Last Thanksgiving I was in the process of moving into an apartment after having stayed with friends in their basement for several months after having to leave my home of 16 years. I was extremely grateful to be gaining some privacy and to no longer be living amidst someone’s accumulated possessions with the few boxes of things I had been able to cram into a friend’s 4-door PT Cruiser, but at the same time it was a bitter-sweet moment. I had lived for 16 years as part of a large extended family, and numerous temporary guests from various places around the world and I recognized that this was a step backward in my social development. I was going back to living alone, which I had already mastered for 23 years prior.
Grandmother Parisha teaches that we are here on this planet at this time to help heal “separation.” Belief in “separation” is what has contributed to human beings believing that God – Creator – The Source is somewhere outside ourselves. Belief in “separation” is what drives us to function through the illusion that we are all just lone single cells, dissimilar and unrelated.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We are One. We are One with the Source. We are One with each other. We are One with All Beings. It is only the illusion of separation that allows us to continue to practice judgment, divisiveness, harm and even murder against our own kind.
I missed my Family, even though I wasn’t very good at socializing when living amongst them. I really never allowed myself to totally integrate and I wasn’t much good at expressing my appreciation. One should always make the most of letting those closest to you know what it means for them to be part of your life. They are gifts, not to be taken for granted. Grandmother Parisha shares that when we speak “Appreciation” – of others, of events or circumstances – we increase the value of that we are speaking about.
When I first came to the city, I would just look around me at what seemed like alien territory, thinking to myself, “I’m in the wrong movie!”
Still, I had much to be grateful for – that I had found a job so I had a guaranteed income; that I was able to get an apartment with a somewhat less than stellar financial history; to be within walking distance of my job, and to have the support of friends in recovery who helped me transport what few things I did have and offered a couple of pots and pans, silver wear and dishes to get me started.
I have come to value the importance of “community” much more in the past year. I have come to appreciate the gift of being a “part of” as opposed to being “apart from.” I believe that all the social networking people involve themselves in through Facebook, Twitter, and the countless other chat rooms and social sites is really about people being hungry to belong, to find others with common interests and concerns and likes for the purpose of bonding together as a collective – i.e. community.
We are all cells on the body of the Mother – Mother Earth, as Grandmother Parisha has shared from the perspective of her wisdom Elders. In our body liver cells may have a different function from brain cells, but they are all part of the same whole organism – the human body. All are essential. The body doesn’t function properly, if at all, unless all are present and operating at optimum performance and cooperation.
In the past year I have established a new pattern in my life: one of financial responsibility. That’s huge. It’s a healing that was long overdue. But then Grandmother has also taught us that everything in the Universe is exactly on time.
So my adventure continues to unfold as I continue to heal areas of my life that I allowed to go unattended, always with the ultimate goal of returning to my Family. I’ve rekindled my entrepreneurial spirit with a personal business that allows me to help others and create wealth. In his book Failing Forward, John Maxwell shares many stories of people who chose to persevere and learn from their “failures” as stepping stones to their ultimate success. As I work my business I draw upon past experiences in other personal ventures with a greater understanding of myself and how to work within a system.
As for my Family, I have always remained connected. Our Love knows no distance. For the present, I am on temporary assignment between Home and Home.
-Deborah Adler
©2010 Deborah Adler. All rights reserved.
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