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"Can You Accept Your Reward?" Rev. Paula T. Webb
"...Put trust in God, and in thy single might, if thou has hope that better things shall be; wait not till other hearts shall love the right, but strike the blow and thine own conscience free; fill all the days of life with deeds of light, and so make luminous eternity."
God and the Soul ~ Bishop John Lancaster Spalding
For a several years now, the Council has been giving out a number of awards.We initially started out with the Beacon of Light Award ~ presented to those who are making a difference in their communities.We then went on to add the Lifetime Achievement Award ~ obviously for those whose work has been beneficial for many years. And, we may add other awards in the future as we grow and evolve within our Council and the world around us.
As Founder of the Council, I am proud to choose and then present these awards to each recipient ~ knowing how important it is for someone to be recognized for their efforts ~ especially in these interesting times.Recently, however, I came upon what I thought was a phenomenon.When I approached several possible "award" recipients ~ I was not greeted with an excited "wow" but rather with the following question ~ "How much money do I get?"
Now, I had to stop and think that maybe my terminology ~ the word 'award' ~ represented something monetary to others.In my experience, especially in corporate America ~ to get an award meant receiving a plaque, a medal, a certificate or engraved statue of some kind ~ not any monetary remuneration.A monetary presentation, again in my experience, would come through a "grant" or "subsidiary" or "bonus" or "endowment."So, in my mind, there was no confusion as to the fact that the Council's awards were just that ~ awards with no apparent financial gain.
However, taking that into consideration while speaking with several possible recipients of our awards ~ after explaining that our awards do not entail any gift of money ~ I was struck by the lack of enthusiasm or desire on their part, to receive the engraved award, at all.Several of these possible recipients basically dismissed our awards as having no value at all, and one even became irritated that I had "wasted" his time, considering there was "no money coming his way." (His quotes, not mine.)
As those of you who know me are aware, and for those of you who do not ~ I take my duties as head of the Council seriously, and put quite a bit of thought into each and every action.I have a strong belief, as well as experience when speaking with others, that as adults, we rarely get that pat on the back, or a nice word ~ much less an award ~ for our good efforts.And, therefore, the Council awards were formed.
If you stop and think about it ~ when was the last time you, personally, were 'awarded' or 'rewarded' for all your hard work?Last week?Last year?Five years ago?Ten years ago?Or can you even remember?For myself, it has been rare in my life that I have been rewarded and to some degree that is part of why these awards were begun.I can distinctly remember the first award I got ~ I was in my mid-20s, and it was for being a player on a women's softball team in Chicago, where our team beat out the eight-years-in-a-row regional championship team ~ and each of us got a plastic trophy of a softball player with the title of "Championship Softball Team 1989 ~ Chicago League" ~ and I proudly displayed that trophy on my bookcase in the living room of my apartment for years.
What are awards actually?
Let's stop and think about this.Maybe some or many of you reading this have garnered plenty of trophies throughout your younger days.And maybe some or many of you never garnered trophies at all.It doesn't matter either way.What does matter is how we look at how others perceive us.What do I mean by that?
How do we 'allow' others to perceive our merit?
Do we allow them to give us a pat on the back, or do we shrug it off and say 'it was nothing.'Do we accept that smile given to us and possibly give one in return, or do we stay in our own blue funk and ignore it.Do we accept a plaque or certificate, but quietly complain, if even to ourselves, that it means little because there is no dollar amount attached to it, and end up putting it in a drawer out of sight.
I'm sure each one of us has good and then some less-than-perfect days.And this article is no form of indictment at or to anyone.It is merely posted to, in the true sense of the Council, to give each one of us food for thought ~ to bring our highest thoughts into this process.The process of allowing others to reward, or rather award us ~ with their highest thoughts and intentions ~ for our efforts, no matter in what field or endeavor.
This brings us to another part of this concept.
If someone is hoping or waiting or wishing for some sort of recognition for a job well done ~ then in the truest sense of helping to create that outcome themselves ~ what do we need to be aware of?The rewards or awards that come our way ~ no matter in what form, shape or in what fashion!We cannot have a preconceived notion as to how any sort or any degree of recognition may come our way ~ why?
Because if you have a preconceived notion of the "how" you will be rewarded or get an award ~ you may be unable to truly see an actual reward or award ~ because you will only be looking for one certain thing ~ and not necessarily what might come your way in the meantime.If you are so focused on one type of award coming in one certain way or from one certain area ~ you will be unable to see, as many of us have heard over the years ~ the "forest for the trees." And, let's say you really want a monetary reward for your work ~ who wouldn't!But in the meantime, someone or some organization gives you a plaque or certificate or some other form of recognition ~ how do you know that very form of recognition may not be used to propel you toward another type of reward ~ possibly monetary?Someone else who may see that recognition you received, from that person or organization, and say, hey this person has merit, let's have our organization pursue giving them a subsidy, or a grant and further their work.
