By Awakening Womanhood Group
Due to the obvious peculiarities of this epoch, woman seems to be faced with pressures from different angles of life, be it in the society, among peers, in schools, homes, work places etc. Like a ravaging storm it hits her from all sides, tenaciously pressing and pushing her to succumb, and sometimes, total compliance. It is a major struggle for many women to withstand these pressures and be able to cope with them without having to yield.
It is natural for earthmen to fall under different groups in terms of temperaments, social classes, astrological signs, and so on. These groups when in harmonious working together, ensure balance and are complementary. However, the bugging thought that another person is better than one in terms of physical or social well-being becomes a pressure on its own upon oneself; thereby arousing the thought of wanting to be part of the same or even a higher strata. Hence, the pressure to belong.
This pressure becomes more irksome and aggravated when there are external influences such as; incitements from peers, financial breakdown, disharmony in the family, scorn/ridicule from those in the opposition etc. These instigates some people into going through all possible routes to see that they are counted as ‘one of the many few’, whether these routes are spiritually burdening or not.
However, this pressure is not limited only to one’s social status or condition. Looking at it from a different angle, young ladies are often faced with the pressure to belong to the group of fashion enthusiasts. In schools, most students want to be among the popular and most feared crew, which may lead to membership of secret cults and other dreadful gangs. On the work front, workers want to be recognized as the superiors, they want to be feared and respected by their colleagues even if it means blackmailing their fellow workers to get to that height.
Indeed! To what end are all these trifles? It has been continually sung in both ancient and modern hymns, heard from the mouths of the old and the young, rich and poor, that ‘All is vanity’. The Grail Message has further enlightened us in this regard, admonishing that we do not let our earthly possessions come in the way of our spiritual advancement, nor should we make our quest for earthly power and wealth accumulations become the zenith of our gaze.
As a guide, here are a few ways of overcoming these pressures:
Self-Exertion; If your friends constantly disturb you with invitations to join them in their wrong-doings, it is an indication that you are not in a healthy relationship with them. It is said that birds of the same feather flock together. It could be very difficult to abstain from bad friends because the negative energies they project towards one can tie one down (especially when a bond has already been created between them), making it difficult to break free from their grip and undesirable pressures, for that reason, an increased exertion of one’s inner self is wholly necessary for progress.
Spiritual focus; when we understand we are human spirits who should strive for only that which will help in our necessary maturing as willed by The Creator, it will go a long way in putting the struggle for material acquisition in check. However, this is not a guarantee for earthly relaxation and stagnation, it is necessary that the focus in spiritual activities is balanced with one’s earthly affairs in order to avoid lopsidedness. When we adjust to the Laws of Nature in such a way that we think good, say good and do only good, we thereby accumulate much inner strength to face and resist the negative pressures hitting from the outside.
Self-contentment; it is important for us to accept whatever condition or situation we find ourselves in as a necessary experience for our development without looking at what another has, or the condition of our neighbour in envy or jealousy. Not for nothing are we often told that, ‘no two people share the same path’. As human spirits, we all have our different paths to tread, due to our different levels of spiritual maturity, but in the course of our journeys on earth; we are often permitted to cross paths with other human spirits for beneficial reasons, which any discerning human being can recognize. Nevertheless, every man remains alone in his journey towards his salvation. And this brings to mind the need to be contented and be joyful for every breath of life and opportunity offered to us to mature spiritually. When this is achieved, there will be no more room for intrusive thoughts or pressures arising from them.
Finally, it is more gratifying if we genuinely get to the longed-for material height using the natural ladder granted us, by gradually placing our feet on every rung and ensuring that, every level or step towards this height is fully experienced and merited. But in a situation where we decide to get to that height by all possible means without any ladder nor steps to climb with, we are most likely to plummet drastically in the process of taking an unnatural leap.
These pressures are merely earthly tests which every human being must strive to overcome. The more we overcome them, the more spiritually strengthened we become.
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