Spirituality Is For Those Who Have Already Been There Page 1 2 3

"Religion is for those who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who have already been there." Cheryl's Home Webrings

Cheryl's Collection of Spirituality Stories Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

In association with all the books recommended by Spirituality Stories.

Comes the Dawn

After awhile you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security.
And you begin to understand that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises,
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head held high and your eyes wide open.
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.
You learn to build your roads
On today because tomorrow's ground
Is too uncertain for plans, and futures have
A way of falling down in midflight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine
Burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate
Your own soul, instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure,
That you really are strong.
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn...and you learn
With every goodbye you learn.

Veronica A. Shoffstall

Mother's Day Parable

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked. And the guide said: "Yes. And the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed with them in the clear streams; and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then night came, and storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come." And the mother said, "This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary, but at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you." And the mother, when she lay down that night, looked up at the stars and said: "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today I have given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth-clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an Everlasting Glory, and it guided them and brought them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old, and was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was hard, they helped their mother; and when the way was rough, they lifted her; for she was as light as a feather, and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide.

And the mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them." And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates."

And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence."

The King's Highway

Once a king had a great highway built for the members of his kingdom. After it was completed, but before it was opened to the public, the king decided to have a contest. He invited as many as desired to participate. Their challenge was to see who could travel the highway the best.

On the day of the contest the people came. Some of them had fine chariots, some had fine clothing, fine hairdos, or great food. Some young men came in their track clothes and ran along the highway. People traveled the highway all day, but each one, when he arrived at the end, complained to the king that there was a large pile of rocks and debris left on the road at one spot and this got in their way and hindered their travel.

At the end of the day, a lone traveler crossed the finish line warily and walked over to the king. He was tired and dirty, but he addressed the king with great respect and handed him a bag of gold. he explained, "I stopped along the way to clear a pile of rocks and debris that was blocking the road. This bag of gold was under it all. I want you to return it to its rightful owner."

The king replied, "You are the rightful owner."

The traveler replied, "Oh no, this is not mine. I've never known such money."

"Oh yes," said the king, "you've earned this gold, for you won my contest. He who travels the road best is he who makes the road smoother for those who will follow."

The Sufi says we are here in this world to learn something. We attract our problems to ourselves in order to learn something from them. One difference between the individual who is on a spiritual journey and the person who is not is the willingness to encounter a problem and ask: "Why did I attract this? What does it have to teach me?"

Most human beings learn only through suffering. If you are having a good time you just enjoy yourself. But if you are suffering, then you engage with life in a different way, deeply and acutley. This can be an opportunity to go beneath the surface of your life and really learn something about yourself. So if you are suffering, and seek to discover the inner purpose of your problems, you are no longer the victim of misfortune. You realize that you are here to learn. And while many people see their life in the terms of success or failure, outer success or failure in particular, the mystic, the wayfarer, knows that much deeper issues are at stake than what is on the surface. And often failure can teach us more about ourselves than success.
Love is a Fire and I Am Wood (audio), Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Sufism : The Transformation of the Heart

WHERE GOD AIN'T!!!!

He was just a little lad,
and on the week's first day.
He was wandering home from Sunday School,
and dawdling on the way.
He scuffed his shoes into the grass;
he found a caterpillar;
He found a fluffy milkweed pod,
and blew out all the "filler."
A bird's nest in a tree o'er head
so wisely placed on high,
Was just another wonder
that caught his eager eye.
A neighbor watched his zigzag course, and
hailed him from the lawn;
Asked him where he'd been that day,
and what was going on.
"I've been to Bible school, " he said, and
turned a piece of sod.
He picked up a wiggly worm and said,
"I've learned a lot of God."
"M'm a very fine way," the neighbor said,
"for a boy to spend his time."
"If you'll tell me where God is,
I'll give you a brand new dime."
Quick as a flash his answer came!
Nor were his accents faint.
"I'll give you a dollar, Mister,
if you'll tell me where God ain't!"
-----author unknown

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having  fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.  "Mom and  Dad,  I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd   like to bring home with me." "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him." "There's something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badlyin the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us." "I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live." "No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us." "Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own." At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son.

They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg. The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are. Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are differen from us!!!

In association with all the books recommended by Spirituality Stories.

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