Rising Above

The days are flying by and I get more attached to these wonderful girls each moment that I am with them.   I feel so connected to their enthusiasm and the ever continuous drive to be "more".  This a.m. one of the girls came to our room with a "problem".  She is feeling bullied by the other girls that she rooms with. She is feeling very lonely and excluded from the group and didn't know what to do. We listened with great empathy to how she saw herself being treated.  Today was her roommates birthday and everyone was invited to a party except for her.

I was immediately drawn to the principle I learned in a Course of Miracles which says that "in my defenselessness lies my safety".  Along with this I pulled from Miguel Ruiz who in the Four Agreements says(Agreement#2) "Take Nothing Personally".  Now the hard part was explaining this all to this wounded person who felt that the world was against her.  I tried to relate it to being a leader and knowing that everyone will not always agree with you and how important it was to look at this situation as a life lesson.....a lesson in not engaging in others trying to "make you feel smaller" and staying in a "place of love".  She listened carefully and then we wanted her to think about rising above this person's abuse and give her a gift for her birthday. I had collected jewelry from all my wonderful girlfriends and "sisters" and had her select a piece as a birthday present for her roommate.  She did this and later in the day reported "feeling so much better" and also knowing that the only one who could change her perception was herself.  It is these jewels of opportunity that I have each day that make me feel as though I am planting seeds for the future and hopefully making the world a better place to be-this starting with one person at a time.