“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Mathew 7:7
Humility
The Foundational Principle of Attitude of Gratitude
What is the precious quality required for a chance of becoming truly happy?
What is the perspective which places character-building and spiritual values above all?
What is necessary in times of adversity to enable one to summon the faith that can meet any emergency?
Alan Santo 1963-2014
The desire to seek and do God’s Will requires what basic ingredient?
What do some consider as an avenue to true freedom of the human spirit?
What can be used as our guide to move out of ourselves towards others and God?
What quality do many unnecessarily require a bludgeoning or beating to acquire?
Un-remitted suffering is a common path to seek what quality?
What is discovered by many people as a healer of pain?
What can transform failure and misery into priceless assets?
What is widely considered as a key nourishing ingredient that yields serenity?
What is used by many who seek removal of their shortcomings?
What is required to start gaining perspective on ourselves?
What is defined as gaining a clear recognition of what and who we are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be?
What is the foundational principle of all the collective writings in this website?
The answer to all these questions is: Humility.
Humility is the acceptance of ourselves, and it’s found in the knowing of our right place with God and with others.
In Loving Memory Of The Man Who Inspired Me To Create This Website: Alan Santo.
Step 5: Hope Versus Expectation
What is the difference between hope and an expectation? Expectation is founded in ego and Hope is a product of Humility.
Long ago, without even knowing it, I started building my masks as a matter of survival. It was a result of me having the ability to read people, and situations, and then showing you the mask I thought would best serve me in the moment so I could get by. It worked pretty well too. The problem was that it worked well enough that I adopted it as a valuable skill set. When I was aware of myself acting this way, it seemed like it was working but upon consideration now, somewhere along the way, I forgot who I really was. Actually, I didn’t want to remember. No, I couldn’t show the world any aspect of the real me because the world surely wouldn’t like me, because I didn’t like me. So I kept the appropriate mask on for as long as possible; Hiding the hideous monster that I believed was within. The trouble was that the characters I portrayed became a dominate part of me. So many masks were worn that I was virtually a troop of entertainers. The freak I believed that I was actually became a self fulfilling prophecy. I was feeling worthless due to misjudging my value in the first place.
The trouble was that I could never feel like I fit in without wearing a costume, and performing some kind of act. It wasn’t until my inventory was shared that I realized that, and the consequences of being that way too. Now I have a choice to believe that I am acceptable just being myself. I can now be alone, or with others, and be at peace.
There is no denying that this step is humbling. It produces an understanding of who we really are, and is the first action step toward becoming who we may just really be. This new found humility is the beginning of removing the need for the barriers that we have built up over the years to protect ourselves from being hurt. And as we develop genuine humility, then our self-esteem becomes more and more unshakable.
You really do have the power to turn your wounds and worries into wisdom; you just have to do something about them! So perhaps your worst battle has been between what you know and what you feel. If that’s true, you have to accept what has happened and use what you’ve learned to step forward. Knowing, recognizing and accepting your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness’s of other people. So everything you’ve ever experienced has given you what’s needed for dealing with everything you have yet to experience! Realize this and you will have begun to set yourself free.
Step 7: Perception Is Reality
Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson once said, “All our experiences are but lessons in some form or another which condition us for our larger destiny. Of that I am sure. Any way you look at it, it’s a problem world. What matters, and what matters only is what we do with our problems”
Please take a moment and write down your core beliefs in one sentence and put it in a safe place so you can look at it some time in the future. You’ll know why you did this when you read that sentence you composed later on in your life.
Ultimately the importance of the thoughts and the words of a person are always qualified by the life lived. How you do life is your real and final truth, not what ideas you believe. Not the words you say. Not just the decisions you make but the actions that you do. Truth becomes a state of being, so how you do life is your real truth.
Please look from now on at each difficulty you encounter as training to enable you to acquire peace of mind and joy within. Your sins, your character defects, are not good or bad. They are a means to revealing Truth; taking the subjective awareness into an objective conciseness that accepts everything. The secret of life is hidden in experiencing the love and mercy of God. Not just thinking about or talking about The Spirit, but living in a manner that carries only an expectation that God is everywhere and every when. Your character defects have been what has clouded you awareness of this. And that is what has ultimately been the root of many of struggles you have experienced. Perception is reality.
He is all that creates and allows for life. All life. Your life. Let go of all that has harmed you and others. Allow God to be God. To actualize in your life so you can be all your where created to be before you made choices that resulted in harm. Let go and you will be amazed over and over and over and over and over again.