Beside Restful Waters

“Grace begins when we dare to allow our prayers to be answered.” - Meditations from the Mat: Gates and Kenison

Have you ever put a rubber band around your wrist and then snapped yourself when you need a reminder to comply with your self-determined goal?

SNAP!

Gates and Kenison are discussing ‘avidya’, a yoga/Sanskrit term referring to the source of all our troubles, spiritual ignorance.

So now I have a confession to make: I have been living with the assumption that I am tuned in to God’s answers to my prayers. I am not spiritually ignorant!

There’s that word again: assume.

So I’ll take a few moments to rest with a large mouthful of humble pie. As I recall the all too familiar flavor of humble pie, I will make an effort to re-establish my point of reference: God is God; I am one of God’s creations. The universe is the overwhelming evidence of the presence of God. I am a speck within the universe. Yet, the paradox and the miracle are that I am purposefully placed within this universe. Further, God is beyond my wildest imagination, offering continuous love. God is the perpetual answer.

Now what?

Now, I’ll remind myself where I am in the universe. Also, I will remind myself that I am created in God’s image. Wow! Wow! What a responsibility.

I really have to hold my ego at a distance. Otherwise, I think I am entitled to something special. My addictive mind can take this thought to hell and back. Yet, there is a gentle reminder of grace. There is a gentle reminder that within me is all I need. Within this temple, there is The Spirit, The Source, The Substance of my being and all my needs.

Shhhhhh! Be still……….

I want answers.

Stillness is the answer. In the stillness, She is present.

Can I accept this answer?

Will I be content to be in the presence of love and grace?

Will I rest in peace, knowing that tomorrow will be here soon enough?

This is sobriety. This is a moment of transformation that is promised. This is the moment of hope that will guide my next breath, my next hour, and my next opportunity to choose peace over anxiety, to choose grace over fear, and to choose love over expectation.

Let’s hold this moment together because you will meet me some day when I am in a crisis. I will need you to guide me back to this place of stillness and rest, as you will be the answer to my prayer. You will be the beginning of grace in my moment of crisis. I will always need you in your place in this magnificent universe. I will always need you as the evidence of God’s unconditional love.

Now, I will thank you once again.

Namaste’