I am Jesus Reborn!

If you knew me, you'd be laughing your ass off at that statement! I am a pagan; my chosen pantheon of Gods are mostly Greek. If anything, I'd like to think that I was Zeus in a past life, lol!

So why then did I say that I am Jesus reborn? Well, it's like this:

I do believe Jesus was a real person. I also believe that he was a VERY good man. I believe that he believed in the way of love, and that he walked his talk. He didn't just say "Love thy neighbor" while treating his like shit. He - like Gandhi or Mother Teresa - actually treated others with love and compassion.

So now, I might be making myself sound like some paragon of virtue, when I am so not. However, I DO try to practice the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

In pagan speak, that's: And it harm none, do what ye will. I suppose, if you wanted to, you could argue that those two mantras are very different, but to me, they are one and the same. In other words, if I don't want people harming me, I don't harm them, right?

There's a meme going around that has Jesus talking to a bunch of followers, and he says basically: Love thy neighbor. His followers all start protesting: But what if they are gay or ___ or ___ or ___! And Jesus responds with: "What? Did I fucking stutter???" In other words, what he is saying is that you should love your neighbors, NO MATTER WHAT!!!

In my life, I have often been accused of being too nice. I've been perceived as weak because it takes a lot to truly get me angry or upset. I can usually rationalize a person's bad behavior and give them the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn't say that I actually LOVE my literal next door neighbors (mostly because I haven't had a chance to get to know them), but I don't have anything against them either.

Just so you know, my neighbors are a mixed couple. The wife is a white american woman, the husband is a black man literally from africa, and their son is half and half. My boys love playing with their son, and I think it's beautiful that the husband and wife found love despite being born on opposite sides of the world. I'm a sucker for love! It could be between a human and a little green alien, and I would STILL find it awesome and romantic, lol!

Anyway, so when I say that I have nothing against them, I mean that some people would have a problem with them (especially historically) but that I don't. I don't think Jesus would have had a problem with them either. He would have accepted them as they are and wished them happiness.

So maybe now you can understand just a little the title of my post, but it's more than that. So much more!

When I was a teen - actually, my whole life, really - I always knew when people were lying to or using me. Friends would very often call me up and claim they wanted to spend time with me when what they really wanted was a ride somewhere and I was one of the only teens with my own car. I knew they were using me, but I didn't mind because as I was driving them around, I really did get to spend time with my friends. I got to talk to them, mostly alone, about a wide variety of topics. We laughed and joked, and they'd ask me for advice on this or that. I'd get to meet their other friends, and sometimes, those friends became my friends too. I felt a part of the world like I hadn't felt before.

More recently, a friend of mine was talking about how used and abused she was feeling because she is a very giving person, and it seemed like she was always giving a part of her soul to people who didn't care about her at all. I tilted my head to the side in confusion, because giving is selfless, and the ACT of giving is much like divine love. You do it, NOT because you want or expect something in return, but because it fulfills your soul and makes you a better person.

For example, let's say that you took in a foster child. Most people think that foster parents are actually selfish, motivated only by the money they can get from the government. That may be true for some, but I still think that it is a fairly selfless thing to do. But for argument's sake, there is no government compensation. You take the child in because you feel that it is the RIGHT thing to do. You care for this child and spare no expense to raise this child and try to make him or her happy.

Do you then expect that this child should work for you? Be loyal to you? Somehow pay you back one day?

NO! If you have taken in a foster child and given part of your soul to them, you CANNOT expect anything in return!!! Why? Because expecting a return is not only selfish, but it will lead to your own heartache long before the child had found the maturity to realize that they owe you a debt of gratitude. This type of maturity often is not found until after your death. Only then does the foster child realize just how important you were to them. In the meantime, you'll have spent a large portion of your life resenting them if you were expecting something in return.

So, what if a loved one makes a decision that you feel is terrible and only going to hurt them in the long run? Should you take that decision personally and hold a grudge?

NO! Why? Because their decision had nothing to do with you. They made it based on what they felt was best for them, and holding a grudge not only poisons you, but it doesn't change their mind nor effect their peace and happiness. This leaves you suffering for no reason.

Lastly, just yesterday, a different friend was lamenting that she no longer felt welcome by her family. Most of her other friends were advising her to shove herself in the middle of them and fight for her right to be included. I read through all of their comments and scratched my head. So... in their opinion, creating drama and insisting on being the center of attention is the only way to handle the situation??? It really didn't make sense to me.

So, I advised spending some time in quiet reflection. Rather than create drama, I felt her spirit needed some time to rest and heal. Only then will she truly feel ready to take on the world if she has too.

Those are just a few examples that have made me wonder recently if I might just be the reincarnation of Jesus. Well, that and I would love to be able to heal people and I do have a habit of turning water into wine (using the magic of fermentation), lol!

Jesus is not a deity that I worship, so I am not about to convert. I just simply wonder why it is that so many people who do believe in him have such a hard time walking his talk. It seems fairly easy to me, shrugs.

So, to answer "What would Jesus do?" I say:

1- He would love you and respect you, no matter who you are or what you do. (Or how poor you are.)
2- He would try to heal your body/mind if you needed him to.
3- He would try to help you if it was at all possible for him to do so.
4- He wouldn't expect anything in return.
5- He would encourage you to love and help others as much as you can without expecting anything in return.
6- He would remind you that you are not the center of the universe, and that creating drama does not make you a better person.
And lastly, 7- I do believe that he would also try to explain that your soul has signed up for lessons that you must learn in order to grow as a person and have spiritual health. Whenever you keep running into the same type of problem, it is a lesson that you must learn in order to grow.

Anyway, love you and have a happy day :-)