Live true to yourself

Always be yourself because the people who matter don't mind,

and the ones who mind, don't matter.

~ Unknown

Well, sometimes it does matter what others think, especially a spouse, a boss or other significant presence in our lives. But there certainly is truth in this saying to be appreciated. We have to live true to our high ideals and not let other's lesser view of them cause us to diminish into someone we are not.

Please God before person

Have you ever been rejected or betrayed by someone you thought was a friend?

It’s happened to me more than once. And it’s given me great agony in the past, because I didn’t understand why another person that I treated kindly and generously would turn on me and treat me cruelly.

One day, I finally found peace about being rejected when I realized, "It's okay to not be liked by everyone." Whew! It took me a while to understand this truth because I'd always tried to be friends with about everyone and expected they'd be friends back. But alas, this is not how many relationships turn out....

Jesus certainly wasn’t liked by many. He tried his very best to love everyone and be kind and generous to them. But many of the people he gave his life for turned against him and even reviled him. They didn’t get it. They didn’t understand his love and the significance of it. Their ignorance and blind hate deprived them of the spiritual benefit that could have been theirs. They made up their minds that they were not friends of Jesus, didn’t want to be, and they made their contempt known.

If such treatment befell Jesus, the most loving person to walk the globe, then we should not be bothered or concerned if we encounter similar treatment. Rejection is not an attitude to look forward to facing, or take pride in experiencing, but it does come with the territory, one might say, of living true to ideals. Not everyone is going to understand another person’s ideals and want to embrace them.

The world is often not a friendly place. There are millions of points of view, and many of these different perspectives are a long way from living, expressing and returning love. When we encounter this type of thought, we must not fall to a low level and return hate for hate, but keep on loving even when it is not returned in kind.

So, if another doesn’t want to warm up to you and be a friend, even though you wouldn’t mind if they were your friend, don’t let it get to you. Don’t let it bother you. Let the dismay go and keep on loving them anyway without expecting anything in return.

Love is a non-conditional activity. It doesn’t think about what it’s going to get. It just gives.

Those ready to receive, open up thought and arms to love shared and they may even become good friends! And for those who withhold their approval or react negatively toward our friendliness for whatever reason, we can keep on loving anyway. It’s not so important to please others, as to please God. And we please God by living God-like.

Thanks for friends

The following story came through my email from a friend yesterday. I believe I’ve read it in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul, series books. Anyway, it’s heart-warmer.

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books.

I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends the next afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!"

He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.

"Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began, "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach…but mostly your friends...

“I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

“I am going to tell you a story.”

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved.

My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

God puts us all in each others’ lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God at work in others.

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

What do you hunger for?

“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”

~ Mother Theresa

I certainly see this truism played out in my spiritual healing practice. Many people believe they're suffering from physical pain and disease, but its a spiritual craving for Love that often yearns to be satisfied.

It's not time and attention from fellow mortals that genuinely meets this need, but a feeling of being close to God, to divine Love itself, that closes the gap of loneliness and comforts the agonizing heart.

And the neat part is, as we draw closer to God, the embodiment of all Love, and live true to Love's purpose for our life, people often draw closer to us and become our friends. That which we thought we lacked, appears.

"Love is reflected in love," as Mary Baker Eddy wrote.

The best friend

The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

~ Author unknown