Begin

Alternative

Direction

How many times do we hear others, a parent even, tell a child he is bad? Conversely, how many times do we hear a misbehaving toddler utter the mantra–bad boy…..bad… bad… bad boy?

More oft than should occur. On both accounts.

A championship final game score where your team lost is bad. Three-day old sushi is bad. Running a red light and crashing into a pole, resulting in a totaled car (especially if it is a new one) is bad. All of the above should be called bad. Rightfully so.

But a person, especially a child who is still learning the rules to the game called life, should never be called bad. Not saying a child’s actions are never bad. They are many a times. But if one is constantly socialized during formative years that one is bad, and if one begins to believe and actually see oneself as bad…well, hello, guess what, a self-fulfilling prophecy most likely will occur.

So let’s call it as such. For I believe that all spirits who incarnate onto earth do so with the intention and purpose of living lives of light, good and love.

But if the spirit, the person, is damaged due to abuse, abandonment, chemical imbalances, whatever, and if a person is repeatedly told he is bad, then the person most likely will demonstrate bad decisions, choices and behaviors.  For that is what he or she has come to believe is expected from him or her. It will affect both spiritual and personal development and not in a good way.

So instead of saying to a person, especially a child–you’re bad, implying that something is inherently evil or wrong within his or her spirit, self and soul–let’s call it as it really is….your current actions are unacceptable and bad. You need to own it, accept responsibility, alter it and never repeat it.

There is a difference between calling an action bad and calling a person bad. A huge one at that.

Labeling actions, choices, behaviors as bad serves the purpose of correcting missteps and preventing further and future occurrence of said missteps. It allows the person to internally re-examine oneself and perhaps even say–yeah, what I did was not right; it created harm to others and as such to myself; but that is not who I am as a person at my core and that is not why I am here on earth. It is a bad thing that I as a person did. But I can correct this. I can change. I will. I will set new spiritual and personal goals, healthier ones.

This allows for transformation, growth and future redirection with regard to one’s choices, actions, behaviors and life paths.

It allows for one to become aware of the repercussions of one’s deeds and to hopefully learn from them so they will not be repeated. It allows one to begin alternative direction within oneself and within life.

So next time you have the urge to call someone bad, especially a child, realize that the action may have been bad but the individual as a spirit and being at the core is not bad. So call the action bad and explain why; but never call the child bad.

And if you are told you are bad by another or feel the urge to call another bad, try this instead…repeat the mantra BAD: Begin Alternative Direction. To do so may enable one to find the way to turn bad into good.