When you think you’ve lost everything, it’s there you find it all. I lost my job, my home, my friends and I thought I’d lost God. But the truth of the matter is, is that I was just beginning to understand what and who God is. We are all beings of light for which this whole world desires to be. We are the shining love of Christ’s hands, the open space of Buddha’s heart. We’ve been sent to help those who can’t see the forest for the trees, to comfort, to illuminate and show the way home.
How we react to life’s challenges can be a shining example for others. It informs those who are on the sidelines of our lives, where we are in the midst of our story.
-Our response to the challenge IS the teacher.-
Being conscious of our reactions will mirror our hold on the material world; our tight grasp on that which is of no importance and must be released to be free of fear.
Everything in this world is momentary and all material falls away. I have been reminded of this once again through the recent death of my grandfather. He worked hard and attained much. Took brave steps toward a future that brought me to the place in which I stand. He carved out a corner to live and filled his home with items that made him comfortable. But all of those belongings and ideas of how the world should be are now reduced to the two most important possessions that will never fade, his love for his family and his faith in God.
As I watched my grandfather being laid to rest, I had a paradoxical experience in that I felt peace all around him as I shuddered with grief and fear. There was a moment of complete surrender to my emotions when I first laid eyes on his lifeless body. I cannot explain the pain I felt with my loss of him in my physical life. I was scared to see him, hysterical at best. But even in the throws of sorrow and panic I had the clarity of his tranquil spirit. He’d taken me in his arms and in his embrace I knew for sure there is a God. He was free from his body, his illness could no longer restrain him and his ego could no longer separate him from his Creator. I stood there with the strength of my family, looking on to my grandfather repeating the words, “I love you, I love you, I love you, Thank you, Thank you.” With that I said goodbye to his human form.
It’s said that the empty space, the silence, between the notes is what makes the music, with out the silence we hear only a single note, aaaaaaaaaaa. It’s the opening within the clay vase that makes it so. With out the exposed cavern it is only a clay mass. We are that vase and love resides in the open room of our hearts. Our body is a temporary dwelling for our soul; we’re spiritual beings having a human experience. Looking into each other’s eyes, long and deep, we’ll see the warm illumination of a soul; there a radiant light is left on to help guide each other home. God beckons us to let our light shine. I asked, “How may I serve?” and the Divine answered with LOVE, pure, naked, “LOVE”.
