All that I ask you to do is to arise to the occasion before you. By that I mean to rise above it. Some occasions you can meet on the level they are, yet many you have to rise above. You understand, it is not always helpful to meet an occasion just where it is. If you are not going to raise a situation a notch or two or more above where it lies now, who is going to, My most beloveds? Who is going to do that for Me if you do not?

Even if you have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you have to do it.

To do this, you have to perceive differently. When someone is rude or unkind, you can no longer respond, even internally the old ways like this: “How can they talk like that? Who do they think they are? By what right do they act this way? How can they do that? I am going to give them a piece of my mind.”

When you find yourself seeing and feeling negativity, then say to yourself:

“This person or persons before me sees differently from me. Their thinking is askew. They are not seeing clearly. They are really off-base. I don’t have to tell them this. How do I best present my point of view to the betterment of all? How do I change the equation? I am not here on Earth to meet anger with anger, blame with blame, stupidity with stupidity. I am here to end suffering, not feed it. I am here to shed light, and shed light I will.

“I want to be a wise wonderful person who slays dragons, as it were, with equanimity, not with the sword, and not with the swords of words. I am not here to feel put upon, nor am I here to vent my feelings. I am here to lift this situation and put it in God’s light. I am here to end strife, not add to it. I will respond creatively. I will respond kindly. I will respond with great élan. God says I can do it. So I will do it. I will not trade peace for momentary satisfaction. I will say my piece in a new way. I will not come away from this situation feeling upset, nor will I let the one across from me leave my presence feeling upset. First, I will not see him as an opponent. I will see him as a friend. I am aware that how I see makes a difference to the world.

“I care very much about the world. So I will meet the world and all those in it, giving them the benefit of the doubt. I will listen to what they say, and I will not take offense. The world they see is different from the world I see. I will raise my understanding. I am a person of peace who sheds light. My intent to love will change every situation. It will certainly change me.

“I have seen this happen time and time again. My intent alone will quiet the waters. I am God’s intended. God has intended me to bring true peace to the world. First I bring it to myself through My love for God and my firm desire to fulfill His Will, not mine. I no longer ask for vindication. In peace and in war, I ask God to bless the situation before me, and I ask that it be blessed through me.”