HEALTHY, WHOLE RELATIONSHIPS BUILD HEALTHY, WHOLE COMMUNITIES

I don’t know about you but it is my heart’s desire to see healthier, whole relationships in my community and world. I believe that healthy, whole relationships build healthy, whole communities. It is our God-given right to live in communities where there is respect for neighbors and self; and if we apply simple principles to our living, we can achieve whole, healthy relationships, and ultimately wonderful unions throughout our country and the world. The process starts with the man/woman in the mirror.

 One of the Master teachers of all time, Jesus, said in Matthew 22:36-40:  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

These two commandments sound easy, but when we begin to apply them, they get a little harder.  How many of us love our neighbors as ourselves?  If your neighbor is rude, loud and nasty, can you honestly say you can love them as you love yourself?   I would suggest that you work on it until it’s a reality.  It can be done and I am a testament to that.  Having grown up in the south in the fifties and sixties (the Jim Crow era), hatred consumed me.  At a certain point I realized I didn’t like this hard, cold person I had become embodying all this hate.  With love and through changing my thoughts, words, and actions, ultimately I transformed.  I believe this saved my life from further toxic inner turmoil.

Martin Luther King Jr. said it best when he cited:

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

If you are reading this blog I will accept that you already have love in your life. Allow me to introduce you to a small book called “The Four Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz, which can help to enhance your life.  I have embraced these “Four Agreements” and applied them to my everyday life. I can tell you they have become part of my consciousness now. And while they appear to be simple, applying them is work.  But if applied they can be beneficial to your coming union.

Don Miguel said, “1. Be Impeccable With Your Word - Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love; 2. Don't Take Anything Personally - Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering; 3. Don't Make Assumptions - Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want.  Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life; and, 4. Always Do Your Best -Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.”  

Henceforth, I invite you to bring alive the two commandments Jesus spoke of in Matthew 22:36-40 and “The Four Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz.  In doing so, I believe it will help create a movement of healthy, whole relationships, which in turn will help build healthy, whole communities, and ultimately, magnificent unions in our country and the world.