The Middle Way

The board of directors of an organization that I belong to recently presented a decision that I, and many other members, were opposed to.  It was upsetting and I noticed myself forming opinions and reacting emotionally.  I gave my input about the situation (as objectively as possible at the time) and the next day I shared some of my thoughts and feelings with the leader, hoping to be able to change her mind.  When this didn't happen, I became frustrated and my mind began to chatter about whether or not I could stay in this organization if the leadership did not go in the direction that I wanted.

At that point I decided to surrender and ask God for guidance.  The next morning I opened up The Untethered Soul and found myself reading what I had considered to be my least favorite chapter, The Middle Way.  I have worked with and taught from this book for years but for some reason I have always minimized and/or overlooked the importance of this chapter.  This time when I read it, the words were like music to my ears...I saw and felt the power of staying away from extremes and finding the center.  Michael uses the analogy of a blind person using a walking stick to identify the edges in order to stay in the center.  When we live in the center (aka, the Tao) instead of at the extremes we feel peaceful, clear, and situations in life flow in harmony seemingly effortlessly.

As I noticed my strong reactions to this situation I realized that I was living in the extremes.

Another analogy that Michael uses is sailing a boat.  When sailing, one needs to hold the ropes of the sail so that they are taut, but not too tightly nor too loosely.  And as the conditions change (e.g., the wind picks up) one needs to re-adjust how tightly the ropes are held.  I applied this to my thoughts/feelings about the organization to which I belonged.  Although I have immense respect for this organization and the consciousness of the leadership, I felt that I needed to relax my grip on how I expected this situation to unfold.  As I let go of these personal preferences I was able to allow everyone involved more wiggle room (to be both human and divine) and I did not take it all so seriously.  I set down my desire to fight for my opinions.  I will still express my truth as I feel guided   to do so, but the intensity is gone.

I realized that there are bigger and more important issues going on in the world (such as starvation, children being abused, drug abuse, murder...) and that this political situation is a minor blip on the monitor of my life.  I will not give up my inner happiness and peace for this...instead I will keep adjusting myself and my reactions in order to find the middle way.  Regardless of how the leadership handles this situation I will stay on the ship.  As Michael says, it is never about changing the outer and it is always about working with the inner (the mind).  Ahhh, peace.

I am so grateful to Life for showing me the way...the Middle Way.  I will work with this tool in many areas of my life...including health, relationships, work, finances etc.

Everything that shows up in our lives presents us with an opportunity to grow...if we let it.