Being with your family can be a great source of joy or possibly, dread. You can pick your friends but your family is given to you by Divine choice. You love your family, yet may find it hard to be with them peacefully. Never fear, you are about to have a holy experience with them!
The Course in Miracles gives the perspective that each encounter we have is a “holy encounter”, the opportunity to grow in acceptance, self-love and holiness. As you are an aspect of divinity and love, so are your family members. We are, after all, all connected at our core.
This being said, each being is a reflection of you! Each encounter is holy as it is the opportunity to see how you create your world. If someone pushes your buttons, it’s an opportunity to do some inner investigation and gain insight on how to recreate your world into something more pleasing. For when there is any discord within you, there is some healing that can be done.
Most of us feel young again when we are with our parents and fall into the same old roles that we’ve always played. The energy’s the same, the personalities become the same, the script is replayed and ends up the same.
This year, you can choose differently! You can start by meditating and breathing, centering yourself before you join them. By centering, you remember who YOU are, and can more easily hold on to your energy and identity as an adult. Feel anxiety? Breathe and repeat the centering.
You can choose to change a part of the script you identify with that usually occurs with your family before gathering. For example, if someone asks you when you’re going to get married, you can center by taking a breath, noticing how you feel, what thoughts go through your mind, and then speak your “go to” statement that you’ve practiced, feeling love in your heart. You could then choose to respond with, “Good question. When we feel the time is right.” Later you can take those golden feelings and thoughts and work them through, thereby growing towards self-actualization and increasing your love, your connection with the Creator.
If someone says/does something that “pushes your buttons,” that is you letting you know what you can work on next. For instance, iif someone always expects only you to help clean up and assumes you will, notice how old you feel, what the emotions are, and the thoughts that give rise to those emotions so you can later do some internal investigation. Part of this inner investigation would possibly include looking at how you may be making assumptions in a different way, or where you have expectations.
In the end, you have the power and choice as to how you live and experience your life. Next month we can explore more ways to grow, through how we experience our family dynamics. In the meantime, know that you are on the path to healing and becoming your best actualized self. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Mich’ Lame’
