Hari OM
Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality.
For the first in this series and to see the full list, click here.
Part two, click here.
Part three, click here.
Part four, click here.
Taking up point #5, PRAISE and INSULT are opportunities for us to grow. Take them both in your stride. We all have faced these in our lives.
The thing is, though, in a large number of cases, they are subjective. Yes, there are occasions when someone is directly looking at us and praising us by name and for the deed we may have done. Equally so for insults… but not that often. As a general rule, people are cowards and are reluctant to offer up praise or, indeed, insults - at least, to our face.
With regard to praise, quite often we will hear the words 'thank you' and take them as our own because our ego craves recognition. It may be deserved, but we are asked to be wary of the ego rising in us and seeking that praise, or taking it even if it is thin, or not actually ours. Have no expectation of praise or thanks no matter what you do. Do your work, or special task, with Love in your heart and devotion in your mind. Work with only the Higher as your focus and with no expectation of any form of reward, be it in word or material form. What you can do, however, is understand what elicited the praise and thanks and resolve to repeat the kind of behaviour that brought it about. Use the praise as a lever for continued self-improvement.
Conversely, many of us are all too ready to take on insult - even when none has actually been given. Quite often, it is actually another's indifference that we take as insult. Or we mis-hear (either by accident or deliberately) and twist the meaning of another's words. However, even if an insult is actually given, some form of criticism or retribution, this is an even greater opportunity for self-growth.
If we apply titiksha and 'take it on the chin', then ponder upon our reaction to it, (rather than focusing on the other person and reliving the moment - which is the tendency of most of us to do!) we can learn much more about ourselves. We work on ways of hardening ourselves so that we can better assess another situation. We may even come to understand what we did to bring the insult upon ourselves. It is just possible that we deserved to be corrected and we must understand this and seek to improve ourselves and avoid that possibility in the future.
Either way, we can choose to gloat or collapse, or we can choose to keep moving along in life, assessing the benefits from both praise and insult that provide for our self-awareness.
