Angelic Pathways by Chantel Lysette Page A

had created conditions—indoctrinating me against public assistance to the point of callous cruelty—that invariably led to my feeling too arrogant to file an application. I had been told about assistance months prior, but pride had kept me from filing for it until an empty stomach, in addition to a broken body, pushed me into action. So if, due to my upbringing, I had not been so prideful, I would have immediately submitted the paperwork. Doing so, however, would have caused me to miss the window of opportunity that allowed me to obtain services and medications I needed at the time.
    Furthermore, not only did this same karma lead to the single most humbling experience in my life, but it allowed someone the opportunity to show compassion when they didn’t have to. The first day I used my assistance, I rode back and forth in the electric shopping cart for a good thirty minutes. I was petrified of someone seeing me use it, of someone saying to me the heartless things my parents had said in the past, or saying to me things I myself had said to others. When I could wait no longer, I finally went through the checkout line. I couldn’t even look the cashier in the face as I went to hand her my card.
    “You swipe it in the machine, baby,” she said as she gently took the card from me and swiped it herself. My hand was shaking so badly from fear, I couldn’t do it. She walked me through the process and then went to bag my groceries.
    “I never thought my life would come to this,” I mumbled to myself.
    “No one plans to be down on their luck, sweetheart. Just be grateful that God made a way so you can survive until you get back on your feet.” There was no malice in her voice. No mocking. No ridicule. Still, I couldn’t lift my head, and her words only made my eyes sting with unshed tears.
    She put the last bag in my cart. “Look at me.”
    I swallowed hard and gripped the handle of my cart.
    “Pretty please?”
    When I did, her smile was warm and genuine. “Do you know how many people are going through hard times right now? You’re not the only one, so don’t you go hanging your head in shame. You do what you can do and let God handle everything else.” She patted me on the back before returning to the register to take care of the lady behind me. I headed out of the store, and as I sat waiting for the bus—something else that was wholly foreign to me—all I could do was whisper a word of thanks to God for the compassionate souls that still roamed the earth, because there were too many like myself. Not the pathetic, self-pitying kind I had become, but the arrogant, self-righteous kind I had once been.
    As dark days grew into darker months and I came to despise my circumstances with a loathing so potent that I could taste it, I became more resolute in my resolve—the moment I stepped foot in Heaven again, I was going to punch Archangel Gabriel’s lights out. If I had actually scripted the horror film that was my life—something I was having trouble believing at the time—why hadn’t he tried harder to stop me? Why didn’t he simply say, “No, Chantel. You’ll be miserable for the duration you’re there.” Because it is in the Realm of Spirit where we exercise our free will. It is there where we can work without all the limits and confines that we often feel in this reality. As long as we possess the mastery needed to navigate the lives we choose, no one will stop us from selecting whatever experiences we feel will increase our knowledge and understanding of ourselves.
    After all, that is our ultimate goal—mastery of the self. While living this human experience, we can connect to our cosmic siblings, who will in turn help us to better understand our own human spiritual nature. From there, our knowledge expands to that of the Realm of Spirit, then to all sentient creatures, and then back to the Source. And within the Source you will find yourself, for there is where you began. There is your purest self,