Beside Restful Waters

“What happens if the love goes away?”

-Gavin

Where does a question like this take its seed?

Our political climate?

Our media of sensationalism?

Our growing personal disconnect given technology?

A reported growing disconnect with religion?

Those of us with a call to reach out to each other with our gifts and talents are faced with the growing presence of PTSD, or some experience of trauma in our friends, acquaintances, or ourselves. Many of us hear questions about the reality of a Deity that would allow worldwide suffering to occur with apparent growing intensity.

Now I’d like to reframe the source of the question. Gavin is my five year old grandson. (“No grandpa, I’m five and a half!”) Correction noted, Gavin.

The question came up during a brief but intense conversation between Gavin and his Grandma. Gavin was expressing his awareness that God is “up there”. He and Grandma shared 5 year old thoughts of God being here when we love each other. Then, the question was posed.

What happens if the love goes away?

The conversation ended with the reassurance of everlasting love in a way that only a Grandma’s wisdom can explain. Short, sweet, simple. Gavin’s face expressed his peace in Grandma’s words and presence. I quickly forgot Grandma’s words but will never forget the sacred presence.

I’ve never doubted Grandma’s wisdom. I don’t doubt the presence of our Divine Source. This brief experience is a powerful point of evidence of our need to be connected with each other by our presence. As Grandma and I age, we take these moments less and less for granted.

My Native American elders explain that new born babies are pure Spirit. We, as adults, confuse the reality of Spirit and our material world. It doesn’t take long for our wee ones to lose their Spirituality in our material world. Then, we spend our lives trying to reconnect to our Spirit as the Source of our purpose and perpetual, unconditional love. Moments of stillness make the Divine connections possible.

Take a moment and recall an experience of sacred presence. Observe the emotions of the experience. See those who are present in this moment. Rest in the emotional and Spiritual reality of the moment. Rest a few more moments in stillness.

Our connections, like Gavin and Grandma, are the substance of peace which can radically erode the power of trauma and leave us in the serenity that takes us to the restful waters. There we meet each other in sacred consciousness. There we know the power of community, connection, and love. It is here that distractions of politics, technology, and sensationalism give way to the sacred intentions of our Divine Source.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Namaste’