To turn the other cheek is to look the other way

In my insaciable search for explanations about the behaviour of humans around me, I have come to the realisation, for quite some time now, that the teachings of our spiritual fathers have more in common than religion would like to admit. 

I am a Christian and was raised in the Catholic tradition, a very rigid religion with many rules and a system of punishments and rewards. I grew up hearing my mother accept that every person has a cross to carry and that God will give every person as heavy a cross as they can carry. No more, no less. 

I grew up hearing about eternal joy in heaven as a reward after suffering on Earth. I never felt I suffered until infidelity touched my marriage. By then, I had left the Catholic Church and embraced a more lenient practice of Christianity that highlights a loving Father who is not prone to punish me because I am accepted as the imperfect human being I am supposed to be.

This religion works for me as does the concept of a loving father and a loving mother on whom I can rely upon so that I don’t feel I’m carrying the heavy burden of adulthood all by myself. The child in me plays a very important role in how I live my life every day. This child in me feels relaxed and happy knowing she’s taken care of by a perfect and generous source of abundance.

I am surrounded by loved ones who reject any form of organized Christian institution with a god at its head. I listen to spiritual leaders form the Far East and respect the notions of the forces of nature. And above all, I have studied science and reached a point where I marvel at how all those tiny particles that are common to the living and the non-living work together to make the miracle of life possible.

I am aware of the invisible energies that surround us and all that we consume through air, water or food, and even by listening or looking. We are receptors of so much we are not even aware of. And then there are the inherited memories, traumas and the unspoken messages of today’s society. 

The psychologists coincide in the importance of breathing, which is a form of mindfulness, a technique that helps us live in the here and now. 

Because I grew up listening to the parables of Jesus as he preached, I have come to the realisation that his teachings are no different from the teachings of the modern spiritual fathers of the East when it comes to love and loving ourselves. I think much of his message got lost in Translation. I finally realized that what he meant when He replied to the one who asked “what shall I do when someone offends me.” And he said: “turn the other cheek”, he didn’t mean to put the other cheek to receive a new offense, he meant turn around, look away and don’t let that toxic person get to you again. Don’t let the toxicity of a grudge poison your inner world. Own your peace. Carry on without this predicament, leave it in the past where it belongs and move towards happier shores. 

What do you think? Let me know in the comments. 

Much love,

Helen