Grace

I wanted to find an image for this post and, without thinking, I Googled an image search on "grace." There were many images: of Grace Kelly, Grace Jones, Brett Butler as Grace (Grace Under Fire)...you get the picture. I chuckled and briefly toyed with the idea of using an image of Grace Jones, but decided against it.

My next search was "spiritual grace" and there I found many pictures of sunrays shining down or people prostrated before Jesus or books or references to Amazing Grace. I did manage to find this image though and after a bit more searching went back and downloaded it for use today.

I wanted to write something that stemmed from a dialogue on Facebook with a good friend who is doing some inner spiritual work these days. This friend asked me about how I came to be where I am and how I came to believe what I believe and how that is all working for me.

Two things I shared have resonated beyond that dialogue for me, and I share them today. One is the importance of living in the now. It is so easy to slip into past and future thinking and ignore what is occurring right now. This can take many forms: one can be so focused on the past and missed opportunities or questionable decisions or filtered "good times," one can focus all the time on planning for future events out of anxiety or greed, or one can hold up an imaginary life created from selective memory or unreasonable expectations and measure your actual life against this and find fault and disappointment. I've posted a bit on that before.

The second idea I shared is: "Every one of us is worthy of grace and love - just not necessarily what we believe grace and love to be, that's up to God. That's why so many people pray for the wrong things." This was what I wanted to write about today. Grace. I would say "God's Grace" but then I fear I stumble into evangelical/fundie territory and their concepts. Rather I want to find a manner in discussing grace that transcends a narrow Christian perspective and is made available to all, even my agnostic and atheist friends.

I was not surprised to find that Tobias Haller, a man who's wisdom and artistic talent I admire, also posted on grace today on his blog. If you click on the link and read, you will find an interesting discussion. However, I am always struggling to remove the translation of things spiritual into human concepts. In this case, Tobias emphasizes Grace as a gift and then goes on to discuss what one does with the gift.

I appreciate this line of thinking. However, for me grace simply IS. It's not a thing that is passed back and forth, accepted or rejected. In order to sense it better one need simply "open the door" as in the image I have chosen. I, too, you will note, descend into human concepts to define the undefinable.

Another friend of mine is Buddhist. At a gathering at my home this weekend, I overheard her discussing her beliefs. (I hope she will share them in the comments section below) Her sect has a distinct chant that helps adherents tap into the "breathe of the universe." I love that - "the breathe of the universe."

I associate Grace with the Holy Spirit - the breathe of God - the breathe of the universe. Just as we do not have to consciously think to breathe - we simply do, we are not often consciously aware of Grace within us, it simply is. It is within us and we are within it.

I have gotten a bit metaphysical before talking about seeing the layers of life before my eyes, the multiple layers of truth. Should I ever follow through with painting, I will try to capture that belief in my art. Look to the image I have chosen. It is the world beyond the world, right there before us--all we must do is open the door.

I find peace by trying to tap into the Grace in all of us - the Love that is God. I don't always succeed. I am often tired and hungry and thirsty. Blessed are those who can tap into the Love despite their exhaustion, hunger and thirst.

Peace.

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