Grace

Even when we know better

Lovely sunflower,

There’s something very humbling about being so sure and so wrong at the same time. We rarely see it until some time passes and we realize that a belief we held was not actually true at all. I’m sure people who once thought smoking was healthy feel differently about that subject now. Maybe they even encouraged others to start smoking, which I’m sure they wouldn’t do today.

There are people who have opinions that we might not only disagree with, but actually know better than. However, there’s something important about showing grace that shouldn’t be overlooked. We often forget about the journey that others need to take. They have to come to their own conclusions, in this life or when they return to the spirit realm. We may have the purest of intentions, but we can’t always influence another person to change their mind. They need to walk their own path and learn, just as we do.

After all, we wouldn’t want anyone interfering in our lives just because they think they know better. Even when they do, we might still have to go through the experiences ourselves to come to our own conclusions.

But the most interesting part of all this is whether there even exists a “better” answer. Something I’ve noticed while listening to many different people’s stories is that each person’s story is true, even when they contradict each other. I know that it sounds impossible, but I believe it makes perfect sense.

If someone had awful experiences in a certain religion and then converted to another, there will always be others who experienced the opposite. It’s not that these people don’t have the right answer or that they’re deceived in any way. It’s simply that there are different truths for different people, and no truth is better or worse than another. It’s confusing but fascinating at the same time. We’re here to learn about our own truth, just as those around us are.

Even when we’re certain that someone will one day learn what we have already learned, we can’t really speed up the process anyway. It’s one of the hardest truths of all. To watch people around us stumble in the dark while we wish to be their light, yet can’t be unless they choose us to be.

But what do we know? Sometimes, we simply believe we know better when we don’t. And that’s why it’s important to show grace. Because maybe we’re wrong, and maybe they’re right. I believe that’s the biggest lesson of them all.

💚 Question: How would the world change if we showed ourselves and others some more grace?