“The Trial By Existence”
By Robert Frost
And from a cliff-top is proclaimed
The gathering of the souls for birth,
The trial by existence named,
The obscuration upon earth…
And the more loitering are turned
To view once more the sacrifice
Of those who for some good discerned
Will gladly give up paradise…
And none are taken but who will,
Having first heard the life read out
That opens earthward, good and ill,
Beyond the shadow of a doubt…
Nor is there wanting in the press
Some spirit to stand simply forth,
Heroic in its nakedness,
Against the uttermost of earth…
But always God speaks at the end:
“One thought in agony of strife
The bravest would have by for friend,
The memory that he chose the life;
But the pure fate to which you go
Admits no memory of choice,
Or the woe were not earthly woe
To which you gave the assenting voice.”
And so the choice must be again,
But the last choice is still the same;
And the awe passes wonder then,
And a hush falls for all acclaim.
And God has taken a flower of gold
And broken it, and used there from
The mystic link to find and hold
Spirit to matter till death come.
“Tis of the essence of life here,
Though we choose greatly, still to lack
The lasting memory at all clear,
That life has for us on the wrack
Nothing but what we somehow chose;
Thus are we wholly stripped of pride
In the pain that has but one close,
Bearing it crushed and mystified.
Robert Frost is one of my favorite poets and this poem in particular is my all-time favorite. It hangs in my kitchen to remind me of my Sacred Contract.
We have been talking all week about forgiveness and ultimately, forgiveness comes about because of the consequences of choices that are made. Excuse me for getting what some of you may call “woo-woo” for a minute, but I have been strongly guided to share this with you this morning.
As human beings, we were given by God the gift of free-will. We were given the opportunity to make our own choices, good or bad. With that gift came the responsibility of being held responsible and accountable for the choices that you make. (This is the whole idea around us creating our own heaven and hell). In order to learn the lessons you scripted to learn in this lifetime, you scripted certain scenarios in order to give you the opportunity to learn those lessons. If you wanted to learn forgiveness in this lifetime, you need to have something to forgive so you may have scripted with one of your soul mates (a person who you have been with in many lifetimes) to betray you so you had the opportunity to learn that lesson. Where choice comes in is if you choose to embrace the opportunity to learn that lesson. If not, trust me, you scripted yet another scenario to come around to give you a chance to learn it. Why? Because it is a CONTRACT! You contracted to learn that this lifetime. Each time an opportunity comes around and you choose to NOT learn the lesson, the next time it comes around it will be more intense and yes, more painful. Why? To get your attention. Remember the band-aid analogy early in the week? You need to feel a big OUCH in order to become aware there is a lesson there to learn.
The hardest part about this whole process is watching people you love go through their lives constantly avoiding their lessons and watching them go through pain. We are only responsible for OUR OWN lessons and life; no one else’s. Sometimes the best thing to do for someone else is to let them hit bottom and fall, and then be there to help them pick up the pieces. Be their “net” as they walk the tight rope of life, as my friend Sara puts it; the one to be there to catch them when they fall and help them pick up the pieces. Forgive them if forgiveness is in order but remember, forgiveness means you release the hold the event had on you energetically. It does not mean what the person did to you was ok nor does it mean you have to allow them in your life. That is always your choice.
For today and the weekend, take note of scenarios in your life that seem to be happening over and over again. Whether it is money issues, attracting the same type of mate over and over again, losing a job time and time again; whatever it may be but LOOK at your life, take responsibility for your role in it and then ask yourself these questions about your choices going forward:
What are the consequences of this choice I am making?
Will this choice bring fulfillment and happiness to me and also to those who are affected by this choice?
Then you can move forward with a clear conscious to know you did the best you could at the moment, regardless of the results or what other people may think. Ultimately, this is a one man show. YOU are the one who is the star and YOU are the one that scripts the ending. Make it a show worth watching…and living.
Making choices one day at a time,
Chris
For more information on Chris Sopa International, Inc. go to www.ChrisSopa.com.
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