GUILT AND INNOCENCE

We all subscribe to superstitions of one kind or another. Even the supposedly scientific thinkers uphold the somewhat unreasonable belief that it is somehow possible to be rational and detached about everything. You can't be entirely unbiased as you now appraise a situation. You are being influenced, in more ways than you know, by expectations and experiences. Even if you can't see clearly, you can at least try to see what is colouring your judgement. This may then bring you a real 'eureka' moment.
Some people believe that we are all 'going to Hell in a handcart'. If so, what should be done? Handcarts are neither very efficient nor comfortable modes of transport. Can't we replace them with limos? Better yet, perhaps we should think, not about the nature of the vehicle but about the direction of travel? If Hell is the opposite of Heaven and we feel that we know where Hell is, then surely, logically, we also know where Heaven is? A few, brave, simple choices could make such a difference to your life. 
 Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong! If you've seen it, you will know what I mean. If not, you are probably thinking, 'That doesn't sound very amusing.' That's the thing about humour. It has to be experienced, not described. Much the same can be said about the inspiration that you are due to feel. You can see so many sources of stress and strain. Every time you try to fix a particular problem, matters seem to get worse. Yet the story of your life now has the potential to echo the message of Easter itself. From something seemingly hopeless, something truly wonderful can yet arise.
 Guilt and innocence. Easy to establish? People don't always know what they are doing. What if, for example, someone is following a philosophy that has been instilled in them so strongly, from such an early age, that they can no longer even question it? Then whose fault is it when the questionable moral code leads them astray? Keen though you may be to reach a cut-and-dried conclusion about a sensitive matter, it is only fair to give at least a little consideration to a grey area. 
 With unanswerable questions and issues that refuse to resolve themselves. If you do this, you may have problems with that. If you attend to that, will it come at the expense of this? Yet it is somehow right and natural for you now to feel so perplexed. You can't find the one true most relevant and appropriate way to proceed, until you have first fully acknowledged the intricacies and challenges of your current situation.
 Is an enterprise doomed to failure? Will a delicate arrangement eventually unravel? Perhaps, but it will happen all the more surely and swiftly if you keep dwelling on a cause for concern. The more you guard against trouble, the more you have to end up thinking about where trouble could come from. The next thing you know, you are seeing signs of potential trouble everywhere. You deserve something brighter and happier thoughts which are supported by experiences that inspire comfort and reassurance.
Usually, when we hear the word 'miracle' we think of some kind of stunning illusion or mind-blowing conjuring trick. Even if we don't hunt for a rational explanation with which to devalue the otherwise awe-inspiring event, we still tend to feel that miracles (if they exist at all) are major. Yet what is each breath that comes in and out of your body? What is the very fact that you exist? Recognise the real miracle now unfolding before your very eyes, and you will yet start to see where other miracles can come from.
'Home is where the heart is.' Apparently, it was Pliny the Elder who said this first. Although he is also attributed with the statement, 'The only certainty is that nothing is certain.' So perhaps we shouldn't be so sure about that! And anyway that doesn't make him wrong about everything. Nor should you, consider all your choices and decisions to be potentially flawed, just because it is now beginning to look as if you may have made one mistake.
When is the darkest hour? Just before the dawn! So, how can you tell if the dawn is nearly here? Look to see how dark it is! If you can't see much, that's probably because it is so dark! And thus, there can only be one conclusion to draw! I'm sorry if I seem to be labouring the point. But then, this is a point that really deserves to be laboured. You are so aware of a problem that you can hardly imagine a time when the problem may be pleasingly and successfully solved. But such a time is coming.
 Relax.These days, if we want to know something, we just type a few words into a search engine. Back come more answers than we could ever wish for. What we require is the ability to tell which of these deserve to be trusted and which merely reiterate commonly held assumptions and popular but unproven myths. We have information coming out of our ears but do we have discrimination to match it?
 Be wary of the difference in your life, between indisputable fact and tempting supposition.Were you put on this earth to help others? Absolutely! Is this the only reason why you came here? Absolutely not! Whilst doing all that you can to support someone with love, understanding, tolerance and sympathy, you must also retain the right (and the ability) to draw a line. While you are so busy helping someone else, who is helping you? Give what you can but don't feel obliged to give more than you can possibly spare. Somehow, other forces in the universe will pick up where you have to leave off.......................jonathan