IN IT TOGETHER
JUNE 2013

Hello Everyone...

There is a Zen saying, "Before Enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After Enlightenment, chop wood and carry water."

I first heard that saying years ago and loved it. It recently came to mind again in a conversation I was having with a friend who is eager to open an office and start doing "the Work" because she believes she's finally ready to offer what she knows in a more professional setting. And for her, that's what her soul is compelled to do. She's following her urgings and establishing herself as a Spiritual practitioner, and I know she'll do well in a professional setting. She'll be offering herself to a larger base of people and will be able to keep her home private as she does her Work. In the course of our conversation, though, I DID recall the above saying and decided I wanted to talk a bit in this month's newsletter about how we don't have to be professionally established as Spiritual practitioners to be "doing the Work of Spirit". Each of us Serves in our own way and in our own setting.

We're doing "the Work" every time we smile at someone, every time we offer a kind word to uplift them. We're doing "the Work" every time we stop and listen to a friend who is having difficulties in life, who just needs someone to put a hand on their shoulder to comfort them. We're doing "the Work" every time we stoop to pick up a piece of litter to enhance the beauty of our environment. We're doing "the Work" every time we clean our homes/get rid of clutter. In every moment of our day, we have the opportunity to Serve. "The Work" doesn't necessarily require an office or a classroom or a lecture hall, or ANY kind of setting to be "doing it". ALL we need is to be clean and clear in our own Beings to allow the Love of Spirit to flow through us and into this world. In that respect, we can be doing "the Work" anywhere.

Sam once asked the question, "Who has more value? The doctor who heals you, or the janitor who cleans the floor and empties the trash?" The answer, of course, is that neither has more value - both are equally important and deserving of absolute respect, for they're both offering services that we would be hard-pressed to do without. Can you imagine what our world would be like if we didn't have people who cleaned up all the messes? And yet, a doctor generally garners more respect, more "validity", if you will, than the janitor. We humans tend to evaluate people's value based on what they do.....based on how many degrees they have, how much money they have, how successful they are, etc., etc. We get SO caught up in that game that we oftentimes fail to recognize the Spirit shining through in others whom society has deemed to be "not quite as valuable" because of their role in life. We often don't see the value of THEIR smile and kind words as much as we see the value of someone whose position in society is "more respected", for lack of a better term. We often don't see our OWN value because we compare our roles to others' roles and forget that who WE are is every bit as valuable.

For me, doing "the Work" means having compassion, care and consideration of each other no matter what our roles are in life. Period. Some of us are serving Spirit on a larger scale than others (Dixie, for example, has literally touched/aided thousands and thousands of people in the course of her life)....and some of us are serving Spirit one by one by one in the form of a knock at our door and a friend standing there in need of comfort, and we can do no less but to invite them into our homes and our hearts and offer to them as we can.

If we've got Love in our hearts and true caring for the people we encounter in our day to day existence, we ARE doing the Work of Spirit, no matter what form it takes and no matter what setting we're in. Some of the most Spiritually attuned people I know are quietly and consistently being of Service to Spirit; they will likely never be "hanging their sign out" as professionals but will always be hanging their hearts out because it's who they are. Their compulsion to Serve is what compels them to place their hand on their friend's shoulder, to quietly listen and BE completely present, to shine the Light of acceptance and Love...they are doing the Work of Spirit as surely as anyone who is recognized as a professional.

I guess I'm just wanting to remind us ALL that it's not what we DO but who we ARE (we're Spiritual Beings who happen to be in bodies) that qualifies us to Serve Spirit. Each of us has the ability to aid humanity, whether we do so on a large scale or individually. Each of us has as much value as anyone else. Each of us has the ability to plant the seed of Love. We just have to KNOW our own Power TO transform our world as we consciously work in Partnership with Spirit to do so. Every single time we offer Love into this world, we ARE doing "the Work".

Before Enlightenment, we chop wood and carry water. AFTER Enlightenment, we chop wood and carry water.

February for me was quite a ride! I had a few incidents of forgetting to count to ten before responding to some of the things going on in my world . Shoot, I couldn't even count to TWO on one occasion as my Observer self stepped aside and let outrage and fear temporarily take the forefront....LOL.....but I got through the month without stepping on anyone's heart, thankfully, nor did anyone ultimately step on mine. I suppose the good news is that I got all KINDS of chances to practice what I've learned.....(or THOUGHT I'd learned....wink!)

Here comes March.....

Hold on to your Spirit...        
Marty