“My obligation is to do the right thing. The rest is in God’s hands.”
This quotation by Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks of purpose and of faith. Having both are essential to living in a meaningful way.
In order to find our purpose we need to try to discern the messages of our inner voice. We do this by paying attention to intuitive promptings, writing down our dreams and being open to what the images and actions of our dreams might symbolize, recognizing as gifts from the universe unexpected happenings that lead us to make positive changes, and noticing synchronistic occurrences and their possible meanings. It’s also important to remember that what our ego wants to have or to do can be deceptive, sometimes seeming to be inner direction when it isn’t. Therefore, we need to become more adept at distinguishing ego desires from inner guidance. And we need to pray to our Creator to help us to discern those things we were created to do and to help us to do them.
I recently watched a film, part of which depicted some of the peaceful protesting that people did during the 1960s civil rights movement. It included Dr. King preparing the people who would participate in the protests by teaching them about nonviolent resistance and guiding them to be as ready as possible for what they would experience. The film also included footage from the actual occurrences that took place during that time. As I watched the peaceful protesters being attacked by angry white people and by the police but not fighting back, I thought about the courage that took. The courage to put oneself in a dangerous situation because it was essential to such an important cause. They had courage to do the right thing.
It also takes courage to leave the rest in God’s hands, to have that belief and faith. It’s natural to wonder about and question why some things happen in our world. And yet the only person’s actions over which we have control are our own. Which is why it is essential to discern from within what we need to do and try our best to do what we discern. That is how we do our part in making this a better world. And the more people who do that, the greater difference it will make.