Baby steps...

Something that is becoming more and more clear to me as I gain life experience, is that true growth comes from consistently taking "baby steps". It is the small, seemingly insignificant, daily choices that say the most about us.

Most people will find it easy to make the big choices, like stealing, murder, etc. But, for example, choosing not to join in on "complaint-sessions" about a co-worker that is a lackadaisical screw-up w/ an obnoxious personality (a current issue I'm struggling with) is a small, everyday choice that, over time, can make a huge impact in many ways. Not only outwardly, but can also transform the individual into a better, healthier, and more balanced person. And in turn brings you closer to God's light...which in turn shines through you to help others in their Spiritual growth towards God's light...etc, etc, etc.

It seems to me that these "baby steps" come from not only "saying" what you believe in, but in "believing" what you say and then living your life in accordance with those beliefs...consistently. I have been "saying" that I believe in Baha'u'llah and his teachings since I declared at fifteen. And I truly meant it all these years. I was very sincere. Yet, it took twenty years, kidney failure, and a failed marriage to realize that I didn't "believe" what I had been "saying" all those years. Not truly, and not with every fiber of my being. Although I didn't realize it at the time I had been approaching "it" with a very "go with the flow" attitude. "It" being The Faith, my spirituality, my moral character, etc. More as a philosophy than a way of life. I've always been a "nice guy" but perhaps not such a "good person". Even the most hardened of criminals have at least a few redeamable qualities. I certainly could've been a better person.

Now that I truly "believe" in His teachings and sincerely want to incorporate them into my daily life, I find it very challenging. I equate it to school. When you are in school as a child, you learn because you "have" to. When you are an adult and go to school, you learn because you "want" to. But the curriculum doesn't get easier because you "want" to learn. It just makes the lessons more significant and satisfying when you finish.