I am growing increasingly fond of the word, “appropriate.” Appropriate action, appropriate behaviour, appropriate thinking, appropriate speaking - the list goes on.
Like most of us, I inherited a conglomeration of ‘must’ and ‘must not,’
‘good’ and ‘bad,’ ‘right’ and ‘wrong,’ ‘should’ and ‘should not’ -
another long list! I inherited these from my parents, the school I
attended, the local church clergy, even from my Boy Scout leaders. All
of these expressions are unbending; they offer no room to negotiate, no
place for your own discernment, no opportunity to consider the
situation and respond accordingly. More than anything, they were the
‘rules’ that I was expected to live by. And every time I broke those
rules I got punished for it. For my parents and others in authority, I
was ‘wrong.’
Nobody ever taught me the appropriateness of appropriate! For me, the
very word appropriate means that you think for yourself and act in a
way that is appropriate in the moment. Not acting from a set of rules
handed down by some God-fearing patriarchs of the distant past. For
years now I have been aware of the growing power of being appropriate.
Notice I use the word ‘power,’ the power of appropriateness. Let's look
at appropriate power using three basic questions: What is appropriate
power? Where do you find appropriate power? How do you use power
appropriately?
There is certainly no power to be found in adhering to a set of
antiquated rules. This is the breeding place of feeling powerless. And
once you feel powerless, the power which is the quintessential Self
becomes inaccessible. This is inappropriate. We are power. We are the
physical manifestation of power. We, you and I, are power incarnate.
Pause for a moment. Close your eyes. Focus on a bolt of lightning. This
is power. And power of a similar magnitude runs through you. This power
is you.
With your eyes closed, create an image of lightning flashing into and
through you. Feel the power. Concentrate. Shut out everything except
the bolts of lightning flashing within you. Keep this image for several
minutes and it shifts from being just a bit scary to very comfortable.
This is an example of the power that resides in you.
First question: What is appropriate power? You are. But, do you think,
speak and act from your power, or do you come from your conditioned
beliefs. Like many of today's modern-thinking people, my wife Carolyn
refers to our ‘conditioned beliefs’ as our ‘story.’ I like this term -
it is appropriate! We all have our own personal stories. And so often
that story of our past is a completely inappropriate way for us to live
our present. We need to live every today from the appropriateness of
today, not a rehash of yesterday's story. Living yesterday each today
gradually bleeds our power away. We do not lose this power, we cannot,
but we lose access to it. Access to our in-the-moment power is not to
be found in yesterday's story. Access to our power is in the
appropriate use of our power today, based in today. We are told that we
learn from our mistakes of the past. Do you know what we learn from
this? The story of repeating those mistakes. If you need proof, just
look at our history. Where we focus is the direction our energy flows.
Our lessons for life are always in the moment.
We have reached the stage in this rapidly changing world where we need
to find the courage to disengage from the old story . . . and create a
new one. A new story can only be about a new person, even a new
humanity. To do this we have to find and use our innate power. And we
have to do this in an appropriate way. This gets interesting, because
the way that is appropriate will be different for each and every
person. It will be as different as our own personal stories, and as
different as the process of letting go of the old story, while allowing
the new story to emerge.
As we let go of the old story during these times of a changing order,
it is imperative that our new story is never allowed to become another
old story. We do this by always being appropriate to the circumstances
of the moment. We do not achieve newness by creating another fixed and
rigid story. This is the way of our history, always modifying its past.
Modification is not change. If we modify the old story, we change
nothing. But if we are flexible and appropriate in the moment, then a
new and pliable way of self-expression is the result.
Close your eyes, and again imagine the lightning bolt within you. Hold
the image for a few minutes, then gradually allow the lightning bolt to
become pure Light. Light that fills your whole Being. Light that lights
up every cell of your body. Light that illuminates the quintessential
Self. Feel this Light and be comfortable with the power of the Light.
This is your power. It is you.
Second question: Where do you find appropriate power? Only within Self.
There is no power outside Self unless you abdicate from your throne of
power. Then the old story will show you, and prove to you, that all
power is outside of you. And you will assume powerlessness. You will
then reinforce your powerlessness by grumbling about the people who you
think are powerful, and by complaining that these people do not treat
you well enough, and by criticising them in much of your conversation.
The more you criticise the people you consider to have power, the more
you will demean yourself. Sure, you can chuckle at their antics, but
never believe in their power. Only ever believe in the power of Self,
the power of you, the ordinary, everyday you. This is the appropriate
placement of power. The power of Self, the I Am, the immortal Self is
your personal power only when you do not personalise it. When you act
appropriately, you act from the needs of the moment, not from the basis
of personal anger, or grief, or beliefs, or emotions, or wants, or
desires, etc. All these expressions come from your old story, the story
of your past, and all are inappropriate.
The third question: How do you use your power? Use your power
appropriately. Whatever is happening in your moment, act in a way that
is appropriate in the moment. And only in the moment will you know how
to express yourself appropriately. There is no pre-set formula, no
‘should’ or ‘should not,’ no ‘must’ or ‘must not,’ no fixed and rigid
adherence to a set of beliefs from the past. If your appropriate action
comes from a response to the moment, the results will be positive. If
your appropriate action is a re-action, then the results will be more
negative. Why? Appropriate action can only be a response. All reaction
comes from the past. Reaction means the re-enactment of a past pattern
of behaviour. This is not appropriate to the moment, nor is it a crime,
or wrong, or bad. It is the old story reasserting itself. (Life-saving
physical reflexes differ from reaction.)
It becomes obvious that acting appropriately is something that you have
to choose. Depending on your life skills, you may find appropriateness
a difficult choice, that you really need to pause and consider your
options, or you may already be a well-balanced person who finds that
appropriate action is simple and easy. When appropriate actions – and
words – are effortless, flowing easily into your awareness to be
expressed in your daily life, then you are living in your power.
The power of appropriateness is found by giving yourself the freedom to
express yourself in any way that is appropriate in the newness of the
moment. Try it!
In Love and Light . . .
Michael |
