Isaiah 60: 1-2 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. ² See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you.”

Change is the daily exercise of shedding off the old you, awakening and adapting to your new self. Emotionally you are maturing and handling yourself better. More importantly, you are now able to control your mind.

Let us go back for a moment.

For four hundred years, the Israelites were living as slaves, following the command of the Egyptians building the economy of Egypt. Segregated and deprived of civilization. Emotionally broken and abused. Spiritually in the turmoil of hoping on what was promised to them by the Lord God of their forefathers. But, when it was their time, God remembered them and freed them. And He took them through the journey of transformation in the wilderness. Establishing Himself and developing new systems for them to govern their Promised Land. Training their minds to gradually transition out of the slave mentality and evolve to a victorious mindset. Taking them through wars to emotionally sharpen their brains, and strengthen their hearts, as He prepared them to take over the Promised Land. Building confidence in them to adapt to their new roles of authority. Teaching them resilience by constantly moving them from one place to another. Putting them through trials, testing their faith, and developing endurance in them by leading them to places with no water. Introducing routines, yet instilling prudence for them to awaken even in those normal repetitive daily activities.

To be awaken

“Exodus 33: 8-11 “Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise, and each would stand at his tent, When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door”

Dr. Fawzy Masaoud, a Senior CBT Psychotherapist from London UK, published on his website insightful articles about “mindfulness.” He states in one of his articles that mindfulness is developing awareness. And further describes that“It uses mind-body-based training, called mindfulness practices, to enable us to bring out attention, deliberately on everyday activities so that we can turn into our thoughts, emotions, moods, senses and bodily sensations as they are right here, right now. Mindfulness practices allow distressing emotions, thoughts, and sensations to come and go, without feeling that you must suppress them, run away from them, or fight them. You learn to stay in touch with the present moment, without being driven to ruminate about the past or worry about the future”

Some of us have encountered trials in our journey of transformation that led us to feel discouraged and confused. Where we ended up dragging ourselves through the day, emotionally and mentally unmoved. Crushed by the false assumption that the journey would not be as challenging.  And never expected the effect of the rupture from letting go of the old ways.

But when we learn to daily appreciate our blessings and try not to spiral to old negative patterns. Mainly, reflect on the good that God did and daily give thanks to God with prayer. Then reaching acceptance gives us the grace to know ourselves on a deeper level. The Israelites were the blessed children of God who lifted no finger to fight for their freedom in Egypt. They did not sail on ships to cross over.  God divided waters of the Red Sea for them to cross over, Exodus 14: 22 “And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left”. They crossed on foot. In the wilderness, God took the responsibility of providing food day in and out. They never dug the ground searching for water.

Having a good judgment prepares you to positively show up in those normal repetitive daily activities. Gradually you start to accept the change and appreciate small things that in the past were taken for granted. Continually transforming emotionally, mentally and exploring all opportunities. Routine no longer becomes senseless as you get awakened to the benefits of it. The mind is at peace as one explores the new ways with humility, love, and respect. Inflexibility diminishes and one grows to be open-minded focusing on the positive aspects of their lives. Flowing unforced with the movement of time. Your past no longer has any effect on you. And, you will know you have evolved when you can only withdraw good from your bad past experiences. Attentively showing up to this moment, this day with dedication and grace.

Thank You, God, for the blessings of this day

To read more on Dr. Fawzy Masaoud- Mindfulness articles, please visit https://psychotherapy-londons.com