“But for the Grace of God, Go I”

This week brings a need to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and listen with compassion & patience. Quite naturally, you can recognize yourself in a similar situation & may ask, “If that were me, what would I do? Would someone help or be there for me?” Ubuntu embodies the idea of community, connection & mutual caring.  It talks about the human family but it starts with our own (natal or created). And so, this request for kindness & empathetic understanding could come from those whom you have struggled with in the past, especially family or close long-term relationships. Dysfunctions in family or couple relationships can go on for years. Sometimes, it can take a crisis to break up that bitterness and allow a reframing for healthier relationships.

You may have decided long ago to give up that struggle, to concentrate on blossoming & becoming, and to shed what kept you suppressed-old grudges, toxic dynamics, outdated definitions of self. At this point in your life, you’re in a space of loving self-acceptance & confidence that old issues or triggers don’t affect you as they once did. You know how blessed you are so welcome a chance to start a new chapter here. It’s from this place of understanding (but for the Grace of God are you not in that same situation) can you put differences aside, step in & do your best to help.

Paradisiacal suggests operating from a higher ideal to bring Heaven here to Earth. Spirit recognizes how much you’ve grown as a person that you’d now be so willing with an open heart and generosity of spirit to ease the suffering of someone who maybe didn’t do right by you previously or whose behavior towards you was less than admirable. Of accepting people’s faults including your own & being there anyway because it’s the right thing to do. Or you may be reflecting on how far they’ve come. Perhaps you’ve sown some seeds in them & you’re both reaping its rewards. You’ve done the personal work but you know you’re not done yet because this assistance may bring up more for you to process & accept. What might come to light is some less than honoring behavior patterns you’d like to change with compassion & understanding. By being of service & coming to the aid of another, you can come to a fuller understanding of another’s (as well as your own) insecurities, flaws, failings & fears. Perhaps you come to a greater awareness of why you/they behaved in such a way in the past or how your relationships are affected by your own dark history.

Putting ourselves in another’s shoes, seeing the world through their eyes, or living life through their experience can be eye opening & in turn possibly healing. You may also discover new ways of incorporating forgiveness & acceptance. It will require self-honesty & self-responsibility, however.  But know, only we can work on ourselves, on our issues, our trauma, dark side & non-honoring attitudes & behaviors. That said, sometimes the only effective way to help someone face their own darkness is to present them with darkness as a mirror.