So, these are my thoughts on what I thought was a random phenomenon ~ although it appears that this has become a part of our societal thought process. However, I believe that we, as humanity, have not lost touch with getting rewarded from another ~ that the recognition in itself is priceless.And, the Council will continue giving out our "Awards" to those who appear to appreciate them.Why?
Because by continuing to give our awards ~ we are accepting our reward ~ for being that higher thought, that answered prayer ~ to all life.
"...and all things shall see it together...for the Glory of the Lord hath spoken it..."
“I am nucleus of every creature, for without me nothing can exist, neither animate nor inanimate.Wherever you find strength, or beauty, or spiritual power, you may be sure these have spring from a spark of my essence.”Hinduism ~ Bhagavad Gita 10.39-41
At a recent dinner party at my home, one of my guests saw a flying bug on the wall, and proceeded to smash it.As I screamed “don’t!” everyone else turned to look and see what the commotion was all about.The “killer” guest stopped what he was doing and looked at me quizzically, as I picked up a glass and piece of paper, went over, captured the flying creature, and set it free outside.
As I came back into the living room, everyone was quiet ~ waiting for an explanation.I smiled and simply said, “we try not to kill anything in our house” and went back to refilling their drinks.A lively discussion ensued about the incident as most everyone there was amazed that I would care about something so little ~ after all it was “just a bug,” and even though most believed the bug was, indeed, created by God, “you know you can take these things too far!”
Just a bug?I think not.Taking it too far?I don’t think so.
What was that bug?I’m not sure.I know it had long legs, it flew, it definitely wanted back outside ~ but as for any other purpose it might serve, I was clueless.Which is exactly the point my dinner guests brought up.If I didn’t know what the purpose of the bug was, why not just smash it and get rid of it before it possibly harmed me, instead of expending all that energy running about catching and releasing it?As I was laughingly reminded, that’s what fly-swatters were invented for.
Granted, the fact that my husband and I do not kill bugs is nothing new in the world; however, among a lot of people we have known over the years, it does appear to be an anomaly.Several of the Eastern religions revere all living creatures, and in India and Thailand, there are even a few temples honoring cockroaches.However, here in the U.S., I have met few people who allow crawling or flying creatures in their homes to be caught and re-released back into their natural habitat.
Now, this is not an indictment against anyone in any way.I was brought up to kill bugs and spiders and flies, just like most people, and did so for many years.But an incident that happened 20 years ago changed my mind and my heart about killing “just a bug.”
In 1989 I went on a retreat to Sedona, Arizona by myself.I was burned out from work, needed time off, and some alone time to renew and refresh my psyche.It was mid-August, the hotel rates were very inexpensive due to the extremely high temperatures during the summer there, and I looked forward to a nice week of long naps, lounging by the pool, and just meditating on doing nothing.
The first hotel I checked into was in Sedona proper, and as I settled into my room, I noticed a number of bugs coming in the room from under the door.Not knowing what they were, I panicked and killed the first one, the largest one, and was about to keep killing the others, when something stopped me.
The other bugs that had followed their “leader” had all stopped, and began to surround their dead companion.As I stood there incredulously, more and more of these bugs came in under the door until there were about 30 of them, all surrounding this lifeless body laying there.And, they began to sing.
It turned out they were crickets.Not any type of cricket that I had ever seen living back East, these were much larger, and a different shape and color ~ and that was why I hadn’t immediately known what they were, and out of fear had lashed out, thinking it was some sort of poisonous Arizona bug.
As I sat there on the bed and they sang to their buddy that was no longer living, I felt ashamed.I started crying as well, lamenting the fact that this poor defenseless cricket had possibly wandered into my room only to sing to me.Sing to me, to welcome me to my retreat.And I had killed him.
The crickets sang for about 45 minutes, and then, one by one, they filed out.I picked up the remains of their friend, went outside, and placed him gently under a bush.I told the cricket I was very sorry, and that I would never do that again.
The incident shook me up so much I checked out of that hotel and moved to another one miles away.As I explained the incident at the second hotel, the Front Desk clerk informed me that August is the time of year in Arizona that the crickets come out of hibernation, and find lifelong mates before going back into hibernation.So not only did I kill something, I also killed a relationship with its mate.Not unlike swans, and cardinals, salmon and foxes, as well as many others in the animal kingdom who choose a mate for life.No wonder they were singing what I came to believe, was their sad song.
