The Greatest Good

Have you ever wondered what the ‘greatest good’ actually means and how it applies to your life?

In the circles I run in, it’s a pretty commonly used term. Most who use it point to things that happen in life that may at first appear to be ‘negative’, but when viewed from a different perspective, are actually ‘positive’ and yield desirable outcomes.

The trick is to see how this could possibly be true.

Appearances are usually very strong and hard to see beyond and our idea of ‘fairness’ enters the picture, sometimes with a vengeance. We often can’t accept the negative events as integral parts of our lives and don’t see that they can lead to some pretty fantastic results.

This whole process requires a mind shift. In order to see how life is always serving us, we have to be open to new perspectives. That’s a very hard thing when what we’re experiencing is a life that feels so painful.

I’ve struggled with this concept. I’ve had some successes, but also some abysmal failures at seeing into the distance far enough to accept or embrace the challenges I’ve faced as being part of a ‘positive’ path.

I’ve found that it requires constant reminders for me to remain open to the idea that all things work toward my greatest good. One day I decided to write a poem about this so that I’d have something to refer to when times were difficult for me.

It is also often the case that we want to relieve other’s suffering and pain, either directly or indirectly. We want to pray it away or wish it away. The problem is we don’t know what their greatest good is, no matter how perceptive we are.

Today, I’d like to share a poem with you, in the hopes that it might help you on your journey, both for yourself and for those you love.

Here it is, my friends.

There is a real beauty to our lives

Which sometimes fades

In the face of hardship

We feel the loss

And seek to restore our body

And make whole our spirit

Others open to us

Such loving

Beautiful souls

They want to share from their heart

Yet they too face a challenge

How do they live through their expectations

I hear them

They talk about letting go of the outcome

They speak about our highest, our greatest good

This is the tricky part

How is one to know another’s highest good

How is one to know that the greatest good may require

Descending deeper into suffering or sorrow

To follow a dark path before

Arising into bright light

How is one to know what is right for another

Since it can be so hard to see beyond the small slice of life

We become aware of

How do we rise above the challenge of the hoped for improvements

The desire for the lessening of another’s suffering

And the hope for reduction of their pain

Someone offers a consideration for us

They ask us

What about the idea

That the seeker is the one in charge

Of how much healing occurs

They ask us

What about the idea

That it is not the case of what

One is able to channel

As it is what the seeker chooses to allow in

And what of the idea

That the seekers spirit knows

What is best for their body and mind and heart

And that it always chooses wisely

That it is eminently trustworthy

And that the seeker will receive exactly

The right amount of energy

To sustain them

And what of the idea

That it is possible for both the seeker

And the channeler

To trust that the perfect plan is at work

For each of us

All the time

And therefore

To know

To feel certain

That no matter how it seems

Whether the outside pain

Grows or lessens

Intensifies or vanishes

That everything happens

Exactly as it ought

Is that amount of trust within us