On Betrayal

In contemplating betrayal today Jesus showed up first. The story of his betrayal eclipses almost everything else in his life. Jesus was betrayed by a friend, the government, the church, and most of his own community. What does this tell us about our place in situations of betrayal and how we can move through it? My intuition today is to link it to who we put in charge of our destinies.

Who do you put in charge of your destiny? Is it your parents, your teachers, your boss, your spiritual leader, or the government? The true answer is likely hidden in the shadows. Whoever or whatever it is, if you give any human made construct your power, I believe it is natural to come up against issues of betrayal eventually, which are the result of our human assumptions, understandings, and expectations not being met.

Near death Jesus says "My God why have you forsaken me". It doesn't seem that Jesus spent time feeling angry at Judas or Herod. Instead, he gave his attention and power over to the oneness, to what we call God. God is also apparently who Jesus complained to. This feels like a valuable insight into how we might better flow through our own moments of suffering and betrayal.

Give your problems to God, not to each other: not to the guy who cut you off in traffic, not to the boss who didn't give you a raise, not to the kid who bullied your child , not to the friend who betrayed your trust, not even to the corporations who sold you a toxic product. When we blame our problems on anything but "the great mystery of life" and limit our perspective by fighting those people/things, we unconsciously give them the power to control us and our fate. Do you really want to give that kind of power to the guy who cut you off in traffic? It might make our egos feel vindicated to have someone to blame and revenge, but it is not true balm for the soul. How does it feel differently to instead give that power over to the oneness, to Gaia, to the universe, to God? Rather than blaming anything, give these injustices, these betrayals, these wrongs, these evils over to a higher power. Give your power to power so that the powers can become one. They merge and transform, and in doing so, transform our world into the image of the everything, into the image of love and beauty, peace and forgiveness.