We are our own worse enemy. Literally, every choice that we make, is of our own doing since we have free will and it is not promised that we will ever learn to become wise, however it must be apart of our design, or else we would not have this ability to be our own worse enemy. So what is the purpose for this ability? What is the fruit? Where is God in this process? It followeth, therefore, that rendering assistance unto God, in this day, doth not and shall never consist in contending or disputing with any soul; nay rather, what is preferable in the sight of God is that the cities of men’s hearts, which are ruled by the hosts of self and passion, should be subdued by the sword of utterance, of wisdom and of understanding. Thus, whoso seeketh to assist God must, before all else, conquer, with the sword of inner meaning and explanation, the city of his own heart and guard it from the remembrance of all save God, and only then set out to subdue the cities of the hearts of others. (Bahá’u’lláh, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 109-110) After reading this scripture, it sheds a little light on the subject. In order to fulfill our purpose of assisting others, we must first conquer our own SELF. We must learn to love ourselves. We must elevate the baser nature and move into enlightenment. So therefore, our ignorance is turned into knowledge, our self turned into soul, and our doubt is turned into faith. The things that we use to do this are: the sword of utterance, the sword of wisdom, and understanding. The sword of inner meaning and explanation, and conquer our own heart, which is in reality a city, with many mansions. Then we must guard the city, from the remembrance of all else save God, and only then, set out, to subdue the city of the hearts of others. So to recap, go from being our own worst enemy to our best lover. Use all of these weapons and tools that are hidden inside of our own hearts, to conquer ourselves, and if and when we are successful at this, help others to do the same thing. Repeat until our time is complete. So this process is not flawed, but brilliant and is not left to chance, but is in order. The chaos is apart of actually leads us to the order. The pain leads to strength. That is unconditional and true love.

Let’s face it. Many of us beat ourselves up on a daily basis. We get trapped into negative cycles, bad situations and find ourselves in dead end jobs and relationships and sometimes can be in a real funk. And the only thing that we can think about it: finding some peace, something solid and becoming good at something. Anything. Some type of hope. The bright side of this is that, frankly, whenever we find ourselves in this place it really means that we have some capacity to grow in some way, and it exhibits a willingness to strive to reach some goal. Our angst, pain, remorse, shame, blame, and guilt many times are light in disguise that actually illuminates the direction that we need to be going in and allows us recognition of a path. The fact of the matter is there’s a lot of choices out there that we should be spending time on, however sometimes it’s hard to choose the main areas that really matter the most. I will share what I think are the top ten areas in order of importance. 1. Self Love . If you don’t love yourself it’s hard to attract love, keep love and love others. 2. Self Care . This is all-around care for your temple, inside and out. 3. Self Identity . Whether you realize it or not, you are on an eternal quest to have knowledge of who you are. 4. Self Discipline . When we are little our parents and family guide us but as adults, only the law does so, and so it’s up to us to do actions that we are proud of. 5. Career and Trade . We trade time for money, in order to care for ourselves and loved ones. It’s important to choose a few ways to contribute to society. Dream big early, learn all and focus on a lane. 6. Marriage or Companionship . One or the blessings in this system is that we come into the world alone, but that we can leave with an eternal companion. This would be number one but if the others ones aren’t practiced it will seldom happen. 7. Children . This is your legacy. They will continue your life after you are gone. Prepare them, love them, nurture them, invest in them and leave them the tools, capital and guidance to continue the work. If they don’t like you they will not continue your legacy. 8. Community . Service balances so many of the pitfalls that we normally will fall into in this world and keeps us honest and pure. The more selfless the better. 9. Spiritual distinction . We live 120 years max and move on to another realm. We are eternal beings having a temporary experience so plan according for the journey. Feed your soul daily and the purest and best food (words, love, deeds) that you can find. 10. Deeds . We take nothing with us but our deeds. No one can take that away from us and none can claim ownership over our good deeds done in life. Good deeds is the key to discover the door to your destiny. Please feel free to add some other areas that you think should be listed as the top ten. Feel free to ask questions, make comments or request additional topics.