Everything in the universe goes through cycles, including human life on earth. And right now we human beings seem to be going through a cycle of pain, confusion, and lashing out at one another.
On the large scale wars have broken out across the globe. On the smaller scale, everywhere we see people complaining, criticizing, and showing a lack of compassion for one another.
Once a tide of discontent is underway, the path of least resistance seems so easy to follow. After all, we see our friends and family being swept up. As the adage goes, “misery loves company,” and who doesn’t get a thrill out of sharing gloomy stories and stirring up fear in a receptive listener.
But cycles such as the one we’re in now are as old as time, and from across the ages voices of wisdom have urged us not to give in to waves of negativity. Times of trial can be used in a new way that serves our higher possibilities. It just requires that we get past our own doom-filled thoughts and see the potential for new understanding of others and ourselves that lies as the secret gift in any life event.
Here is one especially encouraging example of the power of taking the higher view:
Don’t be a cynic, and bewail and bemoan. Omit the negative propositions. Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good. — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882)
What Does It Mean to “Chant the Beauty of the Good”?
A “chant” can be thought of as a form of prayer. It suggests calling out to a Higher intelligence and putting its wisdom before the pettiness of the world around us. This is not positive thinking. This is seeing beyond present troubles to invoke providence and the sense that another level of being is always present to us if we don’t fall into the trap of only seeing the bad.
Yes, bad things happen to us all, but if we don’t fall into despair over them, they can help us develop the fortitude to use our experience to grow inwardly instead of falling outwardly. We can come to live from the beauty of a higher good that gives us the ability to transcend the disruptive world around us and face it with an understanding that helps everyone. Isn’t that better than meeting it from a bitter, angry nature that hurts us all?
The “Beauty of the Good” Is Here for Us Today, and Always
For decades, OneJourney founder Guy Finley has been helping people learn how to see the Good in any dark moment. Here’s a quote from him that carries the same truth shared by Emerson so long ago:
Once we understand how to use them, life’s many unwanted twists and turns are no longer seen as being just isolated, disjointed experiences under whose yoke we are born to be burdened; they are realized instead as unique opportunities whose rewards are the lessons needed for the education of our souls. — Guy Finley (1949–)
As we go through life, we meet highs and lows, good times and bad times. We love the good times, and yes, we can learn from them too, but it’s the so-called bad times that really help our transformation into our better selves.
To learn more about how to use life’s events for your inner growth, be sure to visit Guy’s site at guyfinley.org. You can search for insight on any issue that may be troubling you, and you will find a wealth of free information to grow your understanding.
Also, here’s the link to an article by Guy that expands on the ideas we’ve just looked at. Its title is Turn Any Unwanted Event Into a New Kind of Victory, and you can find it here.
Don’t become (or remain) a cynic who bewails and bemoans life’s unwanted moments. You never change anything by doing that, and you lose the opportunity the moment offers you to learn how to meet it in a more healthy, life-enhancing way… which is exactly what we’ve been put on this earth to learn so we can “chant the beauty of the good.”
Best Wishes,
Dr. Ellen Dickstein
The OneJourney Project
PS: You are invited to join Guy Finley’s FREE talks on these life-transforming ideas. All his talks are livestreamed and archived! For details visit guyfinley.org/peace
