than his “I don’t know” statements.
Of course he
has once again done the right thing. I
do have an answer that is “far more abundant than all I ask or think”. It had been there all along. I simply needed to let this individual love
and nurture me towards the Spirit within in a manner which I would accept. He is such a crafty dear man. All of a sudden it dawns on me that I need to
get up, leave and go about my life and utilize the solution to my problem which
was there all along.
I think the
higher lesson today was to continue to look inside as Paul urged the
Ephesians. I must remember that the
Spirit of Life is always there to provide answers to more than I can think of or
ask. I guess the trick is to get my ego
to not only look at, but also accept those answers. Wow! I
think in his simplistic loving way, this long time friend of mine might be an “ego
slayer!” I certainly know by now what
his response to that statement would be; “I don’t know. Not been my experience”. Hmm, seems this may be a spiritual philosophy
I need to remember. Let’s see, “I don’t
know”. That is one phrase which will
definitely take some getting used to.
I know now and try to remember just how powerful these three words are and that they most likely did cause me to totally re-think my problem and therefore change my thinking. It is my belief that these three words from this wise old man did in fact save my life.
Love and Light
richard
