We are fallible. Every one of us makes mistakes. Created in the image and the likeness of God, we're in a maturing process of becoming how God would have us be. In that process, we fall down, we make mistakes, we are the recipients of others' mistakes and we feel hurt. Does that make us bad people? No. As we practice spirituality, we recognize the difference between making a mistake and being a mistake. Is there a mistake right now that is causing you to forget who you really are?
When we make a mistake, it's normal to feel bad or guilty. This is God's way of helping us align with what's good and true. But that's very different from staying stuck in a mistake and believing there is something bad about you and moving into shame. Some people spend an entire lifetime rehearsing and nursing and cursing that mistake. But God works in the midst of our fallibility. God's plan for us is to experience the fullness of God's love, no matter what is happening. Tell yourself this: "I may be blocking God's love from me. But there is nothing I have ever done that would keep God from loving me."
When you make a mistake, being sorry helps your awareness, but it doesn't change the situation. You can do good if you go beyond merely feeling bad. We move into a state that I call, "How I live now." Once we perceive our error, we find peace and power in patterning our lives in a higher way.
The way to amend an error is to pattern our lives to a higher standard. The first step is to pause. Whenever you sense a feeling that is not harmonious, peaceful and loving - all of which are your nature � you know you are out of alignment. So pause for a moment. Recognize this is not who you are or who you want to be. Take a deep breath and stop. Whatever hurtful thing you might have said or done, you always have the power to pause at any moment.
We all make mistakes. And we all have the power to rise above them. In this spiritual exercise, the first step is to pause. Don't let the mistake go any further. Recognize that you are better than what you are doing. The next step is to praise. When Jesus was scorned for having allowed his friend Lazarus to die, the first thing he said was, "Thank you, God, that you hear me, that you hear me always." Immediately, he lifted his mind from the level of the problem to a level of connectedness to God. How might you lift your mind to work with God, even in the midst of a mistake?
Saying "I'm sorry" following a mistake is important, but there is also an opportunity to live a better way. In the spiritual practice of learning from our mistakes, we first pause, and then we praise. We remember God. No matter how dire a situation may appear, we can pray: "Infinite Presence, you have a way to bring good out of this " The third step is to pray and ask for help. When you ask sincerely, an idea will come. Open your mind to a place that is bigger than your mistake.
Trust that you will know what to do.
I always end my prayers with these words, "This, or something better. "No matter how badly we want a dream to come true, we cannot focus all our attention on the outcome. When we come to really know our Creator, we recognize that God's will is for our greatest good, even if we cannot fully comprehend the meaning just yet. God knows what I cannot.
If God wills a greater good for me than the one I am pursuing, I want to be re-directed. What words might you use to open yourself to the grace of God?
The spiritual practice of turning mistakes into greater living involves four steps. We pause, praise, pray and ask for help, and finally, we proceed. We act on the divine wisdom that is accessible to all of us, and is denied to none, no matter how great we perceive our error to be. Following these four steps allows us to live more closely connected to God. Getting an idea is wonderful. Acting on it is the way we ultimately amend. God does not mean for you to live in the pain of past experiences, but in the fullness and the freedom of who you are meant to be. |
