© 2021 Phillip Marriott
© 2021 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
| The Arena – Winter 2021 — Newsletter | The Arena – Winter 2021 — Index | Sydney Conference Reminder – 2021 |
By Phillip Marriott, Adelaide, SA
It is extremely easy to see the darkness. There is a lot going on in the world right now that is not great right from an individual level, through our relationships, to our families, communities, cities, countries, races, and our planet. It is all very de-powering and can make one quite despondent.
Most people have an opinion, whether it’s well informed or not, and tend to think that their view is right. Better to have an opinion than not (that’s my opinion). Who is responsible? – not me, it must be someone else; the government, big business, the Illuminati, The Rockefellers, the evil scientists, the minion’s, the church, Elvis, the aliens, the virus?
What to do? Well, that depends on how comfortable you are with your current position. Do nothing, keep plodding on, hope for the best, it’ll be alright, don’t see the point anyway. Concerned but don’t know what you can do.
Or perhaps you can see the light, you have the answer and you’re not going to be beaten. You know that anything good requires effort, work, intention, and deliberate action. You have made a choice, a decision to acknowledge and see the good.
In my opinion it’s all about perspective. With which lens do I choose to view the world? For me I believe I can take responsibility for the things that I can control. It takes work and effort because I often slip and lose control, but I believe I can choose how I respond, how I view the world and my surroundings. That’s not to say I’m a space cadet, I still need to eat, sleep, pay bills, and do all the practical things while I live my life and honour my relationships.
All I can say is thank goodness for The Urantia Book; it found me when I was least expecting it. It was able to slip in during the quietest moments. The Urantia Book is my lens for the moment, so now I can practice being a cosmic citizen. When I look up at the stars, I know that it is a friendly place, full of family, reaching out to me, beckoning to me. We are all loved and valued, we count and have experiences to share.
Also, our success is guaranteed because each and every one of us has a spiritual guide; a guide that will not fail – cannot fail – and is keen to be with us. Its patience and tolerance are endless; its love is boundless. Our guide will always show us the way if we would but let it.
There will be effort, it will not be a life of ease, there will be problems to solve, trials to overcome, lessons to learn. With faith we know that these are for the benefit of both of us. So what to do now? Get on with my life and continue to enjoy my family and personal relationships. Learn to tolerate others, play my part in the world, be a good citizen. But above all allow the fruits of the spirit to infuse me, become spiritually fragrant. Enjoy the brightness as the dark spots dim.
I am grateful for the Father’s creation of all that there is; the bestowal of personality and his guiding fragments. I am grateful for the Mother Son’s creation of the spiritual family. I am grateful for the Mother Spirit’s creation of life and mind.
On a more down to earth level, I am grateful for Urantia Book study groups. Where else can I have an open discussion about these wonderful papers and their content? Where else can I get to enjoy an alternate view of this tome? Where else can I get to interact with others of like mind?
The annual Study Day was held in June – read on in this issue for some reflections from some of those who met. If you hold a study group, we would love to hear how it is progressing and to know how many readers attend regularly. It would also be good to hear whether you have a theme or special intent that you focus your study on.
As I write this at the end of July, Sydney is still in lockdown thanks to Covid-19. Sydney is the home of our upcoming conference in October this year and our expectations of an in-person event is hanging in the balance. We will wait and see where things are and decide by the end of August whether we go ahead in-person or convert it to a Zoom event.
I am grateful to all of you reading this for your participation, co-operation, patience, and willingness to share, also your willingness to listen to my ramblings as I try to make sense of this new world.
I hope you enjoy this issue of the Arena. Thank you all and go in peace, but above all – be of good cheer.
¶ References
| The Arena – Winter 2021 — Newsletter | The Arena – Winter 2021 — Index | Sydney Conference Reminder – 2021 |