Take the Middle Path
Shakespeare wrote, “There is neither good nor bad, but our thinking makes it so.” I have found this is a controversial topic! Aren’t some things clearly horribly, terribly bad? Yes, we can all agree that some things occur in the world that are unjust, unfair, and downright awful.
On my spiritual journey and development, this quote facilitated recognizing how my mind goes from one extreme to another, labeling, judging, and commenting nonstop like a hamster on a wheel.
The sweet liberation, stillness, and peaceful calm I felt in practicing not doing that were like a soothing balm for my soul. The middle way isn’t dull; it is filled with creative energy and unconditional love. It’s spacious and vast, and there is room for you there, too.
One way to practice this is to see if you can go a whole day without judging anything. That’s a simple twenty-four hours of being with the world, life, yourself, and everyone in it, precisely as it is. No judging means not choosing a positive or negative position on anything.
Mother Teresa observed, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Well, I get it; some people make it hard for you to love them, and for this exercise, please remain focused on the task at hand: no judging. Notice how you feel throughout your day of being judgment-free. There is a contentedness within you as sure and solid as the ground upon which you stand. This simplicity of being reveals the technicolor actuality of your existence on the planet at this time. As your relationship with reality transforms, so does your relationship with yourself and everyone.
Adding judgments to the situation isn’t a productive use of your energy. It is like adding fuel to the fire. If you can step with a sure foot down the middle, it is here you shall come in contact with the power for good that exists in the universe that is greater than you are. Stand in this power. When we stand in our power, we claim our spiritual authority, which is where we discover the courage to forge ahead, onward, and upward in full faith.
Strolling along the middle path, we are rooted in the Divine. Isn’t that what we seek, especially in times such as these – to feel the comfort and security of Spirit? To know that we are held in the arms of the beloved who adores us beyond our wildest imagination. There is a love within you that is so powerful, so magnificent, awaiting your recognition of it.
The irony is that something extraordinary happens as we take the middle path. We begin to recognize that something wonderful is happening as us right now. It is this thing called life. The middle path is the gift that keeps on giving. It is delightfully exquisite, and it is that way because my thinking made it so.
And so it is.
