By Terry Ludwig
© 2012 Diversity Rules Magazine and Terry Ludwig. All Rights Reserved.
www.diversityrulesmagazine.com
Terry’s brother Rob died of AIDS in 2004 and left her his writings of which Keep Up Now is the result. Check out how to manifest happiness and abundance at Terry’s website at: www.terryludwig. Terry can also be reached at keepupnow@gmail.com.
Our voyage to self realization involves discovering who we are, largely by deducting who and what we are not. In search of truth, the journey carves a winding path in and out of numerous realizations; each experience brings us closer to discovering the truth about ourselves.
Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast as a post tropical super storm. Sandy had already claimed at least 67 lives in the Caribbean, including 51 in Haiti before killing at least eleven people in the United States; flooding streets, ripping apart buildings, and flooding substations in lower Manhattan creating widespread power outages. For those who were in the path, their lives have been changed forever and this new journey is just beginning. Those who weren’t are in disbelief at the sights on the news and social media and have been affected by the unimaginable. The storm was blamed for more than 2.8 million power outages across the Northeast. The National Grid, which provides power to millions of customers, said 60 million people could be affected before it’s over.
Physical catastrophe has, once again, made us question our mortality and our life’s purpose. It’s moments like these where life’s greatest lessons are thrust upon us.
We learn the importance of being nonjudgmental, particularly of ourselves. We learn how to forgive, and once again, the lesson; we cannot begin to forgive others until we learn how to truly forgive and love ourselves.
We discover service is our greatest gift, to others and to ourselves. We gain knowledge that all of our experiences and our relationships serve as our guide. None are random. Each possesses a key to an integral part of us than cannot be unlocked until the experience has come to fruition and the lesson acknowledged. Each interaction plays a vital role in developing a sense of who we are, regardless of the devastation or insignificance of the encounter.
Ultimately, we gain knowledge of Love; an emotion, a power, a creative force we cannot begin to put into words. We learn the ultimate lesson of having love; it cannot be obtained until we learn how to give it to others, as a true extension of our Self, not as a means to an end.
It may appear there would be easier ways to learn than this and less conflict if we retreat to a quiet place of safety, high on a hill, and wait there until the truth is gently received. However, the path to understanding cannot be undertaken alone. It must be taken together, with our brothers, and sometimes, we must be knocked to the ground in order to let go of the things we hold on so tightly to; the material things we hold sacred, before we can understand the truth of our greatest joy.
There are days we look upon all we must accomplish and become overwhelmed. But the gift is in the journey and the journey begins again, with each choice we make in each moment we’re presented. Ultimately, we comprehend our purpose; to Love and help each other. With this understanding, the burden will lift and a new realization will dawn. It is in service and Love to our brothers and sisters we find true meaning and love in this illusory world. Did I say illusory world? Yes, that too. Our final lesson; we are eternal beings of pure Love and light experiencing duality in an illusory world we have dreamt into being. In the end, there is no end, only more Love. Choose Love and create happiness.
Keep up Now with the stream of higher consciousness and stay connected to the Source.