When you see less than love coming at you, stand aside. Deflect it. If a bull were charging toward you, you would go to the side. This is the meaning of turning the other cheek.
You are not meant to be a ram in life who charges at every other ram that charges at him.
First of all, most of the time you are mistaken. You thought something was going on, that you were being affronted, or perhaps attacked, and yet, all the while, nothing was going on, nothing that had anything to do with you anyway.
Just as you would defray exorbitant costs of a journey, for example, defray the exorbitant cost of conflict. Chip in some calm. When you stay out of the fray, perhaps the other will see where he stands and that he stands alone in his assault. Who will assault where there is no one stiffening, ready for assault? Who can oppose when he sees no one opposing him? Who can be an attacker when there is no target? How can tension exist without resistance?
I do not ask you to be a punching bag. I ask you to watch as though from the side-lines. Witness more than you participate. Who would hiss when he is strong?
A giant does hit a man who, in full height, reaches only to his waist. What puniness would a strong giant bother with?
And so now, be you a giant of wisdom and heart. Come to where I am. Stand with Me. Be feisty with your own feistiness and show it its place. It has no place, beloveds.
Disarm yourself. It is yourself you battle with. Be for yourself rather than against. Do not trifle with one whom I love with all My heart. Do you not know I love you? What obeisance then do you need from the world?
If you are seeking courtesy, be courteous.If you are seeking attention, give attention.
I give you a very simple formula for life. Give that which you seek, and you will have it. You will see it with your very eyes. As you bestow, so do you reap.
Give the coins you desire to come to you. That way you see the coins. See, and you shall have.
If you want someone to give you flowers, give a flower. If you want a kind word, give one. If you want help, give it.
It is the same as it would be if you wanted to sing. You would sing. You would not wait for someone to give voice to you. You are the one who has to sing, if you want to.
If you want your life to be different, make it different. If you want to climb Mt. Everest, begin by climbing.
All that you desire issues from you. You hold the purse-strings. No one else. You are the one who lives your life. You are the one who expands or contracts it.
If you crave peace, give it.
You may have been following this formula I give. Only you may have had it backwards. Note this. That which you don’t desire, you also bring to you by the power of your attention. What do you wage war against in your heart? Attention on war, no matter how much you don’t want it, is nevertheless attention on war. Attend to peace, beloveds. Attend to love and not to the omission of it.
What you protest about, you encourage.
Is your need to oppose really so great that you must locate an opponent, or a whole entourage of opponents? Must you be against something when, all the while, you could be for?