Great Aunt Bea Visits.
When I was about 10 years old my Great Aunt Bea, my grandmother’s sister, came to visit from the east coast. I began to sense, Aunt Bea was different, a spirited adult, unlike any other adult I knew. She emanated strength. She appeared to live from a completely different set of rules. Therefore, I was impressed, and in awe. She walked boldly with purpose, head held up high, shoulders back, and with a no nonsense manner about her. Because of this, you wanted to be around her. One bright sunny day, our whole family took Aunt Bea to a very busy and crowded California beach in Santa Monica. It was a stunning day to enjoy the beach with periodic cool breezes. Suddenly, Aunt Bea announced she was going to the ice cream shack way down the beach. Us children all looked at each other, Ice cream? After asking to join, we happily accompanied Aunt Bea on her water edge walk. This was heavenly. Prancing down the beach, we were glad to be alive, and felt totally invincible. Fearing nothing as we tagged behind Aunt Bea, what a powerful feeling. No fear, after all we were with Aunt Bea.
Learning the Lessons.
Further down the beach some younger kids were finishing up a big beautiful sand castle and my siblings and I caught up in the moment, purposely stepped all over the castle crushing the walls. After all, we could do whatever we pleased, we reasoned, we are with Aunt Bea. As a result, the younger castle builders jumped up, shocked, and huddled together helplessly at our careless actions. After a few more strides, Aunt Bea stopped, and turned around observing the other children and the castle. She instantly sensed what we had done, and calmly without any anger at all she said to us, You need to repair that castle, that was not right. I instantly felt my wrongness. She watched patiently as we rebuilt the crumbling walls, I was feeling very humbled. But, once we had made things right, and it was completely over, we continued our walk as if it never happened, and I never heard anymore about it.
Thank You, Aunt Bea.
So, The higher lessons were many. Here’s just a few right truth seeds that were planted that enlightening day; 1) There are consequences for every action in life, be very wise. 2) Correct what is wrong and move on. 3) Be careful, never to hurt others. 4) Don’t get “to full of yourself,” it’s easy to do. 5) Always do what is right. 6) When you blunder, fix it. 7) Don’t give guilt or feeling bad an entree. 8) You are not the only one who exists. 9) There’s another, higher way to live other than living on the level of hurting yourself and others. 10) With no lectures or conversations we can learn just from someones’ being. 11) Inner strength is extremely attractive. 12) Weakness is very unattractive.
13) Say no to fear.
Thank you Steve, this is a wonderful example to help me see that when I have made a mistake I just need to correct it and move on without judgement, or trying to save face. Wallowing in self condemnation is what keeps me from learning, correcting, and moving upward without fear.
Aren’t we lucky we found these marvelous Truths! Oh sure, we have to face our arrogance, dumbness, and mistakes and sometimes see ourselves in not to good of a light, but who cares, there is relief in working with these truths. Every mistake can be used to see I just need more light.
I love how the description of walking over the castle describes every human nature. Before I know it, what I thought was a nice confidence has got me to walk right through someone else’s sand castle! That attitude ‘I can do whatever I please, I am with Aunt Bea’ is a cover for my inner arrogance. Luckily, Truth will always correct me in any situation. Regardless of whether I accept it or not, I will always feel the pain or the pleasure of the attitudes I hold.
‘Be careful, never to hurt others.’ This is the law. It’s up to me to be the criminal who begins to face up to his crime. Putting my fingers in my ears and shutting my eyes and insisting that I am my prized self-image of an innocent and harmless man only prolongs the suffering. In Truth nobody ever gets away with anything.
‘Don’t get too full of yourself, it’s easy to do.’ There is so much in this, all I can do is start. I will make a list of all the times I got too full of myself, and shed some light on where I am full of myself now.
Thanks for a great blog.
Yes Leo, we are flopping upward and it’s very personal and enlightening to see where we have gone wrong. It is a terrible life to always be right (believing we are always right). It is much much better to have a nice peaceful life. Seeing our self-deception is the way out.