Circumstances, big or small; situations, major or minor. We sometimes feel taken in by these occurrences in our lives, manipulated and mistreated with the sense that this is not our own doing. We seclude ourselves, nurse the wounds and think we heal only to return to the situation with the thought ‘it will be different’. It is commonly compared to the guy that plays with a dog, having a great time and then the dog bites. The guy runs off crying and when the wound heals, he goes back to playing with dog and after a while the dog bites again. Again, the guy leaves in tears and tends the wounds only to return and face the same situation repeatedly. This going around and around will continue until ‘discernment’ develops. Discernment means “to tell the difference.” Spiritual discernment is being able to tell the difference between the Spirit and the Flesh, and learning discernment is a vital part of the Spiritual Journey. When we begin to discern between the Spirit and the Flesh, we can start to discard or deny those things of the flesh because we don’t want them or don’t need them any longer. Those things are no longer usable. The discarding of everything will leave nothing, then we are truly able to see God.