| Handling Change |
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| Written by Patrick McAndrew |
| Friday, 16 October 2009 16:24 |
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Handling change
That priest can expect to experience a lot of change in his life, how do you think he’ll handle it.
Today we are talking about the new Unity pamphlet the Survival Guide for the Soul and the article on how to handle change. My first thought was
In reading the Gospels, it seems like Jesus also had a problem keeping change in his pockets. In the Gospel of Matthew, he and the disciples had just entered Capernaum, when a collector of the temple tax approached and asked Peter for the amount due to be paid. Of course, Peter went to Jesus and asked what he should do since they didn’t have any change to pay the tax. Jesus replied, “What do you think Simon (Peter didn’t have his named changed to Peter yet)? From whom do the kings of the earth take their toll and tribute, their own children or others?” Peter replied “from others.” Jesus then continued. “Then their children shall be free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, open his mouth and there you will find a coin. Take it to pay the tax.” And it was just as Jesus said it would be.
In the face of the unforeseen challenge and possible conflict with the Jewish Authorities, what did Jesus do? Did he rant and rave about how unfair the tax was? Did he refuse to pay it because he didn’t have any money and didn’t use the temple? No, he didn’t panic, he didn’t go into fear, because he didn’t have the money to pay what he owned. He relaxed into the Presence of the Sacred Spirit, stood firm knowing that Divine Wisdom would guide him to the right and perfect action. All that remained was for Peter to do as instructed. Whether or not Peter actually found a coin in the fish’s mouth or sold the fish at the market place in order to make payment of the tax due is immaterial.
Unity legend Elizabeth Sands Turner shares this metaphysical insight, “This miracle emphasizes the fact that divine substance is at hand to meet all needs. When we are in tune with the Christ Spirit we always know just what to do in order to bring needed substance into visibility. Gold in the fish's mouth tells us that plenty exists in the most unexpected places. We should never limit supply to channels that we know of, but should keep our consciousness receptive to the idea of Divine Supply always manifesting in the right and perfect way.”
So I was wondering how are you handling change? Do you got it stuffed in your pockets and it is causing to you to lean to one side and view life from distorted point of view. Is all the change going on causing you emotional unreason, and headaches trying to keep it organized and in neat little piles.
All he wanted was some juice. The tables were full of high school students on that cloudy afternoon, and he was thirsty. He was far away from their world, yet forced to be a part of it. He stood at the drink machine with purpose, fumbling through his wallet for some change. He came up with a wrinkled dollar bill, and nervously glanced back at his table where other students in his “special needs class” were sitting. With the coordination of a six-year-old, he tried to make the machine accept his money. After a few unsuccessful attempts, the snickers and comments began. People were laughing. He began to quiver, and his eyes misted with tears. He turned to sit down, defeated, but for some reason, he decided against it. He wasn't leaving until he got a drink. With a determined expression, he continued to aimlessly thrust the dollar bill in the machine. Then something really strange happened. A popular senior rose from her seat, and with a look of genuine compassion, went to him and explained how the machine had a hard time accepting dollars. Then she gave him some change and showed him where to place it. The boy gave her the dollar and with the change chose his favorite drink.
Although it was clear that they were from very different worlds, for one moment they connected in space and time, by one young women’s willingness to share her change. It wasn’t so much her willingness to share the change in her pocket, but a change in her heart so she could be Christ’s love in expression. She saw someone in need, relaxed into the Presence of the Sacred Spirit, stood firm knowing that Divine Wisdom would guide her to the right and perfect action, and then she followed through.
Jesus asks us, “From whom do the kings of the earth,” (those who believe they have the power and control in any given circumstance) take their toll and tribute. Seldom do they like to look at their own life and their own creation, but rather look out at the world around them to cast blame, ridicule and negativity. To be free of such people and circumstance, and to be all we can be, we have to go to sea (go to realm of infinite possibilities) and cast our hook, drawing forth a Divine idea that will provide us the coin, the change we seek.
So how are you handling change, do you allow it to weigh you down? Do you resist it? Or do you say Change is Good? Ok then you go first? Do you see the opportunity and allow it to transform the way you see and experience the world? Do you tell God how big your challenges are; or do you tell your challenges how big your God is?
In a story titled One Thin Dime, Patricia Laye writes, “One day I visited a businessman’s office, and while we talked, I noticed that he constantly twirled a small paperweight with a dime in it. Curious, I asked him about it.”
He said, "When I was in college, my roommate and I were down to our last dime. He was on a scholarship, while I had earned my tuition by working in the cotton fields. We were the first two members of our families ever to attend college, and our parents were extremely proud. Each month they sent us a small allowance to buy food, but one month our checks didn’t arrive. Between us we had one dime left. "We used that solitary dime to call home.
My mother answered. I could tell something was wrong. She said that my father had been ill and out of work, so there was simply no way they could send any money that month. My roommate’s parents couldn’t raise the extra money either. They said it looked like we’d have to come home. They had put off telling us, hoping for some Divine solution."
We were devastated. We had one month remaining to finish the year, then we could work all summer to earn our expenses. As I hung up the phone, I silently prayed, “Dear God, help us.”
It was then we heard a noise and dimes started pouring out of the pay phone. We were laughing and holding out our hands to catch the money. We were perplexed as to whether we should take the money and use it or return it. Knowing that it rightfully wasn’t our money, we began feeding the dimes back into the payphone, except, the dimes kept falling back out.
