What happens when we're upset?
I'm not asking what events cause us to be upset. Nor am I inquiring into what we do when we're upset. Rather, I'm exploring something a bit deeper. A mostly unconscious activity that envelops the sense of unhappiness. A situation in life has violated our personal preferences.
We all have pages of predilections. In fact, sadness is the mismatch between what is and what we desire. "I want it thus!" Things aren't the way we'd like them to be. The subsequent grievance justifiably righteous.
But notice what's really going on. The situation isn't bothering us. We're bothering ourselves because the experience doesn't match our inclination. In other words, we're making it personal.
This line from A Course in Miracles helps illuminate the predicament: "The secret of salvation is but this: that you are doing this unto yourself."
Others may very well say or do something appallingly egregious. Yet it is still a choice we make to judge deplorable the present moment. That is certainly not to suggest we refrain from action in the face of perceived injustice, but it does raise to question the base from which we respond.
Once we've made it personal, any defense is merely a veiled form of attack. On the other hand, recognizing that in each moment we have a choice to either jump into judgment or relax into presence — such a recognition offers the opportunity to respond from a place a peace. Any subsequent action will, most assuredly, be helpful.
By catching the fact that we've made it personal, we can then shift attention into the judgment-free presence of love. Discontentment dissolves into nothingness.
Join me in Thursday's class where we'll explore this process of purification, otherwise known as the miracle. I look forward to seeing you then.