Seeing Beyond the Ordinary

After the events of the year 2020, with sweeping changes taking place in every way, I mused for a couple of weeks about how to capture the essence of it all. Then yesterday, on January 6, 2021, mob violence attempted an insurrection of power at our nation’s capitol. Listening on the radio, while driving, then watching it on the television most of the evening, I was repeatedly struck with the imagery of people on the verge of change—- who were resisting change, because they were afraid.

Fear begets fear. Only love or fear are the two motivators for us as humans. Violence is never a solution. Love and respect for each other helps us find grace.

This morning I woke with the words, finding grace– in my subconscious. So how do we….. find grace in this moment, in this time of history? AND what does it mean to find grace?

Finding grace can mean something different to everyone, but as I feel it and sense it, the significance points to the need for us to try to remain neutral and observe history in the making. Go within yourself, in prayer, in meditation, in silence, to connect to your soul for inspiration. Finding grace means finding the meaning in our lives that we must hold tight to, with a fierce spiritual nature as the saints of old have done. Knowing, with grace we can meet this moment. We cannot crumble in the face of chaos for chaos’ sake. We know we are strong and with the strength of our faith we can endure and we will endure.

Faith is our resilience, it is our knowledge that we can depend on our selves in any crisis, it is finding our grace. It is knowing we can keep the flame in our soul alive, despite what happens in the world, on the street, at work or at home.

Grace signifies divine grace as a theological term present in many religions. Its definition in the Merriam- Webster dictionary is “unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification.”

Most humans do not feel they are divine or know they are a unit of God or the Creator or the Collective Conscious. BUT, we are essentially divine. We do have the grace inside us to weather any storm, we just have to access it.

How do we recognize grace? Grace is appreciating beauty, such as seeing and feeling the pure love of a child’s smile or a pet’s adoration. Look at nature’s beauty, it is around us at all times and we only need to look up at the blue sky to see, white clouds in formation, or in a sunset or sunrise, even a petite flower or a mighty waterfall. Grace is understanding that we may not always know the reason for events or actions but we do know ourselves, right? We know we remain unchanged in the face of anything, we can stand strong from a point of grace, seeing beauty in all things. Some events like yesterday’s, are an a front to our democracy, and a grim reminder that we must remain vigilant to protect and preserve that which makes our great nation unique. But as we all were starkly reminded, and we move forward with renewed faith, finding grace to weather the storm. Now we are moving forward into the light, out of the darkness of fear, toward a higher vibrational life.