Let’s try an experiment to test out how you feel about yourself. Assume you are standing in front of someone you want to love you very much. I’m not talking about sexual love. I’m talking about someone accepting you totally and completely for who you are no matter what you’ve done in life, or even what you have not done. This individual determines your ultimate fate. These are the assumptions I want you to use for this little experiment.
This individual looks you right in the eye and begins to address you. You might be a little nervous about what this one will say to you. You might even be scared. The first words out of the mouth of this person you want to love and respect you so much are, “Dear One.”
Remember, this individual knows everything about you. What do you feel when you hear those words, “Dear One”? Do you believe them? Are you excited? Perhaps relieved? Get in touch with how those words affect you right now.
I’m going to tell you that what was said to you is true. The question is, do you accept the truth held in that greeting? It doesn’t matter how much the person standing before you loves you and respects you. That may seem strange. What matters is whether or not you believe it.
If you don’t believe you yourself are dear, that you are loved deeply and unconditionally no matter what it is you do or do not do, those words will mean nothing to you. In fact, they may produce anger, resentment, doubt or self loathing.
Not many of us are raised with unconditional love. There are times when we are accepted and cared for when we’ve done something less than stellar. Many of us, however, feel the withdrawal of love when we’ve done something wrong. We’ve often done that ourselves, pulled back because someone has done or said something which has hurt us. It’s part of the human condition.
It is probably near impossible for us to believe there is a being who loves with out conditions, who loves us just because. I’m talking about God.
The difficulty is that when raised in a religious atmosphere our tendency is to believe that anything bad that has happened to us is punishment for something we did not do correctly. We were raised to believe that God was the end-all and be-all. We were told that God loved us unconditionally.
By those same ones who said that no matter what God would love us, we were then told it wasn’t true. At the end of our life we would be judged and either accepted forever are sent away forever. There is no way both teachings are true.
The teaching you choose to believe will determine how you feel when God says to you, “Dear One.” You will either believe it is true or you will believe it is impossible. Your choice will determine how you feel about yourself and how you will act.
With anything change in your life if you knew to the very depths of yourself that you are loved and considered “Dear” no matter what happens in life… and you will not be sent away forever? Can You believe it?