DISCERNMENT, TRUSTING THE TRUSTWORTHY, EXERCISE WILL POWER!

These are the lessons I learned the past three months! I am basically a very trusting and sometimes naive (happily not bordering on being stupid) human being and especially when I receive financial blessings I am overly generous to a fault. There is a need for me to balance my being too giving with a judicious management of my resources but easier said than done because I feel so much compassion for people who are in a much difficult financial situation compared to my situation – even if my situation is not exactly overflowing in terms of financial resources but just comfortable middle-classy. Yet its heart wrenching for me to haggle with a vendor when I feel so much the hardship of staying in the market the whole day especially those selling just on the side without any permanent stall. My heart is also so easily moved to compassion when I see labourers work eight long hours non-stop just to make my house beautiful on a daily wage of P400.00 when this amount is so easily spent by me on coffee and cake at some popular restaurant. But most especially it is difficult for me to refuse to help single mothers and wives who are main breadwinners because I can relate to their situation and especially if there are children who are still schooling then I find it almost impossible to refuse to give financial help even though I know there is no possibility of getting paid back. I just rationalize my giving as a form of tithing.
Now, the problem is that I get to be easily victimized by glib talkers, con-artists, the greedy and the co-dependents. I guess such people have a sixth sense in identifying and naturally getting attracted to people like me. Though I refuse to be labelled a sucker. Recently I experienced being duped by a smooth talking, dishonest and manipulative man. I was so trusting since I didn’t know much about construction so I relied on him to purchase materials but shortly I discovered that he had been overpricing and making extra money at my expense. This naturally incensed me so much and so I expressed how I felt and took the necessary steps to safeguard my succeeding purchases. And to think that I pride myself on being basically an intelligent, rational minded balanced in mind and heart individual. Well, it must be my body-ego-personality defence of being a “people pleaser” that made me succumbed to being too TRUSTING and not DISCERNING enough.
So now I have learned and I continue to learn how to be DISCERNING (when to say “yes” and when to say “no”) and to TRUST ONLY THE TRUSTWORTHY and not just automatically trust at the outset. I must first discern whether an individual is deserving of my trust. Then lastly, I must stop being a people pleaser and say NO (which is sometimes the loving thing to do) and to be able to exercise my WILL POWER regardless of whether people like my decision or not. My guiding principle should be that I come from purity of intention and that my actions are in accord with Divine Laws. I thank GOD for these precious lessons I am learning in my life journey. It doesn’t make me any less giving or compassionate but it will definitely make me more DISCERNING, TRUSTING THE TRUSTWORTHY, and exercising WILL POWER.

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