ENLIGHTENMENT VERSUS DISILLUSIONMENT

Enlightenment:

"Wow! I never would've thought of that!" he gasped, his eyes aglow.

Disillusionment:

"Wow. I never would've thought of that," he sighed, the light in his eyes dimming.


So similar are these experiences, and so dependent on how we look at them.

Through what kind of eyes--glowing or dimming--do you see your realizations, whether they are enlightening or disillusioning? Our perspective determines whether we will grow from realizations, or become paralyzed by them.

Both enlightenment and disillusionment catalyze change, and the positivity or negativity of the changes depends entirely upon our reactions.

New Vision

Vision
By Susan L. Lipson

If hindsight could play leapfrog
with current sight, we’d know
that what we saw as hurtful
was a chance for us to grow;
and what we saw as pain
would look like setting up a stage
for joys we’ll soon experience
once we get past our rage.
If hindsight took the foreground,
would we make the same mistakes?
Would we then notice our blessings,
and develop what it takes
to live, not just survive,
to see the lessons in each day,
to feel our will at work with God’s,
and our power as we pray?
If hindsight could play leapfrog
with current sight, we’d know
that faith expressed through ACTIONS
is the leap that helps us grow.

A poem to inspire you as you choose holiday gifts for children

Building Blocks
By Susan L. Lipson

Children are the atoms;
adults, the cells formed by chemical processes
and mutations of those fundamental atoms.
If we fill atoms with the white Light of Truth,
they will, through their evolution into "adulthood,"
remain bright, warm, and illuminated,
and chemical reactions from others
will cause refractions of that Light,
producing rainbows—
colorful adults showing themselves
through the Oneness of the Creator's Light.
Without the infusion of the Light at the atomic level,
from childhood,
our growth as adults is tantamount to
a slow dimming of the spark that we bring to this planet
when we first arrive.
We must continuously stoke the fires,
our passions for beauty's truth and truth's beauty,
adding art, music, and literature as kindling,
and then fanning the flames with love, inspiration, and respect--
the greatest gifts we can give our children
and our future generations.