You don’t have to be rich, and there’s certainly no requirement that you be poor. You don’t have to be unpleasant to others, and guess what, you really don’t have to be kind to them either. But at the end of your life span, you do need to know that you did what you were supposed to do, that you accomplished your mission in life. An unfriendly, reclusive painter who contributed extraordinary art to the world may have accomplished his mission as perfectly as an arrogant CEO and entrepreneur who formed a business that employed thousands. Accomplishing your mission in life may not necessarily be pretty. Jesus was nailed to a cross. Not a pretty sight. But he did what he came to do. As did Judas, Jesus’ betrayer, about whom Jesus remarked, “It would be better for him if he had not been born.” 

We are taught that it is important to be kind and nice. And yet when Jesus went about calling people hypocrites, I suspect quite a few denizens of his time did not think he was being particularly “kind” and “nice.” But Jesus accomplished his mission. His life spoke its meaning. 

One would be wise to concern oneself less about the approval of others. If you’ve done wrong, you will pay the consequences, in this life or the next. That being said, are you doing, have you done, what you are supposed to do? 

Whether you are loved and adored, hated and maligned, do you think your life has meaning? Have you done what you came to do? If not, why not?

From the microscopic occurrence—the ‘disappearance’ of a store—the macroscopic emerged. I wonder, how long would it take for everything on earth, in the absence of human intervention or development, to return to its elemental form, leaving no trace, no hint, of mankind’s existence? A billion years? Two billion? More? Or perhaps less. Given that the earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, wouldn’t it be curious if a prior incarnation of us—‘us’ representing all of humankind—existed, flourished, and died, with no trace of its existence after three billion years had passed? That would mean that, given enough time and inaction, they (whoever ‘they’ might be) wouldn’t even know we had been here.

But, I suppose none of this matters since we’ve only got another 1.5 billion years left to enjoy Earth anyway, according to those in the know. And that’s probably not enough time to vanish without a trace. Even if a particular store on a certain avenue in New York did it in less than a month.

  - Alice 

What do you do when you enter the vortex of someone’s crappy day or realm of negativity? Walk away. Let it go no further from your angle. For your part, just end it. Decide not to carry another’s negativity, and certainly not to spread it. As the Kingdom of Heaven expands, so can the realm of negativity. Choose to expand the Kingdom of Heaven and give no breathing room to negativity. 

If you did not possess negativity to attract a negative situation, is the sum total that that person’s desire to have a crappy day so outweighed your general expectation of a good day, and thus the end of the story? Not quite. I believe that you did attract that person, but not necessarily because of inner negativity. While it could be that something inside of you needed a challenge to grow in patience, it could also be that the Universe or God wanted the person to encounter someone who would not spread the virus of negativity. If he/she only encountered pleasant people determined to remain pleasant despite unpleasant interactions, then his/her i would be severely diminished. So arguably, you could have attracted the negative person not because you are negative, but because the Universe trusts you to help stop the spread of negativity. And maybe God wants you to pray for the person. That’s always good.

So what do you do when you encounter someone determined to have a crappy day? Wish them peace, love and joy, say a prayer for them, and move on with your life!  Besides, you’ve been blessed with the opportunity to demonstrate grace and patience. Be grateful!

If one finds such a thing to seek,

A thing that leaves one aloft a peak,

And crying Anon! Anon! all week.

Chasing dreams and silly things,
Follow my heart to San Jose,
Sans hesitation, sans doubt,
A taste of San Francisco in my mouth.

O Follow, Follow, Follow my heart,
And follow it I shall
To the ends of the earth.

I found it, I found it,
I found it wasn't lost.
There it was inside of me,
I followed and found my heart!

You are never alone, but under diligent and constant, unswerving observation. Every choice, thought, and deed is seen and known, and affects every choice with which you will be faced. Choice is one of the most powerful skills that people do not know how to use. They leave themselves trapped in worlds of other's choosing, when the power to choose rests in their grasp.

Often misguided by the world, people will choose that which will not benefit them. They choose the harmful due to ignorance, foolishness, and doubt coupled with fear. One can choose confidently if one would only seek guidance for one's choice. The ability to choose is a gift, a treasure, and a power to be honed. Choose wisely.

If in this illusion, anything seems to be real, remind yourself of who you are. In truth, you are not flesh, you have no body, and you do not and never have existed in the form you think of. Your only true existence is that of a soul, a soul resting safely in God's world. But as you rest, you dream, and your dream becomes all that you know or can remember. But that the dream seems "real" makes it no less of a dream. It has no existence independent of your learning process. You learn that you might explore...

That being said, there are those for whom this is not a dream, but the only reality they will ever know. When they claim passionately that, "There is nothing more than this life! You live and die. There is no heaven," believe them. That is their truth, and perhaps yours as well, my friend.

To call it (define "it" as you will) a dream is to give it more substance than it has. This is no dream, just the illusion of a dream. We see, and sometimes we see behind and beyond that which we see, and think with confidence and self-praise that we have seen. But we have seen nothing. Until we no longer see, but are seen, until we no longer are seen, but are both seen and that which is unseen, then we have remained in the illusion of sight, sound, and oft hapless reality. Herein lies the truth.

I invite you to email me your questions about the book. I enjoy sharing the "story behind the story."

Hope freely given.

And somewhere between an evil soul and a vain hope,

a chasm filled with choice, that which each choice we make,

we inch up either the precipice to bondage or the escarpment to

freedom.