On this spiritual journey that we call “life”, all we can ever do is try our best! God knows our hearts; and He knows what our intentions are. Therefore, no matter how many obstacles we stumble over, if we keep getting up and giving it our best shot, then we shouldn’t be carrying any guilt for falling along the way. In fact, our continued trying will be counted as righteousness by God.

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Now, our greatest enemy on the spiritual path is most often ourself. However, others can makes us stumble too. For, very often when we encounter someone who acts unkindly towards us our first thought is to react to them in the same way. But, if we can learn to stay calm & not just to react out of habit then great spiritual progress can be made.

So, when you encounter someone who speaks to you abruptly, disrespects your feelings, disregards what you have said, or even performs some thoughtless or outright evil act, think to yourself “Oh, how sad that this person has fallen on the path. Perhaps, if I were that person and had to endure what they did today, if I was going through their same heartaches & trials, then chances are that I would have said or acted in the same way.”

We need to recognize that we don’t know the story behind every person we meet. We don’t know that their husband is abusive, their mother is dying, their losing their home, etc… So, we must be patient with others and suspend all judgment of them. If we think in this manner, then our hearts should be filled with compassion for the fallen person and we should want to help our erring brethren during their difficulty.

Another technique is to view this person as “spiritually sick”. If someone is sick & not feeling well, we are often more tolerant of being wronged by them or their short-temper with us.

However, this does not mean that we condone their deeds or words in anyway. It just means that we recognize our limited understanding of things; and that the other person was acting from a place of spiritual ignorance.

So, whenever people do not act as you wish, or treat you as their spiritual brother/sister, then recognize that moment as a test; a way for you to better your own self, by exercising your spiritual muscles of patience, understanding, kindness, & compassion. Pray for those who mistreat you; and ask God to help them with whatever they may be going through. Then, most of all BE FORGIVING; & let the incident go! (This step is very important, because we feed whatever feelings, thoughts, & emotions we hold on to. And if we are holding on to the feeling of being disrepected or annoyed then the only thing we are doing is upsetting ourselves and destroying our own peace of mind.)

Also, remember while working on being kind to others to be kind to yourself, as well. As you try to live more spiritually, avoid the temptation to measure yourself against another holy person or saint. It is great to have someone as an ideal personality or role model to strive towards and learn from, but when we judge ourselves against them we can too often be overly critical of ourselves, and/or become disappointed for not reaching the holiness that they attained. We may also think that we aren’t progressing as fast as we should.

But remember that someone else’s walk will never be the same as yours. We all have different things to learn and work on. And our spiritual development is a gradual process. It takes patience and perseverance. Sometimes we go two-steps-forward, then one-step-back on the path. This is natural and a part of growth. So, just as you work at forgiving others over and over for their misdeeds, remember to forgive yourself over & over & over again too. Then, just try do better the next time!

St Teresa of Avila once said:

“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquire experience.”

And this is very true; but we must learn from the experience. For if we can learn a lesson, and don’t make the same mistake twice, then we can be sure that spiritual progress is being made.

God bless you on your journey & remember to always – Heed the Spirit,

Anthony