Oneness – All criticism is self-criticism

A few days ago, a friend forwarded an e-mail from a mutual acquaintance that described her travels over the past few weeks – Haiti, Holland, Norway, Indonesia, London – just reading the e-mail I couldn’t keep up.  She described her sojourns in various places, her travelling experiences and her crash and burn when it all got to be too much.  As I read her long e-mail, I wondered “Why is she so restless”?  And I started to move into all sorts of judgement and negativity about her.

Then I stopped.  For I recognized within me my own restlessness.  Of recent, I had been feeling unsettled, worried and antsy.  I had been snappy with my children and uneasy in my sleep.  My yoga practice just wouldn’t happen, and my meditations were painful exercises in sitting still while my mind was racing around the world and back in milliseconds.  I was NOT free and laughing at all!

“What you see is what you are seeing with”.  In my moment of being present and observing myself, I realized that I saw restlessness, because I was reading with restlessness.  We are all one, therefore it must hold that I can only see me for there is nothing else.  Therefore, whatever I am seeing is me.   I can only be criticizing myself, as I am one with everything in this universe.

But, you may say – what about all those terrible things in the world like murder, violence, oppression, exploitation of women and children?  Surely those are real?  Are you saying, Marguerite, that if I criticize those things, then I am a murderer, violent, oppressive, exploitative?   Not at all … my question to you would be “Are you able to look beyond those actions to see the perpetrators with love and forgiveness”?  If you are looking at them with hate, then you will see people who deserve to be hated.  If you are looking with love (not in any way negating the pain and suffering caused by the actions) then you will see people who deserve to be loved and forgiven.  For the person who most deserves to be loved and forgiven is you!  And who are you?

Now to the “reality” ….  can you love and forgive Hitler, Stalin, Hutus in Rwanda and other perpetrators of genocide?  Decidedly difficult to do I admit.  But what’s the option?  For to hate them keeps us in our own prison of negativity and fear.  When we move out of fear and take the difficult action of forgiveness, then we will be free.  It all starts with knowing that we are One!

So I read the e-mail again, this time with love and excitement – and what did I see?  Excitement of course!  Adventure!  Fun!  In this spirit of love, I was able to feel great for my friend, rather than the envy and jealousy I had felt before.  I was free!