Not Today: The Power of Will

Paulo Degering R Jr
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We all go through the evolutionary process through incarnations. All, without exception. During this process, because of our choices, we can develop good habits or bad habits. The former become virtues, which bring us closer to happiness, while the latter become imperfections, which distance us from happiness and, therefore, prolong our sufferings.

“All men go through the passions. Those who have overcome them, and are not, by nature, proud, ambitious, selfish, spiteful, vindictive, cruel, wrathful, sensual, and do good without effort, without premeditation and, so to speak, involuntarily, it is because they have progressed in the sequence. of their previous existences, having rid themselves of this uncomfortable weight. It is unfair to say that they have less merit when they do good, compared to those who fight against their tendencies. It turns out that they have already achieved victory, while the others have not yet. But when they do, they will be like the others. They will do good without thinking about it, like children who read fluently without having to spell. It is as if they were two sick people: one cured and full of strength while the other is still recovering and hesitates to walk; or as two runners, one of which is closer to the finish than the other.”

KARDEC, Allan. The Genesis. 4th edition (original), FEAL

Bad habits are of two types: moral and material (which, deep down, always have something moral, that is, the will of the Spirit). Bad moral habits are those easily recognized as avarice, jealousy, vanity, selfishness, pride, etc., the last two of which can be understood as the parents of all others. Bad material habits, on the other hand, are those such as addictions to drugs or the exaggeration of certain animal instincts, such as gluttony, addiction to sex, etc.

Both are very difficult to combat, now installed. Often, they require multiple incarnations and, not infrequently, we find ourselves in the condition of the one who you see where he goes wrong and the suffering it causes him, but who says: “he is stronger than me”. Commonly, in this condition, which is already the beginning of something very important, through simple recognition, we are going to look for different external ways of dealing with these bad habits, whether religious or philosophical, or medicinal. We look for hospitalizations, drugs that aim to combat certain aspects, religions that will commonly classify as sin or that will say that we need to change in a hurry, because “Jesus awaits us”. None of this, however, manages to change what is at the bottom of our souls, except with rare exceptions. It is that, in all this, a fundamental key is missing: the will.

Let's see: all external artifices can, of course, help a lot in the process of overcoming. Prayer or prayer, medication, external practices, in short, everything is a tool, but I am here to say that nothing will change unless the individual acquires the firm will to win. And this is a process, very greatly aided by reason. Spiritism, when it shows us that joy and sadness, pleasure and pain are purely material and transient conditions, but that true happiness lies in getting rid of the conditions that force us to continue incarnating in such brutal conditions, living under the fruit of our own imperfections, tells us: everyone will reach the heavens, but it depends only on each one When it will happen.

By understanding this aspect, we can begin to see life differently. Every difficult situation and every opportunity becomes a learning device. We start to face difficulties with different eyes and become more attentive to the opportunities to which the good Spirits lead us, as long as we have the will.

Still, winning seems something very distant and difficult. Many will say: the flesh is weak. Well, we really can't assume that overnight we will overcome a bad habit that is deeply ingrained in our minds. This is the first fundamental understanding. It is necessary to adopt reason and will to develop better habits, being who of them is the habit of learning to say “not today”. Let's learn to design our future: why do we want to get rid of one imperfection or more? Because we wish we didn't need to go through more lives in the same condition. Who knows, the transformation may be so great that, at the end of this incarnation, we can conquer the possibility of incarnating in slightly happier worlds? Even more: those who know the transformation may, albeit slowly, take place in such a profound way that we can, day after day, find a growing happiness in our hearts, in the face of the realization that we have learned to deal a little better with difficulties and bad habits?

This should be enough to provoke us with firm intentions for change, in the concrete hope of a better tomorrow for ourselves.

Therefore, when we struggle with our imperfections, let us learn to watch our thoughts, moving away, that is, not even thinking, about what leads us to the stumbling processes. And if today we were not strong enough and we stumbled, let's not say: "I can't, I'm not strong", but rather "I'm not perfect and I still haven't been able to overcome", analyzing where the mistake happened and remaining firm in the purpose of change. . We just can't take this principle as an excuse.

Dear reader, know and never forget: if you already notice an imperfection, this is the beginning of your change. Strengthen your will and know that, through it, you will never be abandoned. The friendly spirits themselves will lead you to the opportunities that you will have to accept or not. It's a good book that arrives in due course, it's a word from a friend, it's an article like this, designed to move you. Be aware of bad suggestions, however, which will continue to come from spirits accustomed to disturbance, and build up your strength in study and prayer, always seeking to reform yourself. The other things, such as doing good, studying the gospel, psychological counseling, are, yes, very important, but it depends on you, and only you, wish to achieve happiness.

Remember, after all, that Jesus, nailed to the cross, hearing the repentance and the pleas for forgiveness of the thief nailed to the cross next to him, replied: “Today he will be with me in paradise”. “To be with Jesus in paradise” means to say that the thief, having repented and found the will change, entered a new learning phase. It was not Jesus who saved him, but himself. Think about it.

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