1998-02-22-Endurance
Halfmoon Bay #16
Contents
• 1 Heading
o 1.1 Topic: Endurance
o 1.2 Group: Half Moon Bay TeaM
• 2 Facilitators
o 2.1 Teacher: Olfana
o 2.2 TR: Susan Kimsey
• 3 Session
o 3.1 Opening
o 3.2 Lesson
o 3.3 Closing
Topic: Endurance
Group: Half Moon Bay TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Olfana
TR: Susan Kimsey
Session
Opening
Let me provide you with a lesson now on endurance.
Lesson
OLFANA: Endurance, steadfast commitment to a desired goal, is a quality to be developed and prized within your natures, my dear students. One must endeavor to proceed through life with a sense of firm commitment to doing the best with those gifts which one receives from God each day. And this is the key to endurance, my dear ones, that you see this connection between your own daily efforts to do good in this world, coupled with your joyous discovery that God is providing you with daily resources and gifts to accomplish good work in this troubled world. We are not to climb the mountain of life’s challenges all in a day’s time.
There is much ground to be covered in this journey to the heights where God resides. We must develop ourselves, if we are to attempt this journey successfully. We must choose carefully our supplies, seek companions on this journey who will assist us in our own efforts, and whom we will assist willingly, also. We must discover our potentials, and humbly accept our weaknesses, in order to develop a plan of action that will augment our potentials and strengthen our weak points, both of our character and our physical capacity.
Endurance in our character gives us a strengthening of our ability to express our capacities and gifts in a measured fashion that will stabilize our efforts over a lengthy duration of time. We express patience in our every action and thought as we develop endurance in our natures. We express fortitude, a confidence of spirit, in our personality as we endure the vicissitudes of life. We express forbearance in our attitude toward all experiences as we learn to endure the upheavals which come our way in the various twists and turns of our life path. We express good humor in our dealings with all others we encounter in our daily efforts, as we develop endurance in our natures.
Good humor and joyful appreciation of our brothers and sisters becomes a life-sustaining energy that propels us on our own path and fills us with a power that we draw upon as we endure the sadness and pain of life.
How much we appreciate one who can offer us a smile amidst our tears, as we face the painful episodes of life. One can feel in those moments a true energizing of one’s spirit. Endurance, my dear ones, can thus be seen as the strengthening of one’s character through the development of such attributes as I have noted: patience, fortitude, forbearance, and good humor. There are yet two further qualities that I encourage you to cultivate in your nature, if you are to express endurance in your being, and these are the soul-attributes of trust and faith. As one develops a trust in the Hand of God touching and shaping one’s life, one desires to endure all things in His Name.
We develop in our thoughts the desire to face all challenges for God, with God, and through God. This desire allows God’s Love to flow through us and strengthens our resolve and conviction. We endure through this Power of God’s Love. His Power becomes our power to successfully experience life. Faith in God gives us the perspective from which we can derive our understanding of the events of our lives, this sense that “There is a purpose to this experience for me, and I will strive to discover more of myself in this experience.”
When we live life in this manner we discover an ability to endure much difficulty in life with a sense of equanimity and calm acceptance of these difficulties. It is not that we no longer suffer, but that we suffer with a sense of purpose and hope that this suffering will lead us to a greater understanding of God’s plan for our lives. Again we learn to endure because we desire soul growth as the outcome of our efforts. As you consider this concept of endurance in your natures, my dear ones, ask yourselves these questions:
- How can I strengthen my faith by my choices in this particular challenge?
- Will I feel a resolve to do good if I approach this task in my current emotional state?
- Am I committed to a loyalty to God as I serve my brothers and sisters?
- Do I feel a strengthened soul-energy rising in my heart and mind as I make this choice?
- Am I calm and stable in the love I express in this moment?
- Will I become a citizen of the eternal universe in my efforts this day?
All of God’s power and love will flow through your being as you strive in this manner to become your best self. You will truly feel this power of endurance in your heart and mind. And it will become this steadfast commitment that you seek as you take each step in your path up the mountain of life to your God.
Closing
I end this lesson now with great appreciation for my opportunity to work with you, my beloved students. Namaste.