What a beautiful May day! I hold you close as I sit in prayer and meditation this morning. I know that all is well in each of our lives, that all is well with the world…no matter what the appearance.
This was at the heart of my quiet time this morning. I needed to spend some time with this knowing because all is not as I would like it to be right now. Has anyone else had that experience? And yet the Truth is, all is well. I would like to share my process for coming to this realization…again…today.
Most days, I begin my meditation time by reading a short entry in Unity’s Daily Word. This morning I found this affirmation: “I celebrate life today!” While most of the time I find it easy to take whatever is before me into the silence, this morning my mind said, “What? With all that is happening in the world? With all the fear and worry, the illness and unemployment, the isolation that people are feeling and …” This is where I new I was in trouble. My monkey mind had somehow gotten hooked by conditions…again. I took a breath, and then read on. How reassuring it was to see these words… “I live from the awareness that, in each now moment, I begin again. Becoming as a little child, I enthusiastically greet each day, every sensation, and every interaction, however small, with awe and wonder, as if experiencing life for the first time.” And so, I took a breath and began again.
What I really wanted was to be in my more usual optimistic and peaceful state of mind. I heard this familiar pearl of wisdom… “Life is fragile, handle with prayer.” I often begin my prayer time with verses from the Bible to remind me of Truth. From the Gospel of John I read, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”. I needed this reminder. I have recently broken my own rule of reading only from the CDC website and the updates from the Governor’s office. I know better…but I allowed myself to be drawn into a couple of videos that were sent out via social media. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you…” This morning I renew my commitment to “standing guard at the portals of my mind.” (Emerson) It is so important to my health and well-being, and to the role I have accepted, to remain grounded in Truth and to allow conditions to exist and change as they will, without my emotional involvement. I do not need to hear the varying opinions of others. I do not need to know what is going to happen tomorrow or next week or next month. By staying in the present now, the only moment that really exists, I can relax and allow life to unfold, one precious moment at a time. When I admit that I don’t know, and can’t know, what the future may bring, I leave room for Spirit’s Guidance. I listen for what is right for me in my life. (And I am reminded that I cannot know what is right for another.)
Next, my mind went to a verse from the book of Psalms: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” I envisioned anyone and everyone for whom I have been praying, seeing each one as part of God’s Infinite Wholeness. I recalled these words from Science of Mind and Spirit’s founder, Ernest Holmes: “There is nothing to heal, only Truth to reveal.” What I know is that each of us is already Whole. When I experience hurt or difficulty, it is as though the Wholeness becomes hidden by whatever I am experiencing. Prayer helps me to reveal the Wholeness. As I use my meditation to sink deeply into my Quiet Self, I am drilling down into what is True, into what is Perfect and Whole. I also know that I Am safe in God’s hands, that there is a Protection that comes from within me, from my alignment with the Divine, from my deep faith in Absolute Love and Spiritual Principle. I know that I Am well and all is well. I know this for you, as well.
And so, I now find myself in a better head and heart space to celebrate life today. I truly believe that each of us is finding our way through this compelling situation. What I hold for each of us is that we do so with Joy. Psalms 16:11 tells us, “You make known to me the path of Life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Metaphysically, the right hand represents Divine power, spiritual authority. This passage tells me that when I remain grounded in Truth, centered in God and living from my spiritual authority, I experience a fullness of joy. I believe that each one of us, in our own way, is looking for what will make us happy, what will connect us to our inherent Joy. French philosopher and theologian Blaise Pascal claimed that “All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views.” The desire to be happy, to live from our Joy, is a deep, God-given yearning.
And to that end, I tune into God’s blessings. I look around me with a renewed sense of Peace, with eyes wide open to the Beauty that surrounds me and the Grace that enfolds me. I give thanks for my deep faith and connection with God, and for my Beloved Community. I am so grateful to have shared this morning’s journey, in hopes that it helps you to know that we are connected…we share a common path and a similar experience. I am so blessed…we are so blessed. I celebrate life today! And I invite you to do the same.
May we all be well…stay in touch…know our unity…and thrive!
And may we know the Absolute Beauty and Wonder of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day…
