Fear has many reasons not to love; love has one reason not to fear: It alone is real.

One evening the camp leaders took pity on our pining adolescent hormones and organized a coed excursion to a roller skating rink.

An experience as devastating as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan causes us all to wonder why and how such an event can occur. The loss of human life and damage to property poses many sobering questions to a person of compassion and conscience. It touches us at the deepest level and forces us to confront the experience of suffering.

Yet there are lessons, insights, and healings that come from even the darkest night of the soul.

Do you have any doubt that you can be everything you want to be?  Do you believe you are limited by your history, genetics, karma, or any other factor?  If so, take heart. Your destiny far outshines your history. 

Scientists tell us that dogs evolved from the wolf. About ten thousand years ago people began to breed dogs to draw forth traits they valued. Wolves were selected for hunting skills, herding, and loyalty. Over time breeding became more and more specialized, until today we have over 150 registered dog breeds and a total of 500 breeds created by specifically mixing the registered breeds. 

This theory does not explain why my dog looks and acts nothing like a wolf. Our little Maltese weighs eight pounds, with long white fluffy hair, and a pushed-in nose. She is the cutest creature you have ever seen (I know, except for your dog or cat), with infinite affection for everyone she meets. Yet scientists swear she descends from a wild, scary-looking predator virtually impossible to tame.

Alan Cohen--

Many years ago a young Kansas City artist struggled to get his cartoons published in city newspapers. His offerings, however, were met with rejection after rejection. “Forget it,” editors told him. “You have no talent. Get a real job.” But the artist felt that he did have talent and he refused to compromise his career.

Finally the artist found himself holed up in a mice-infested garage, penniless. Bored, he began to sketch his environment, especially one little mouse who ran back and forth on his window sill. Over time the artist made friends with the rodent and the two developed a relationship. He named the mouse “Mickey.” 

The artist was Walt Disney, and you know the rest of the story. Disney went on to establish the most expansive entertainment empire in the world, with amusement parks spanning the globe, major film and television companies, and countless spinoff products. Over the years Walt, Mickey, and their entertainment progeny have provided limitless joy for hundreds of millions of children and their families. If you have every visited one of the Disney parks or watched Disney films or television, you can thank Walt Disney for trusting his talent.

Everyone has a bankable talent. You came to earth for a purpose. On the deepest level you are here for a spiritual purpose, to discover your identity and your value in the cosmic plan. You also have a form of expression in the world, to serve others while fulfilling yourself. Do not stop until you have tapped into your talent and expressed it. It is why you are here.

2012 is here. Finally. After many years of anticipation, sensationalism, foreboding, titillation, and wild prophecies, we’ve reached the end of the Mayan calendar. The era of momentous astrological configurations. World upheaval. Apocalyptic destruction. Dissolution of the world as we know it. Mass landing of UFOs. The spiritual ascension of humanity. The dawn of a new age. And on and on and on. . .

Prophets, authors, soothsayers, shamans, and Hollywood have had a field day predicting, explaining, and dramatizing the events to come. Will this year be a turning point in human history?  Massive suffering leading to spiritual resurrection? The annihilation of evil and the restoration of virtue? The second coming of Christ? A redux of the Y2K dud?  Just another year?

Ho’oponopo teaches that the world we see is a projection of our own consciousness, and if we intend to make changes in the outer world, we must first restore balance and clarity in our own mind and heart.