YES =/= NO

YES =/= NO - Hello and welcome back to my blog! - The other day, I came across Paul Cuelho's quote, "Don't say NO when you want to say YES. Don't say MAYBE if you want to say NO." Feeling strangely captivated as a result, I began to wonder how many of us have possibly crossed that bridge already and in hindsight thought or even exclaimed, "Dang, I did not mean it like that."? Well, I have definitely been there gazillion times, and even though, I still keep reassuring myself that I can indeed do much better than that, nothing has ever really changed. Why the heck are we so darn afraid of just blurting out a big fat YES or NO when this is the absolute blunt truth? Why seriously bother scrambling together some cheesy excuse which more often than seldom reveals to be a lie anyway, no matter how white its intent. In numerous other ways, though, we have meanwhile learnt to put our feet down without necessarily coming across as hopelessly unmannered or tactless beings. Thus, what is it that still makes us stop at the point of rightfully addressing a situation, for instance, calling for refusal by means of a negative such as NO? Fair question, isn't it? Well, I shall leave it up to you. Approaching this form of discrepancy from a spiritual rather than a social etiquette- wise standpoint, the consequences of dishing out a false answer like that - regardless of the intention and degree of awareness behind - are, in fact, much more severe to clean up later on. Mind you, there are people who seek the perfect thrill in most deliberately misleading others and should therefore be labelled eternal yay or naysayers. Unlike the majority who more or less defenselessly allows to be repeatedly tossed around and turned upside down like ragdolls, those individuals pursue such deceit very much like a wicked game and boast or even gloat about their victories afterwards. Let me explain to you what a demeanor of such conniving magnitude does in the end when the time has come to reap their rewards. Lying and tricking others in an unashamed and ruthless manner such as this one will eventually backfire and ultimately take its toll on their souls. Do we in, all seriousness, assume that we can perfectly mislead ourselves of all people? Rest assured, this just cannot work out well but will predictably augur ill instead. Of course, attempting to get out of some petty commitment won't cause nearly as much damage as consciously denying one's own true sentiments for others. This particularly refers to volatile situations in which our counterparts noticeably struggle to emotionally anchor either because they truly need our help, maybe just some sort of affirmation or solely an open ear. Every single time we close off and pull up our firewalls due of the unwillingness to let them in, we actually wreak havoc on their souls. All too often, our foul excuse is that some folks are overall just too needy or clingy and hence need to be put in their place. Well, isn't compassion what each and every book of divine origin explicitly teaches us? We clearly need to understand that by pushing those temporarily vulnerable beings away from us for whatever reason, we simultaneously separate ourselves from our own souls and self- explanatorily from their Creator. Not only shall we have to face the Last Tribunal in form of rather merciless life- reviews at the end of every physical incarnation, but we will be put in exactly those people's paths in future existences. By then, however, we will have forgotten all about our previous failures towards them. Rather logically, we should not even think of complaining about random rejection, negligence and cold- heartedness the next few times around. So, whenever we find ourselves challenged for an honest answer again, let's keep it real. A YES is not a NO and vice versa. Last but not least, a shallow MAYBE does usually not facilitate matters either.