Greetings All –
YOU CAN ONLY BE ALONE IN FANTASY, and fantasy will
yield you nothing of value, permanence or meaning. Do not betray your Knowledge
today by holding yourself apart. Do not punish yourself for errors which have
no substance and which are in fact only an expression of confusion. There is no
justification for error, and there is no justification for holding yourself apart. You
are a part of life and you will need to rely upon your relationships with
others and with life as a whole to accomplish anything, even to survive.
AS YOU THINK ABOUT THIS, gratitude will naturally
arise within you, and you will realize that the ground upon which you walk and everything
that you see and touch that is useful and beneficial is the result of giving
and cooperation. Then, your gratitude will bring forth love naturally, and from
your love you will begin to understand how all things are accomplished in the
universe. This will give you strength and the assurance of what you yourself
must learn to do.
UPON THE HOUR REMEMBER THIS, and in your deeper
meditations allow yourself to receive. Do not hold yourself apart from
Knowledge, which waits to bless you in your meditation practices. This is when you
come to the altar of God to present yourself, and here God presents God to you
who are learning to receive Knowledge.
PRACTICE 250: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly
practice.
Yesterday: Step 249 - Alone I can do nothing.
It really doesn’t take too much thought to
understand that we can do nothing alone, but if you live in a competitive
culture, it seems that it is everyone for him or herself. Even in team
activities, there is competition to be the leader and stay the leader.
Leading
from the middle is difficult, that is, making things happen with little power.
That is much of the problem I faced in the work I was doing promoting regional cooperation.
I’m on the way to recognizing that “community precedes cooperation.” Though
this has been articulated, I really do not understand the thought that has been
given to me as of the year 2000. Was this Knowledge or my Inner Teachers or guides enabling me to
see how community works in the world?
It was the phrase “Greater Community Spirituality”
on the Society display at the Denver Metaphysical Fair, August 31, 1997, that
was a trigger phrase for me. It summed up everything I was trying to do in
life.
So, what does this Step look like in the world?
“Even if you were alone on a mountaintop without
another soul in sight, you would not be alone,
A Mountain Climber Summits Mount Bearskin – Photo by Gordon Wiltsie
for your Teachers would be with you, and everything
that you would accomplish there would be a joint effort, as everything that you
accomplish with other people is a joint effort.”
Garth
Fagan Dance – Photo by Greg Barrett
University
of Delaware Marching Band
Rockymountainrescuegroup.org
And there are millions more examples covering everything past, present and future.
From the Journal:
5:54
a.m. March 22, 2000 – Awake at 5 a.m. again – this time – with an answer,
perhaps to this PDC dilemma. I could be mad and leave, but I have no clients,
no job, little in savings. I need a longer transition. I thought of Harry West
– retiring and giving a year with overlap.
I'm
stepping to the side to bring in an Exec. Director can take over. This answers
my greatest concern which I presented to the Personnel Committee the first time
it met three years ago. This is true – it can also put a pretty face on events.
I can do nothing alone. I'm not going to isolate myself.
I
need to build my Excel, Access, GIS skills. Projects need to be finished. I've
carry this burden long enough.
---
I want to move on. I really know that it will take time to find my next place
for the journey.
7
p.m. Where is Knowledge taking me?
Regional
community is not a game of hardball.
It
is difficult to be a community without news media for that community. Regional
Community News –
Being
a gracious and honorable person, I will transition out to my next step. My
preferred alternative would be to do research @ SU.
Regional
Council data structure – Document Center
Tom
Christoffel – that "regions" guy
I know that I can not do things alone, and I
also know there was something wrong with the way I was doing things with
others. Was idealism my problem? Without Steps I probably would never have considered
that.
Unburdening is not easy, but apparently
necessary. Will we take up new burdens? Let us continue.
NNC
P.S. At Step 250, we are into Part Two of Steps, so
if you’ve found this and find some appeal in this or other Steps, you should
really go to the beginning blog post. From here you learn about Steps to Knowledge and
can begin it on the day that makes sense and then progress as needed. You can
use the posts on this blog as a companion if it helps. They will remain in
order in the archives - one per Step.
Often it takes 18 months to get through the Steps
once. For this blog, the pace is one-a-day, but it really makes no difference
how fast you do it, only that you begin, persist and repeat. Posts here provide
a trail that may let you have a virtual companion when and if you want one. One
may have to study alone, as I did in the beginning. There are other Steps
students blogging their experience and you might find a person more like you as
a companion, or use a number of such Steps journeys. There are options as well
through the Free School of the New Message.
