All We Have Is All We Need
All We Have Is All We Need, the title of a book released by Conari Press in 2006, combines essays. It is my belief, and one I have long held, that all the knowledge we will ever need is within us right now. Our discovering it is a matter of getting our egos out of the way so the God of our understanding can be heard. The exciting aspect of this awareness, for me at least, is that it’s not about finding the ultimate answers in that long sought after definitive book but getting quiet enough to allow God to reveal whatever answer we might, in the moment, be seeking.
The answer could come through a friend's casual comment or a billboard message. Perhaps a book's title will grab our attention. Maybe a sponsee's request for our help will give us the opportunity we need, to remember once again, the purpose of the journey we are making, individually and in concert with others. With absolute certainty I know that I am always where I need to be and in the company of who I need to be with. That realization takes the sting out of any difficult encounter. And it opens the door to feelings of gratitude.
Guiding Principles as outlined in the book
I have some guiding principles that I try to live by every day. These principles are revealed in my talks and my books but I want to reiterate some of them here too. I am not always successful in living by them, of course, but when I am, my day flows smoothly and I don’t interrupt the peace that others might be feeling. Let me share a few with you now. I will add to this list over time. I’d like for you to e-mail me some of your own guiding principles. Having a dialogue with you in whatever way works is my goal.
1. Every person is a learning partner. What this means is that our connections with others are teeming with meaning. Any one crossing one’s path has “been invited” to be present for what we need to give to and receive from one another. Because I believe this, I can look with grateful eyes on a past that had, at one time, troubled me greatly. Now I can see why I needed the experiences I had.
I no longer have to be resentful or sad or hurt or angry about them. I can simply thank God for the opportunity to grow that each one of them offered me. The same remains true in each present moment too.
2. There are only two emotions: love and fear. This seems too simplistic, doesn’t it? At least that was my response when I was first introduced to this idea from the book: A Course In Miracles. But every emotion we have does fall pretty neatly under the heading of either an expression of love or fear. Perhaps my advancing years have pushed me to choose a simpler perspective. Living in chaos doesn’t interest me. I do know I am far more peaceful, seldom agitated in fact, and definitely more willing to see the other people and circumstances in my life as my opportunities for expressing God’s love and acceptance. Perhaps when I was younger I would have interpreted my current reactions as signs of boredom. Now I see them as gifts.
I remember reading the tiny pamphlet acceptance, when I first got sober. It comforted me when little else could. Seeing life’s opportunities, whether they are being offered through exchanges with people or simply ordinary circumstances, as the pathways to peace; gives me relief just as the pamphlet had relieved me so many years ago. And because I have accepted the belief that every emotion is either masking fear or expressing an element of love, I can more easily respond from a loving place in every instance. Life can be easier than I was inclined to make it for so many years.
3. If the thought you are protecting wouldn’t be pleasing to God, think one that would. I consider this my shorthand evaluation of every thought that is passing through my mind. I put each one of them there so it’s up to me to change them when they are hurtful to others. It’s not even about acting on the thoughts. Just having them is injurious. My last book, Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, offers many detailed ways to change those thoughts that are holding us hostage, keeping us stuck in old habits and holding others in our “prison” too. How freeing it is to know that giving up any thought is little more than a decision.
April 4, 2006
