One step at a time.

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The journey may seem impossible, but it truly begins with the very first step, and it really is made one step at a time.

I remember climbing the Statue of Liberty years back.  Standing outside and looking up I was unaware of what it would be like when I got inside and began my trek to the crown.  It was quite easy at the beginning but at you got closer and closer to the finish the staircase got smaller and smaller.  Truth be told if one was claustrophobic they would have a very difficult time in such tight quarters.  The climb up Lady Liberty is not unlike our spiritual journey.  In the beginning you are setting a foundation and things seem to be pretty easy, but at you get on with your journey then things get a little tougher, a little harder to understand, and far more difficult to implement those things that you are learning.

No matter how you look at it, your spiritual journey, needs to be taken one step at a time and you cannot try to skip steps in an effort to get done sooner.  Trying to take two or three steps at a time because they seem easy is only going to delay your reaching the top.  Certainly it would seem that taking two or three steps per stride would benefit you, but not really.  Each step in your journey is set in place to teach you things that you will need to know for the additional steps that will be taken down the road.  If you miss one then you are going to miss information or knowledge that will be vital to your development later on in life.  I cannot stress it enough that this is one journey that you will have to take your time with and not try to circumvent the process.

This generation we live in right now seems to be focused on having it right now.  Many individuals don't want to wait for anything, and in their yearning for more, they skip many things that in the end will spell ruin for them.  This journey to spiritual enlightenment will never be complete if you try to take the easy way out, or if you try to skip steps.  I wish I didn't have to remind people of that, but I see people who have tried to push through the process not realizing that they are failing to set a firm foundation and sooner or later what they think they have built will come tumbling down on them, and in all likely hood, on top of those closest to them.

To those who are looking for instant gratification what I am about to say is going to send them into orbit.  This journey is one that you will never complete.  The staircase is never ending, and you will be learning your entire life.  With each question answered in your spiritual journey, you will probably come up with a dozen or so more questions.  The ones who think they have become fully enlightened are the ones you need to worry about, or maybe better put, stay clear of.  You give certain individuals a little bit of knowledge and immediately they are ready to conquer the world, or at least their little corner of the world.  I consider myself fairly grounded and comfortable in my spiritual skin, but I also know that there is much more to learn.  What I know I am glad to share with others, but always with the caveat that I don't know it all.  Humility is important when you are talking about spirituality, and spirituality is never what it can do for you, but rather how you can better the rest of humanity with your gifts.

If you are just beginning your spiritual journey, or maybe you have been on your personal trek of awakening for some time, enjoy the process.  Enlightenment is something that is incredible, and life changing.  If it's worth having, it's worth working for.  Don't take short cuts, and never think you know it all.  Pride comes before a fall, and pride is nothing more then your ego telling you that you have achieved enlightenment.  Anyone who is willing to take this journey will learn quickly that there is no room for ego.

I encourage you to talk with others who are on this journey.  Ask them the questions you have, but beware:  you have within you the greatest B.S. detector in the world, your spirit.  Get to know the sound of your spirit.  Listen to what it is speaking to you and make the determination that you are going to heed the advice provided to you from your spirit.  I have not loved every aspect of my journey, but I have learned with each step that I take, and I like you have had to learn to take it one step at a time.  So what's it going to be?  Will you begin this journey and allow it to take you where you need to go, or will you continue on wondering what is next, what should you be doing, and who and what you are?  There is no better time then to take your first step, and in taking it, open yourself up to the many possibilities out there for you. I wish you well and I will be watching to see how you are doing.