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December 6 – The Rutted Path

December 6, 2021 by Dorothy Preston

How many of us started on our path of life with little or no spiritual guidance? I think many have–or we were raised Catholic, with Catholic guilt and Catholic shame, like me.

Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s the vibration in the world, but I am trying to make an active choice to change my life and who I am. To be humble and kind even in the face of distress or disharmony. To be actively calm and calmly active (and for someone as hyper as me that has been a challenge). To look within instead of being overly concerned with the new lines appearing on my face in the mirror. Because I know I will never truly be happy until I delve deep into my own soul.

There are many that would put us in a mold of their liking, or into the mold from which we may have formerly occupied, not knowing we have emerged. As we emerge from our old molds, we need to be aware of the tentacles that try to ensnare and entice us back to our old comfortable ways. They may be in the form of a familiar face who would like us to return and continue our dance with them. They expect us to play our designated roles as we always have, and it is hard for some to see beyond that expectation. Some will judge, some will think us strange, or that it is only a phase, but it’s important to rise above the judgement and remain detached and unruffled if you want to grow and learn from past mistakes.

To grow in a world full of judgement and expectations is difficult at best. I have spent most of my life worrying about meaningless things like shoes and what to wear, or who has more. 

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I visited some sacred temples and walked the hallowed ground of Paramahansa Yogananda. To say I was moved by this experience would be a monumental understatement.

A single tear in a well of Spirit

Flames the ground beneath my feet

I am pregnant with joy, love and peace

As I merge with the vibration of this sacred ground.

His Spirit lives on in all of us.

I walk through the chasm of His devotion

And it springs to life inside my very soul

I am buzzing inside with the sweet nectar

Of His Oneness and the Oneness of all

It sweeps over me like a wave of smooth, soothing water

And flows ever more…

I’m told spiritual growth is like climbing a ladder and that sometimes you slip or fall off. I’ve slipped too many times to count, but I continue to climb regardless, because I know eventually, I will make it through sheer will and determination, and hopefully a little help from above.

Dorothy Preston has a degree in Communications/Media, and has worked in the publishing industry for over twenty years, including Prentice Hall/Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin, and Little Brown, to name a few. Dorothy’s debut memoir, Getting Off the Radiator: A Story of Shame, Guilt, and Forgiveness was just published. It is Dorothy’s hope that she can share her journey with those having gone through similar ordeals so they might learn that forgiveness truly is divine, and along with it comes peace.

Filed Under: Dorothy Preston, True Words from Real Women

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This blog is coordinated by author, photographer, and gardener Linda Hoye. Find her at A Slice of Life.

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