Naturally, you feel a sadness at the idea that your individuality will disappear, that you will no longer exist, you, this individuality that you have become so tied to, this individuality that sets you apart. Your individuality has been your signature. If your individuality doesn’t exist, you wonder what is left. If you, as you know yourself, are gone, then you are no longer separate.
You are sure you have deeply desired Oneness with Me, yet, at second thought, if that means you disappear, you’re not so sure. You have depended upon your name Fred or Alice and your ties and all the ruffles of you. They seemingly hold you up. The truth is that, although you may not adore every bit of your life, you really do adore your identity in the world. You like to hear your name. It makes you turn around, and you are pleased. You have been noticed. You have been singled out. When you win the lottery, you have been singled out. You want to be One with Me, and, at the same time, you do like being singled out.
Deep in the shadows of your heart, so attached are you to your individuality, so affected are you by that which makes you stand out from everyone else, you are not so sure that you want to, in effect, throw yourselves to the wolves, or, in this case, throw yourself into the brew of Oneness.
You would never be happier than in Oneness with Me, and, yet, parting is such sweet sorrow, and you are not so inclined to depart from your individuality.
Let’s face it. There is a tug of war that goes on inside you. How holy do you want to be, you wonder. What about those nights on the town with the boys? What about movies and books and fish? Are you going to have to give up your favorite foods as well? What about celebrations? If you were One with Me, you would really have to let go of the past. Could Oneness be a limitation, after all?
I assure you that Oneness is expansiveness. Individuality is a border. Individuality is a limit. Oneness is not. In Oneness, do not think that you are giving up. There is a difference between giving up and letting go. A time comes when toy trains aren’t so important to you as once they were. You do not and cannot give up that which you have already passed by.
Oneness is not sacrifice, beloveds. In any case, Oneness is ordained. It is not for you to weigh and sort. It is not like you are going on a long trip and have to decide what to take and what to leave behind. You are going to a new pasture, and what is there that you have to take with you? Honestly, you don’t have to bring the relative world along. Enjoy the relative while the relative is yours. You will enjoy Oneness a hundred-thousand-million times more. In Oneness, it is not an option to enjoy or not to enjoy. Besides, enjoy is too small a word for the joy of Oneness in Excelsis Deo. In fact, there is no word for the ecstasy of Oneness. Where Oneness is, there is no language as you know language. Well, there is the language of love which you understand instantly. You discover what love is and how much of it you are.
Don’t worry about taking your toe out of the water you have dipped it in. In My metaphor, you trade in your toes for wings. You turn in your toys for the ecstasy of Oneness with All That Is, and you are not making a decision at all. You are ready. Really, it is not a biggie.