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"The
mass of men [people] lead
lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed
desperation." - Henry
David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau wrote
"Walden" in 1854, and his statement above is as true today as
it was then. So many people continue to lead lives of quiet
desperation without seeking help from others. And as Thoreau
states, they are resigned to confirmed desperation ... desperate for
help or a way to heal that which is within them ... but unable or
unaware of the resources that are available to help them.
In the past few weeks the news media have
brought us evidence of this quiet desperation in more than a few
individuals ... and all had seeming tragic outcomes. I will
present two of them in this message; the first being Charles Carl
Roberts IV. At age 32, Roberts had been carrying the memories of
acts he had committed 20 years ago. And without being able to
resolve these memories in his mind he had obviously created a greater
degree of shame and guilt as the years continued. Relatives that
were supposedly involved in the acts denied that they took place.
The logical conclusion is that Roberts had created the acts so clearly
in his mind that they were real to him ... although not true in fact.
Roberts was described as a quiet man by his
neighbors and co-workers. His wife described him as a wonderful
father and a loving husband. And this was the truth about him ...
but it was not all that was the truth about him. How this other
truth out-pictured in the Amish community in Pennsylvania was a tragedy
... for Roberts and for so many others ... the living and those who have
gone to God through his actions. The details of what happened is
not important for us to understand ... but the workings of a mind that
has been corrupted by guilt, shame and perhaps paranoia is important for
us to understand. And perhaps Roberts' particular condition may
appear to be extreme ... it did not begin that way, I assure you.
It is the natural expansion in mind of something that is antagonistic to
the soul ... heightened self-depreciation to the point of self-hatred.
Self-depreciation can be more easily
understood spiritually as self-separation. Separating our self ...
consciously and subconsciously ... from our Source, God.
Separation continually and persistently affirmed within the mind will
"cause" us to self-destruct. Self-hatred is perhaps the
strongest sense of separation we can ever experience. And this is
the tragedy that grew within the mind of Roberts ... and the tragedy
that spread to include the Amish schoolgirls and their families and
neighbors.
Another example of quiet desperation can be found in
the news articles regarding former Representative in Congress, Mark
Foley. To merely see Mark Foley as a closeted gay man would be to
misunderstand the workings of Mind. Foley spent years repressing
his homosexuality and in some people's opinions, his pedophilia.
But Foley was not just a scared, closeted gay man ... he financially
supported GOP politicians who voted for legislation against gay and
lesbian people ... and Foley voted along with them. His measure of
self-hatred goes way beyond typical actions of a closeted gay man ... he
excelled at what he did, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for
the arch-enemies of gay and lesbian civil rights. But as we
understand Mind, we realize that his mind was filled with much more than
this ... and that is why his mind out-pictured in the inappropriate
e-mail messages to teenage male Congressional pages. He did have a
secretive gay life ... but his quiet desperation is no longer a secret.
Nothing can be healed ... until we admit that a healing is necessary and
desired.
It is not necessary for us to continue to
live outside of the happiness, joy and love that is inherent with Life.
But for many of us we must make a conscious decision to "heal"
the quiet desperation within our minds. Our thoughts may not be as
harsh as Roberts' or Foley's ... but we must not ignore them.
These thoughts may be about finances, relationships, health or careers
... and yes, there can be feelings of desperation about all these things
... and it is this desperation that stops us from realizing Wholeness in
all of them. In the past couple of days I wrote a treatment for
Wholeness ... I invite you to read it. It can be read at www.revbates.tv/treatment.htm
... Wholeness can be defined as feeling "wholly" fulfilled in
all areas of our Life. Wholeness is not a goal to be attained ...
it is our True Nature ... to be realized, now!
And So It Is!
Keep
the faith!
Rev.
Bates
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