I was gifted today by a chance encounter with someone who doesn’t like me.
Gifted?
I am profoundly grateful to be dwelling in a place in consciousness that has realized that what others may think of me is truly none of my business. As a human being with an open and highly sensitive heart the preference is always to enjoy a loving connection with other inhabitants of this human experience. I am purposeful in how I approach and treat others. My spirituality is one of embodying loving-kindness to the best of my ability. In my personality self I certainly don’t like everyone. But I am committed to accepting, compassioning, and embracing others in a prayerful place that is imbued with my spiritual nature. That spiritual nature is indeed Love.
So when I encounter someone who interacts with me in a way that I simply know by intuition isn’t embracing I also know I have a choice to make. I can go with the reptilian recoil and withhold, or I can maintain my spiritual composure and not make what the other is experiencing about me. It truly isn’t ultimately about me. When someone treats me with indifference or even hostility it is an opportunity for my growth. It doesn’t feel good. In fact it often feels down right painful. And it is a gift in that I get to stay awake, know that another’s reaction is none of my business, and it is a chance for me to come from my highest nature and intended values.
We are hardwired for both connection and protection. It’s the way of life. The fact that someone else may be defended against me does not preclude my choice for connection. They may not engage. But I still can choose to hold them in my heart and I get to stay open. Or at least choose to reopen. And that for me is liberation.
And so I was gifted today by a chance encounter with someone who doesn’t like me. There was in actuality nothing chance about it. It was a Divine appointment. I felt the pullback in the other, and I stayed present. I engaged respectfully, and I didn’t force too much deliberate interaction. I stayed with the genuine affection I hold this person in, and I didn’t waver. I felt a softening in them, and I internally smiled at that moment. But that was not the goal. My goal was to personally stay open and connected and true to what is most precious in my heart. Their choices are none of my business. My business is to love them as is.
