If you hurt another person, you hurt yourself. The act of inflicting injury distorts you, making it more difficult for you to be in alignment with your highest potential. The converse is also true. When you hurt yourself, you inevitably hurt others. The damage you cause to yourself diminishes your ability to give your best gifts. Keep this in mind, Scorpio, as you celebrate Do No Harm Week. Be scrupulous in your intention to practice non-violence in every way you can imagine.
The above is my horoscope from one of my favorite astrologers, Rob Bresny of Free Will Astrology. He posts free weekly horoscopes on Wednesdays each week. Occasionally, a horoscope will hit me right between the eyes and this is one of them because I had already come to the same conclusion for myself last week before reading this. It's one of the reasons I decided to go abstinent again. No one is saying to me, "Angela, your drinking is hurting me." although I'm sure there have been many times in the past when it has caused other people pain. What has come clear to me is that if I'm inflicting harm on myself, which I had begun to do again with alcohol, then I am inflicting harm on ALL OF US. And that's just not acceptable to me anymore. I'm interested in what my fellow bloggers think of this. Do you feel a responsibility to the human family? Do you feel that some behaviors are acceptable, if they only harm you? Or, like me, have you reached a realization that there is no harming a part without harming the whole?
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4 years ago
12 comments:
Angela,
This really resonates with me today. On Easter Sunday, my ex did something that not only hurt himself but was so far reaching in so many ways. Everthing changed with one action. His relationship changed with my kids. It's not soemthing he can easily get back. I agree that we need to be careful of our actions because the results can be potentially disasterous.
I absolutely believe we can't harm ourselves without harming the whole. Separation is an illusion. As personalities, Angela and Chani might be different - but underneath that - at the soul level - we are the same.
I'm back from my con, Angela. I haven't been commenting, but I have been reading.
I also believe that when you hurt yourself you hurt others, even if indirectly. The thing that drives me crazy is how sometimes when you are doing what's best for yourself it seems to hurt others. Once I started paying attention to that, I realized that after the dust dies down, it ends up being best for everyone.
I agree with you Angela. I don't think we can harm "just ourselves". We are all one. We are all a part of the whole.
BTW, I LOVE Rob Bresny's Pronoia. What a book!!
Love to your in your journey,
O
xxoo
Thanks, Jane, Chani & Sherri. Seems like all of us, at least, are of a mind. :)
Olivia, I've considered ordering his book so many times. Sounds like I should!
Once again your post made me think Angela.
I teach and occasionally remember for myself that blessing oneself blesses others, healing oneself, heals others, and making choices for one's own highest good, is good for the world.
Especially if you blog about it!
What are the blessings to you and others of your not drinking?
I love this post and agree so strongly with Sherri's experience. "when the dust settles..." yes, and even when I'm scared as hell doing the new thing that feels so odd, when I know it connects to a peace so deep inside me that it is the right path -- but that can be hard to see and feel sure of in a life filled with easy distractions from that quiet knowing. Am I making even a bit of sense? Day 2, 3rd chemo. Closing in, but limited brain power goin on over here!
love c
I believe we all come from the same place and we all go back to that place . . . we might feel separate at the moment, but we're not. If we hurt ourselves, even secretly, we are hurting the whole.
I have to remember that we all are only human to and we do what seems like really stupid things but they are human and it is our choice to forgive. . . sometimes it's hard to get out of the "box" thinking we live in. Wayne Dyer has really helped me with understanding this concept.
Oh, Angela, yes your harming yourself will harm the whole. In the wondrous "Desiderata" is this that came to me immediately when I read your post about going abstinent and again on doing no harm:
"Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here."
If we are not gentle with ourselves, how can we be a blessing to others and to the earth that so desperately needs our concern and care now (not to mention what part we each may play in helping the thousands in horrid distress in Myanmar-Burma)? Beyond just a right to be here, it is grace that we are here at this particular time - and therefore we have a responsibility to the whole.
It is this phrase in "Desiderata" that is truly at the crux of my 22+ years of sobriety. I attended 12-step only for the first year and it wasn't for me, so I fully understand your decision in that regard. For me, it was just simpler than a program (that program works wonders for many and I respect that). If you scrape down to the pure essence of you, you will have an inner knowing of your own process. I think you basically are there.
A link to Desiderata to paste into your browser:
http://www.fleurdelis.com/desiderata.htm
Be well,
Lydia
New here - I think this is a great blog. This topic completely hits home for me. Over the years, I've noticed that when I hurt myself, my family eventually pays for it. I look at it as the law of compensation, only they are being compensated in addition to me. No, it's not fair. It makes me realize what a responsibility I have to the people I'm around, whether family or not. The old saying "You reap as you sow," comes to mind, as well as "sh_t slides downhill," too. The difficulty I find with this is I'm a classic self-destructive person, or I at least say that I am. In order for me to be good to others and not let my destructiveness fall on them, I need to be good to myself first. That's a VERY hard step for me, but at least I realize it, which is a start.
Lydia, The Desiderata is one of my favorite pieces of writing - it never fails to bring tears to my eyes - it is just so wise. Thank you for visiting.
Elad, Thank you for stopping by. I, too, tend to be very self-destructive and usually feel I'm not hurting anyone but myself. I have to wonder why that seems to make it "ok".
Hi. Really enjoying your blog; thanks so much for sharing yourself, your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences.
My perspective on the issue:
If it hurts one of us, it hurts all of us; there's only one of us here.
M
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