THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Be gentle on yourself

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Be gentle, loving, and forgiving with ourselves

SPIRITUAL SOUFFLÉ

For years, I have wanted to make a soufflé and never did because I had always heard how challenging it was. I had even heard professional chefs talk about how hard it is to get the perfect soufflé, so I let my fear keep me from ever trying. What I have learned is that making a soufflé is like a spiritual journey. There are times that it collapses or does not rise, but generally it is when you have not done something. The same without spiritual journeys, generally it is when we are not doing something or we stop working on our journeys that we begin to collapse and we do not rise in the face of a challenge.

The foundation of every soufflé is the base. You make a base, you fold in whipped egg whites and you bake it. You can make your soufflé savory or sweet, but the basics are the same. If you follow some basic tips, your soufflé will always come out light and airy.

The same is true in some sense in our spiritual lives. If we do not have a spiritual base, regardless of what that base is, we will not grow and evolve. We will like a poorly made soufflé collapse and not rise.

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UBUUNTU

I recently read this quote from Desmond Tutu in Victor Chan’s book The Wisdom of Forgiveness. It was written,

In our country, we speak of something called ubuuntu. When I want to praise you, the highest praise I can give you is to say, you have ubuuntu — this person has what it takes to be a human being. This is a person who recognizes that he exists only because others exist: a person is a person through other persons. When we say you have ubuuntu, we mean that you are gentle, you are compassionate, you are hospitable, you want to share, and you care about the welfare of others. This is because my humanity is caught up in your humanity. So when I dehumanize others, whether I like it or not, inexorably, I dehumanize myself. For we can only by human, we can only be free, together. To forgive is actually the best form of self-interest.

Forgiveness, is not about what you do for others, it is the willingness to help yourself become the best person you can be.

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