What do we do to fracture that image?
What is it that allures us?
Does it imprison us or liberate us? May grace inhabit that which allures us. To what do you aspire?
I aspire to live an authentic life - simply, deliberately, compassionately, gratefully. May your aspirations be a blessing to all you encounter. It is right to be attached: to treasure and to love.
It is also right to become unattached: to let go. Such is the paradox of life. May grace and blessing infuse your attachments and your letting go. Lao Tzu wrote,
"At the centre of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." May the gifts of silence and stillness and reflection guide you to the centre. May you find grace and blessing there. Amid the mountain-and-valley experiences of our daily lives;
amid the desert-and-oasis experiences of our daily lives; amid the chaotic-and-orderly experiences of our daily lives; amid the quiet-and-cacophonous experiences of our daily lives; amid the dreary-and-ecstatic experiences of our daily lives are jewels ... miniscule moments of clarity; of joy; of revelation which motivate and empower and encourage and sustain us. They are the blessings which are showered upon us. Let us open our eyes and our ears and our hearts and our minds to receive them .... and to pass them on. We are all untidy pilgrims.
Our daily actions, reactions, interactions, infractions, distractions, retractions, and inaction all mess up our desire for order, control, compartmentalisation, tidiness, satisfaction. But LOVE doesn't care, doesn't desire order or tidiness. LOVE wants to embrace us, mess and all. May we be blessed as we continue our pilgrimage into the arms of LOVE. Knowing I am loved can change my attitude.
Dag Hamarskjold wrote, "To everything that has been - thanks. For everything that will be - yes." May my attitude become one of gratitude ... for what has been and how it has shaped the person I am right now, and for what will be, that I will always open to receive LOVE'S blessings. May our attitude bring grace and blessings to others. May our attitude deepen our relationship with LOVE. What or who or where is the origin of love?
Why do we not feel whole or holy or human until we love our neighbour love our self love God? May LOVE inhabit our questions and our search. I will encounter divine love today -
in an infinite number of guises - an act a word a sound a smile a gesture a ritual an aroma a vista a farewell a welcome an invitation an acceptance a reconciliation silence. Will I recognise this divine presence - embrace it? welcome it? take on its nature? Or will I ignore this divine presence - hurry past? choose another? forget? make excuses? We will encounter LOVE today. Let's open our hearts and our minds to receive LOVE'S grace and blessings. |