Fall in love with The Divine
When was the last time you fell in love with The Divine? You know, The One Who Goes By Many Names?
I suppose this might seem like a ridiculous question to pose in such tumultuous times but, perhaps, this is, actually, the perfect time.
For a time of relationship is upon us. A time when mercy, forgiveness, love, compassion and justice are crying out within the souls of humanity and, quite possibly, from within the soul of God. A time when the need for healing of bodies, minds and spirits makes itself known to us with the chiming of each hourly strike of the clock.
And, to be in love is to experience all of this — all of the compassion, mercy, forgiveness and justice that meets the object of our love on the daily playing field. Heart to heart, mind to mind, soul to soul.
If we are unable to be in love with That Which Is Greater Than The Self, with the sacred mystery of All That Is, how can we experience a loving relationship with each other?
I have no answers here but I do offer some thoughts and, yes, more questions.
Each time I witness mercy, each time I read the Holy Books of many traditions and my heart is opened by recollections and stories of forgiveness and healing and justice, I become more aware of how important our relationship with God — and, by extension, each other — is.
How much more important is that relationship than the rules imposed by institutional belief systems. If the rules do not expand our relationships and only serve to limit them, what is the point? If we are in loving relationship with our Creator, how can we not be in loving relationship with the wider world?
How can we stand by and witness the pain, the hurts and the suffering without reaching out compassionately and participating in the healing? Do we stand in rules rather than in relationship? Forgiveness is key in all of the world’s traditions, as is mercy and compassion.
Perhaps people are walking away from organized traditions and institutions because they are walking into a deeper relationship with Spirit.
Perhaps the focus in a hurting world should be on an understanding and loving relationship rather than ancient punitive dictates that reprimand without the context of today. Perhaps we need to enter into a deeper relationship with our Creator and Creation.
For, honestly, who among us would ever seek to hurt that whom we love? If we would truthfully answer that question, we might just be able to change something big!