For Give

This week is Easter week, and I have been thinking about the crucifixion, and the incredible example Jesus showed us when he said, “Forgive them Father, they know now what they do” as he’s on the cross. In that moment in the pain, the betrayal, the suffering, he chose love.

The same is true of Mary Magdalene, though her “crucifixion” happened differently. Her path asked for the same surrender, the same staying, the same devotion to love in the face of what could not yet be understood.

I am struck by the level of love and grace. I’m in awe of the tenderness given to those that persecuted them. And it was a state of grace that came naturally from them; it was already present within them. If we stand in love first—in the foreground of any situation—and see the world through that lens, we see the innocence in the world, others, ourselves. We see that first. How does that change things? What shifts when we see innocence first?

For give… It’s not about pretending things didn’t matter. It’s not about saying what happened was okay. It’s not to excuse, but to see things differently…to open ourselves to the possibility that there was more going on than we see.

The world is awakening, and as it does that bright light of Love shines onto our wounds with the nudge to heal, to release, to allow love in where shadow in its protective stance has held camp. And this is where choice lives.

Battles create more battles when we raise our swords and our voices. Are we changing anything when we do? Are we leaning in towards peace? Are we lending a hand to someone who isn’t seeing things clearly? Einstein said, “we can’t solve a problem from the same level of consciousness that created it.” We can’t find peace in ourselves or others by judging, othering, blaming, or by staying with a perception that doesn’t allow for different perspectives. Can we be part of a collective without finding blame in half the population…and still stay in a state of love?

Someone, somewhere has to lay down their sword. Even in the pain, can we be the one who offers love and peace as witness to the truth underneath it all?

For give… to love anyway, to see the good anyway, to release what hurts anyway, to allow time to pass and truth to reveal itself.

For give

To give again

To give love where love has been lost

To give truth where there has been distortion.

The world is waking up. We are seeing the distortions, the places where fear, control and separation have shaped how we see and treat one another. And as we see more clearly, we might ask ourselves, who do we become in the seeing? Do we see ourselves from the perspective that we are victims, or do we start to see ourselves as creator beings that are responsible for our own choices?

Can we for give… can we love ourselves, can we give ourselves permission to start again? Can we forgive… can we let go of past stories and instead choose to dream that beautiful dream of peace? It starts with us. Especially in the moments that ask the most of us.

I have a spirit guide named White Eagle who has worked with me off and on over the course of my spiritual journey. This work is never easy, but the growth I have experienced with his guidance has been profound. He speaks of vision quests as the opportunity to tread a different path once we turn off our resources and find our way back to ourselves.

I am watching someone I love very deeply who is on a vision quest now. They are one of the lightest and most grace-filled people I know. And they have found themselves in the forest of the unknown… the spirit world is quiet, their connection tested, the gifts they can normally rely on muted. The world around them stands still as they find something deeper in themselves. And the opportunity to raise their frequency to a level that is rare here on earth. This isn’t my story, but I know this one. Not that I see myself in the same octave as this person, but I know when the spirit world is still, there’s a challenge being presented. The investigation itself is part of the discovery.

Vision quests are part of the awakening. And how we handle them matters. Do we resist what is being asked of us, or do we allow ourselves to be reshaped by it? Do we tighten in fear, or soften into something deeper? How do we hold others who are on theirs? Can we stand in love even when we don't understand what's going on? This is also part of the quest. Because, to be honest, we never truly understand what someone else's path is about.

This is the investigation. We are both the witness and the challenged. Often, they are overlapping. You might be on your vision quest, while I am on mine. The collective has its own quest right now that we are all witnessing and partners in creating. If we find ourselves nailed to a proverbial cross, do we challenge and fight, raising our sword? Or do we stand in love and give before it’s asked for…even when it’s not returned?

For give… choose love anyway.