Beside Restful Waters
“We are made, the scriptures of all religions assure us, in the image of God. Nothing can change that original goodness. Whatever mistakes we have made in the past, whatever problems we may have in the present, in every one of us this “uncreated spark in the soul” remains untouched, ever pure, ever perfect. Even if we try with all our might to douse or hide it, it is always ready to set our personality ablaze with light.”
Eknath Easwaran
Nothing can change that original goodness.
How does that make you feel?
Take a few moments and let this thought sink in, deep into your soul.
I cannot change the reality of God!
I cannot change the nature of my creation!
I cannot change who God made me, who made us!
My addictive past has not changed the “uncreated spark in my soul”.
Denial has not changed this spark.
Lying has not changed this spark.
Anger has not changed this spark.
Shame has not changed this spark.
All of these have merely darkened the awareness of my nature. All of these have merely obstructed my awareness of our natures. God will remain God, regardless of my attempts to shape Her in to my image, put Her in to my box, confine Her in to my understanding. I try, though. I try to make God meet my expectations. You would think I would give up, knowing that my efforts have been feeble, at best. You would think I would surrender to this reality.
Well, I am trying and I’ll keep trying. I’ll continue my ardent effort to allow God to be God. I will continue trying to see Divinity in Her simple glory.
I am recognizing why I’ll keep trying. It is that simple glory.
The term “ardent effort” sounds like a feat of strength to me. What about you? Does the thought of ardent effort sound like an uphill battle? Well, I am realizing that the effort is more an act of surrender than an act of battle. I notice that the effort to meditate – surrender my mind – results in the awareness of the simple presence of the “uncreated spark” in your soul. BUT – it takes one to know one, right? We say that in reference to many other aspects of recognition. Now I believe that it is the spark in my soul that illuminates the presence of your spark.
We sit in our circles and sparkle. Yes, I am aware that there is a lot of pain, fear, and vulnerability as we are present to each other. Yet, there is also that mystery of our Divine spark. As I ponder these experiences, I am coming to believe that it is the sparks that are the healing properties of our presence. Yes, the heat of our spark sears our scars in such a way that we can hold them out to each other as trophies. “See, here is my pain and suffering, healed and available as my gift to you.”
Look again, here is my pain and suffering – healed from the gifts of others, and now offered to you. These sparks are like candles. When two or more are lit, the light is brighter, we are brighter, we illuminate the healing. Try as we might, we cannot douse or hide this light.
Let’s rest together in this reality.
Think of it: on the beach at night, our sparks will shimmer across the waters. We will light up the reality of our image, of our God.
Yup! We’ll continue our efforts.
Our sparks will cross the boundaries of our barriers.
We will rest beside the waters.
We will light up our lives.
Namaste’