I received this comment from a reader of my book: “When I look at all that is going on in the world, often so much negativity and difficulty, I wonder if there really are angels. To many, this may seem like a silly question or concern. Nevertheless, I believe that some level of intrinsic goodness is all that has kept the human race going, versus destroying itself.
“Even so, I feel prompted to wonder what is going on with what seems to be so very much bad stuff going on?! Maybe it is simply because modern technology allows us to know what is happening almost everywhere, even in real time. I know that the world has always had lots of bad stuff going on, but it seems likely to be worse nowadays. What are your thoughts?”
I responded by saying that I believe it is important to embrace the notion that our most significant and primary calling (in having been placed on this Earth) is to recognize that it is our daily responsibility to make the world a better place. If this became the norm for more of us, oh what a different world it would be!
Quite humbly and respectfully, I believe it is less important to concern ourselves with angels, in the most traditional sense. I believe it is so much more important to be our own bright beautiful angels and diligently make the world a better place in a loving spirit of true appreciation and gratitude. This is not in any way meant to deny the existence of angels in the classic sense, quite the contrary. If angels do exist, then maybe they’d feel better if we took more true responsibility for our own well-being — hence the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves.”
Having said that, I believe each day that I should ask myself, “Haven’t I already been given all of the wonderful gifts that I need? How dare I selfishly think that I always need help, when I can do so much more for myself? Why do I choose to repetitively get stuck on stagnant plateaus (plateaus that can be like a living death)? Why do I not truly appreciate all of the truly splendid blessings that have been offered and given to me? Why do I not recognize my responsibility to do the right thing for the right selfless sake?”
It is important to recognize what might be the greatest of blessings on this Earth: that there is always room for improvement, and greater levels of insight and the practical application thereof…thus being more willing to embrace healthful change. In this fashion, it may be quite possible to become more healthful conduits between heaven and Earth.
At a minimum, can we at least acknowledge that the world might be a much better and different place if we at least take time to consider such notions each day?
I believe in the age-old notion that, “The primary fault of humankind is the notion that you are there and I am here.” I believe that the most likely means by which to prove it true is to act upon it as if it is true. I believe the closer we become to each other, the closer we will come to being our own bright, beautiful angels.
In varying degrees, we all hide behind a wall of lies. In the arts that I teach and coach, an old saying tells us, “If there is a heaven, a key to the universe, a sixth sense, they are rooted in true honesty, promoting of true happiness and true freedom…but most importantly, needing less and less to hide behind.” It may be much more about true forgiveness — and learning to witness truth beyond expectations and preset patterns of thinking, playing the part of a less-blemished witness.
When is the last time you’ve embraced and experienced genuinely sweet and innocent, light and loving fun? When is the last time you lived a moment, an hour, a day, with your spirit filled with sparkling spine-tingling/shivering appreciation and utter benevolence? A true lightness of being? Ever?
Maybe such a lightness of being is consistent with being your own bright, beautiful angel — so capable of making the world a better place, each and every day. Maybe we can thus learn to live life as a living, loving art form. Maybe, just maybe, living loving true appreciation and gratitude, intrinsically in harmony with empathy, is the “magic elixir.”