We called the operator and told her what happened and she checked with the supervisor who said that we’d could keep the money, because the company wasn’t going to send a man all the way out to the school just to collect a few dollars. We laughed all the way back to our dorm room. After counting the money, we had $7.20. We decided to use the money to buy food from a nearby grocery store and then go job hunting.
As we paid for our purchase with dimes, we told the manager of the store what had happened. He offered us both jobs beginning the next day. Our money bought enough supplies to last until our first paycheck. We worked for that man until we graduated. Afterwards my friend became a lawyer, and I started this company, which is now a multimillion-dollar corporation.
We used all those dimes to pay for what we bought that day, but when I got my first paycheck, I saved a dime, which I carried throughout college. I’ve kept it to remind me to count my blessings, and that once, a single dime stood between me and the paradigm shift that changed my life forever; a dime is no small change to me. What did these two do when faced with an unforeseen and undesirable change? They relaxed into the Presence of the Sacred Spirit, stood firm in knowing that Divine Wisdom was guiding them to the right and perfect action, and then they followed through.
All this talk of change reminds me of a monk who once approached a hot dog vendor and said, “Make me one with everything!” The monk gave the vendor a $20 bill. The vendor stuck the bill in his pocket and said, “thanks. The monk kindly asked for his change, wherein the hotdog vender, replied, “Change comes from within.”
Actually, change is going on all about us, all the time. Along with paying taxes, change, is some thing we can count on. The universe and the energy that it is comprised of, is in a constant state of motion. The earth is hurling through space at 64,000 miles per second and rotating constantly, and still people want things in their lives to remain the same. This defies logic and science. All of nature is in constant motion, seasons change, the flowers bloom and then fade away, trees lose their leaves and remain dormant for a time to gain strength and appear to be reborn in spring. Change is happening all around us all the time. You truly cannot take a picture of a living thing. It changes as the shutter clicks. The element that makes life alive is change itself. It is the movement of the Spirit of life that fills us with each breath we take.
In our day and age, we are confronted with what appears to be more rapid and deeper changes than any other time in history: technologically, economically, socially, politically, environmentally, and even my hair line and hair color is changing. Not only is it changing, but also it is changing at an ever-increasing, mind-boggling rate.
And yet, as important as it is to be aware of how our world is changing and evolving, it is even more important to become aware of the changes occurring within us. We individually, culturally and as a species are getting ready to break through the shell that encloses our understanding, and into a new way being. We shall emerge transformed more closely aligned to our highest self.
Consider the chick-ling in an egg, or a caterpillar that is resting in its cocoon, there is a time when the container nurtures it and is absolutely necessary. And there is a time when that shell needs to pushed and beat upon from the inside out until it breaks, and a chicken or a butterfly emerges. Ironically, the very same shell that nurtured, protected, and provided life could also imprison and entomb the life within it.
So it is with all the structures of our life. We take them on, and they nurture and support us, and then the time comes, when they need to change; when we need to let them go, breaking the shell that encloses our understanding and the beliefs that limit the way we see the world.
It’s been a very interesting week to consider how we are handling change. Shavonne (my daughter) has been reading the book Dante’s Inferno for school. As Dante travel’s through hell, he notes how a variety of people have been caught in a cycle of reliving their life over and over again. Each time they complete the cycle, the reaper extends his sword to administer the punishment they have acquired through violation of the laws of life. And they live the same experience and pain over and over again.
As Shavonne shared this with me, I thought, “Wow, how true to life does that sound? How often people relive the same painful, hurtful experience over and over again. Although they may have moved or changed jobs they still run into the same people (they might be wearing different body suits, but the have all the same characteristic of those other people) and then experience the same type of experience over and over again. It’s time to let go of what holds us in bondage to those cycles and the darkness they create and break through the shell that encloses us.
Dante points out, the only way to escape the cycle is to awaken, recognize what they are doing, and change their way to one that will lead out of the darkness they find themselves and into the light. But letting go of the cycle they find ourselves in, and the habits, ways of thinking and beliefs that have created these cycles can be very hard and painful. And yet the pain and difficulty they go through can be seen as something that will provide them a new freedom, a new understanding, and a whole new way of being.
Remember that as Jesus began his ministry he said, “The time is now the kingdom of God is at hand, turn to it, change your direction and believe in the good news.” He then went on to show us how we can get out of those painful cycles, and break through the shell that encloses our understanding.
How do we follow in Jesus footsteps, relax and let go of your fears, relaxed into the Presence of the Sacred Spirit, stand firm knowing that Divine Wisdom is guiding us to the right and perfect action, and then have the courage to follow through. So will you be handling change, will your fears weighing you down, will you resist it, or will you allow your change to be a time of transformation and an opportunity for growth and evolution, empowering you to move beyond the places and states of mind that hold you in bondage.
l am open and receptive to change; I allow the Living Spirit to empower me to claim my good!!
Resources for this lesson: § The Survival Guide for the Soul, Unity House, Unity Village, MO § Your Hope of Glory, Elizabeth Sands Turner, Unity House, Unity Village Mo § Chicken Soup for the Soul, One Thin Dime, Patricia Laye, Health Communication Inc. Deerfield Beach Florida § Dante’s Inferno § The Power of Wisdom, Aman Motwane, Prakash Press, Redondo Beach Ca. § The Holy Bible, NRSV
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| Last Updated on Friday, 16 October 2009 16:30 |