Walking Away From Discouragement

"Pain can make you give up completely, or pain can make you start over again. It's totally up to you." ~ James Jones

There is a voice inside of me; inside all of us. A voice that sounds like me, so I listen.

A voice that speaks to me only in the times I think I need it's company the most: In the dark times. In the hard times. In the empty times.

And the voice speaks as if it is a friend - come to comfort me. It speaks as if it is an ally - come to rescue me. It speaks as if it is an authority - a clear-eyed judge of all - past, present, and future.

It is the voice of discouragement.

When I've fallen, it whispers: "You can't get up. Stay there. Take comfort in your sorrow."

When all I see in front of me is a mountain - steep and silent, rocky and dark - it advises me:  "The climb is too hard. It will hurt. Don't even try."

And when Life reveals a painful truth, or a moment crumbles around me, this voice sentences me: "You've failed. This is the end. Give up and run."

I've heard that voice in my life, and it's come calling recently. But I've learned something new about it this time.

Discouragement is a liar. It is a fake; a con artist that relies on me staying deaf, dumb, and blind to it. It pretends to act in my "best interests". It presents itself as all-knowing and powerful. I now see that nothing could be further from the truth.

It only takes one simple action to unmask this liar; this fake; this impostor.

Get up. Take that first step. Stand when something tells me to flee. Lift my head and my heart.

Remember that there is an infinite world of possibilities in every moment, even the dark ones. Why? Because Life is there in each moment. That which has created me is there.

Love never leaves. The Divine never deserts or judges. What is right and True doesn't disappear when a storm blows in.

I will remember this. I will use this. I can't think of a greater Pearl to be given me.

These thoughts came to me as I finished a steep walk this morning, and were inspired by a passage I had just read in Guy Finley's latest book, "Relationship Magic". Here's a paraphrase of what I read:

"...Even the smallest step you take in this upward direction (toward higher Love) is the same as walking away from (discouragement's) influence over you...So, take that step, no matter how small, shaky, or uncertain. Take it. Let love prove to you that whatever it asks of you - no matter how impossible it may seem at the moment - it will provide you in your time of need." (Finley, 270)

Thank you Guy; Thank you Love...for teaching me this.