If you're experiencing difficulty in accepting the choices of other people and if you pass your time trying to convince others of your convictions and lecture them on what is good or bad for them, there's a chance you recently experienced a spiritual awakening. It's a classic mistake most of us make when we're suddenly confronted with all the horror and splendour of our infinite reality. All of a sudden we're receiving a multitude of information that wasn't available to us before and our first reaction is to share all this newfound knowledge with our loved ones. This is all quite normal, but know that you aren't helping the universe, nor humanity, by preaching the truth.
The thing is: there are no shortcuts to consciousness and we can't force anyone into taking the "right" decisions. If you insist too much, the people that surround you risk becoming hostile towards anything you wish to share. If someone feels like you're attacking their convictions, if you're menacing their sense of "security", they will become defensive and close off their personal space. This is a natural reaction for the majority of people. Without wanting to do so, you risk blocking this person and delaying their awakening. The road to evolution and expanded consciousness is a very personal one and every person travels it differently.
Respecting the free will of others means letting go of any preoccupations you might have about your loved-ones loosing their way every once and a while, it means seeing the shortcuts they're not taking and accepting their choices, even if these choices don't necessarily bring them happiness. This is not an easy thing to do, we're sensitive beings. Maybe you even feel like a traitor because you can detect some of the solutions that could liberate the people you know from painful situations without sharing them. This is not the case. Sometimes people need to fall to be able to become aware of certain repeating patterns in their life. If you're constantly preventing them from falling, you might keep them from learning some valuable lessons that could lead them to their true path in life. So in reality, you're doing them a favour.
Let's turn back time to help you understand: When exactly did you experience your awakening? You certainly had some catalysts: a book that blew your mind, a person you met, a seminar... But the ultimate choice of expanding your consciousness, of your awakening and of continuing the evolution of your soul was yours. Here's the important part: it was your decision, your choice. You travelled the road, you found yourself and no-one else could have done this for you. This choice is something every soul will be confronted with sooner of later in life and it's an essential part of every single person's mission on this planet and of the meaning of his life. This means every person is entirely responsible for his own evolution and everyone is very much aware of this responsibility before incarnating.
Besides being an essential part of everyone's life, this is a common goal that the whole of humanity shares today: the search for freedom. Every human being that's alive on this earth today chose to be part of this planetary evolution. We are here to liberate ourselves from our fixed beliefs, our convictions, our dogmas, our attachments, our fears, our illusions and to remember who we really are: interconnected beings with a great creative strength that have no need for the multiple restrictions and constraints they imposed upon themselves.
If you pressure someone into accepting your opinions, you become just one more obstacle to personal freedom for this person. Moreover, if you stop preaching the truth you set yourself free as well: you liberate all the energy you put into convincing others and you can use it to create something positive.
What you can do is set an example with the choices you make in life, you can show that there are other choices to be made than the limited choices that are presented to us through our schooling, upbringing, media... Live a life that is coherent with your values and your feelings. Without entering into tiresome discussions you will make people think and you'll allow them to have certain realisations by themselves. This way you can become a real catalyst of change and awakening.