The rest of my retreat was tempered with this incident.What exactly had I killed?Why exactly had I killed?What was I really afraid of?As I sat in my room and began contemplating why I was so concerned about this, something in the corner caught my eye.It was a spider weaving its web between the wall and a chair.As I looked closer, the spider turned its belly for me to see ~ there was the most intricate pattern there ~ and as I stood there in amazement seeing the beauty on this tiny belly, the spider turned over and went back to work.
It occurred to me in that moment, that all of these so-called bugs are here for us, no matter what their “official” job may be in the animal kingdom.The cricket with its song, the spider with the beautiful artwork on its belly.They weren’t here to harm me ~ rather to charm me.Charm me in the sense to remind me of the spiritual being I am.
And as I felt my fear leave my mind, I felt my amazement grow.Amazement that these tiny creatures that we can smash with a shoe, or newspaper or with pesticide ~ each one of them puts their life on the line every day ~ just to “be” in this world, and to remind us of the infiniteness and spiritual aspects of life.
The point I am getting at here is that we too can be smashed, spiritually.I believe that was the lesson I learned that week in Sedona all those years ago.I thought nothing of physically killing a bug I was afraid of ~ but, I would never even think about killing an animal or a human being.And yet, how many times might I have killed someone’s spirit with an unkind word or action over the years?Many, I know.
So, now, when I see a bug or a crawling or flying thing in my house ~ I catch it and let it go.I honor that part of myself that seeks the divinity in life ~ that searches for grace ~ that sense of love from God ~ I honor that part of myself that reminds me of who I am ~ if even through such small creatures.And by re-releasing those little creatures, renewing their life, I am re-releasing ~ renewing my spirit each and every time.By honoring each and every little creature, I may be taking it too far for others, but not for me.
Over the past several years or so, we have heard a lot about “The Secret.”Many of you reading this may have even seen the movie ~ I know I have. Just what is the secret when it comes to our own lives ~ our own sense of faith ~ or rather ‘inter’ faith as we can say as interact with others?
If we take the basic premise from the movie that each and every one of us ‘creates our own life, our own reality,’ with our thoughts and actions, what does that mean?Just as importantly, what is the definition of the word “secret?”
The definition of ‘secret’ is multi-dimensional.First, as a noun it is described in Roget’s Thesaurus this way ~ “clue, cue, telltale evidence; “then also listed as ~ “concealed, hidden, covert, covered;” and I’m sure you get the idea.So, in the movie “The Secret” what was trying to be conveyed to the viewing public was just that ~ that the way to achieve all our hearts’ desires is to understand “clues, cues, telltale evidence,” that we may currently perceive as “concealed, hidden, covert, and covered!”
And why would the average adult perceive the way to a more perfect existence as so hard, as so difficult, as so “hidden?”Because from the time we are young, no matter what ethnic background you come from, no matter what religious beliefs you are raised in, we are UN-taught ~ how to daydream, how to imagine, and most importantly ~ how to create!Think about it.How many of you reading this were, at some point in school, reprimanded by a teacher for “not paying attention” when you were having a perfectly wonderful daydream ~ or imagining what your future life would be like?I know it happened to me on a number of occasions, and eventually I began to believe that ‘daydreaming’ or ‘imagining/imaging’ was wrong, and therefore, I slowly eased those two very conscious skills into the background of my everyday thinking methodology ~ thereby making them almost obsolete in my professional life.
So, where do we go from here?We begin by embracing “our” own individual secret.You might ask what is “our” secret?And, I will suggest, that your own, unique secret is just that ~ unique to you and something only you can decide what it is. “The root word buddh means to wake up, to know, to understand, it’s as simple as that for each person.”Thich Nhat Hanh Salvation of your life means not putting yourself into Heaven, but rather putting Heaven into yourself.”Maltbie D. Babcock “Man was meant to realize the divine potential within himself…”Roland B. Gittelsohn “…There is truth and there is goodness, and the highest happiness of man consists in striving for attainment of such…”Leo Tolstoy “Let us see to it, that our lives, like jewels of great price, be noteworthy not because of the length, but of the weight of our thoughts and actions.Let us measure our lives by their performance, not by their duration.”Chief Seneca Here you go!It doesn’t matter if you follow or subscribe to anything or everything that was said in the movie “The Secret” ~ because here you can see just from these few quotes, that throughout time, the secret to everything you desire ~ is within yourself.As I stated earlier, it doesn’t matter where you came from or how you were raised or educated ~ YOU have the power to create what you desire.
What is the secret to doing so?Wanting to.Very simply.When you WANT to create the life you desire, above and beyond anything else ~ then you will truly create what you want.How?By truly, madly, deeply ~ WANTING to.That’s the secret!