Why would you ever want to concern yourself with a subject such as punishment, Dear One?

It really is not necessary you know.

Universal laws exist in perfect balance.  Your point of attraction, what you project, what you put out there, what you focus your attention on, is what you get back.

That is true for everyone Dear One, you as well as them.

What you put out there, you will get back, and what they put out there, they will get back.

Why would you ever want to intentionally invite something as purely negative as punishment in your experience?  And yet, that is exactly what you are doing when set out to punish another.

You are inviting/attracting/asking for punishment in return, as certainly as if you were inflicting it upon yourself.

Never mind about trying to punish them Dear One.  Their actions will take care of that nicely, all on their own.

You are the one who determines what your point of attraction is, so might we suggest focusing your attention on something a little bit more pleasing to you instead.

And to touch on the subject of children and punishment for a moment – let us remind you that children learn by example.  They are watching what you do and learning from what they see.  Is punishment really the lesson that you want to be teaching them?

Consequences are not the same as punishment.  You can teach a child that their actions have consequences without teaching them how to punish.

If letting go is a struggle for you, Dear One, if you are finding it difficult or nearly impossible to let go of something that you know is no longer serving you, don’t do it.

Don’t let it go.

Struggling, forcing, or pushing yourself to do something that you are not ready to do, or give up something that you are not ready to give up, will never work, no matter how hard you try.

Instead, make a decision to focus your attention elsewhere, on something that you believe will serve you well, on something that is wanted, welcomed, and desired.

If you can’t let go Dear One, don’t.

Simply make the decision to allow something else to become more important.

The end result will be the same.

There is no honor in doing that which you do not believe in, Dear One.

There is no honor in pretending to care when you do not.

There is no honor in deceiving someone simply to avoid confrontation.

Do you really want to do the honorable thing?

Then honor yourself and them with your choices.

Be honest.  Be compassionate. Be loving.

Open your heart, release your judgments, and care.

We thought that you should know, Dear One, that regardless of what you have heard, read, or been told in the past, there are no second chances.

And there are no third, or fourth chances either.

There are only opportunities, and choices to be made.

And you will never run out of either.

We promise.

So don’t sweat it!

Just keep on choosing.

There are three things that you should know about guilt, Dear One:

• No one can make you feel guilty. Feeling guilty is a choice that only you can make for yourself.

•  Guilt’s greatest function is to serve as an anchor that holds you in a position of weakness.

•  The quickest way to relieve yourself from guilt is by taking responsibility, by shifting yourself from a position of weakness to one of authority over your own life.

You already know that the best way to build strength in your physical body, Dear One, is to use it.

But did you also know that the same goes for building strength in your emotional body as well?

• If you want to feel stronger in love, don’t wait for more love to come to you, love more.
• If you want to be more creative, create more.
• If you want to be more trusting, trust more.

Use whatever it is you want to strengthen, Dear One, more.

It’s just that simple.

Not easy, but simple.

If you want things to be different, Dear One, you’re going to have to start choosing differently;

• Different thoughts
• Different words
• Different beliefs
• Different actions.

There really is no other way.

Are  you ready?

Really?

The point of seeking out a loving relationship is not to find someone who will love you so that you can have love in your life, so that you can have an experience of being loved. You don’t need someone to love you in order to have love in your life. You are already loved, totally, completely, deeply, and eternally.

The point, Dear One, of seeking out a loving relationship is that it can teach you how to open yourself up to love, to let more love in, to let more love flow to you and through you. The right relationship will inspire you to open yourself up and allow you to experience more of the love that is already available to you.

Pay attention, Dear One, to how they make you feel, to what feelings they inspire within you.

If being in their company inspires you to feel good, if it inspires confidence, bravery, curiosity, kindness, and love, then do so as much as you possibly can.

But, if being in their company, if spending time with them inspires you to feel badly about yourself, inspires you to feel suspicion, insecurity, uncertainty, inequality, and doubt, then regardless of how much love they say they have for you, what’s the point if being with them does not allow you to feel it?

We think that you would agree Dear One, that it would be an absurd thing for you to do to begin each new day by taking actions and making commitments that you KNEW would end up hurting you, that you KNEW would end up generating results for you that you would rather not see come to pass.

Are we right?

And yet, that is exactly what you are doing when you start your day off with negative expectations.

Why?
Figuring out the answer to this question is not always going to serve you in a useful and positive way, Dear One.  In fact, it rarely ever will.

What now?
But figuring out the answer to this question, will always be useful to you.

If what you are in need of is useful answers, remember that the only way that you are ever going to find them, is to start by asking useful questions.