Be careful what you ask for because it leads to what you seek, which leads to what you find.

I carry around a little card with a quote that reads, “If you would learn the secret of Soul Transcendence, look only for the good, for the Divine in people and things, and All the rest leave to God.” I carry it around with me because, at times, I need to be reminded. I have had moments of difficulty seeing the good—not only in people but also in events, in feelings, in thoughts, and in various situations.

If I can consider myself a Soul (which I do), then I cannot get away from that statement as a standard for living. It is as if I am being told, “Solve this and the door is open, and you are going to make it through this world as a Soul.” For me to work this principle, I need to look at each challenging person, situation, or thing and tell myself, “There has got to be some good in there somewhere. There is always good. The Divine is always present.” My job is to continuously look for the good and the Divine.

This is aligned with Bible scripture:

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”1

Looking and seeking are words that are closely related. Seeking or looking does not mean we must first know, understand, or believe. It does necessitate having something to look for. So if I will just look for the good and the Divine—and trust it is there—that is the secret.

Sometimes I have attempted to curse the invisible, God, because I have convinced myself that looking for the good will not work. I have thought, “This is a situation that is evil. This is a person who has been bad. There is no way that I am going to find good here.” I saw things as wrong or bad. I was saying, “It is not me that is wrong or bad. It is that.” In the process, I was making what appeared as wrong or bad something apart from me.

Herein lies a major key, because regardless of how bad or wrong I perceive something, I still have an opportunity to look for the good in the midst of my “bad” experience. It seems as if on one side, I hear this little voice quietly saying, “If you will see the good, if you will see the Divine,…” and on the other side, a voice saying, “No, I do not want to look for that.” I am actually wresting with the good by not wanting to look. When I do look, the good, the Divine, always appears to me. Then I conclude, “You are right.” I realize how silly I am being to stop whenever I see the bad, when I could instead be looking and finding the good.

This realization often is accompanied by feelings of embarrassment and amusement. I have to admit how bad, wrong, or foolish I was to judge. Then I may have my self-judgment to deal with. But at least I have gotten my focus back with me. It is much easier to deal with that way.

Attempting to place the problem outside of me and blaming others is futile. When I bring the responsibility back with me, things are easier to manage because I am starting to take authority over the situation.

Looking for the good does not necessarily feel good. I have asked myself, “How do I let go of this judgment now that I am dealing with myself? I am the one who is all these negative things I was recognizing. It was never their fault.”

That can be a tough one to look at. When I remember the Christian saying,

“Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,”2

that is when I hang my head. I cannot say, “Oh, well, not you, Lord. I did not do that to you.” My realization is, “Yes, I did do it to you when I did it to the least of them.”

Does referring to “the least of them” include only people? Maybe it is also the least thing. What if the reality is that when you kick your bumper or the door of your car, you did it to the Lord? One day that hit me, and I thought, “Oh, my God, how am I ever going to be cleared of all my transgressions? That was the day I really began to know forgiveness. I began to know that when I look for the good and for the Divine, then the good and the Divine will be added unto me.

Excerpted from John Morton’s book on living practical spirituality and Soul trancendence, The Blessings Already Are.

1 Matthew 6:33, King James Version
2 Matthew 25:40, King James Version