Christmas Greetings 2015

Christmas 2015

Two thousand years ago the embodiment of Infinite Loving Kindness walked the earth in flesh and bone. He not only loved all who he met, he permeated the entire realm with the love of our God. In this way all that live in flesh and bone live also in the embrace of God’s unspeakable tenderness. His life was the revelation of what God would be like in human form. So astounding was this two thousand years later we still find it difficult to accept.

However it is even more surprising that our Lord, as man promised us we too can embody His incomprehensible goodness. Further, we do not have to do anything to qualify to be walking, talking channels of blessings. Having been created in the image and likeness of our Lord we are already His. We need only to believe sufficiently so that we behave as love incarnate.  All that separates us from being the embodiment of Infinite Love is our attitude. Once it has been set aside all that is good, all that is holy, all that our Jesus permeated the realm with will pour in to each of us.

Where may we begin? Our Prince showed us by example, he promised we can become as he. Who do we believe? Do we believe the promises of Love made man or do we believe our fears of inadequacy? Let us hold up these two beside each other, the word of our holy treasure and the voice of fear calling from within each of us. Which seems more credible? If the promise of Infinite Love seems more reliable then where do we begin to set our fears aside? In our acts, in our deeds there will Eternity find a home.  Just being kind, one to the other is the beginning and the end of our journey. For kindness, tenderness and compassion are the hallmarks of Eternal Love. When we so behave the living love with which our Jesus permeated the entire realm pours out through us. In this way the promise comes to fruition, we become that which we would worship and He becomes us.

As we go about our daily doings at this Christmastime let us remember we are His; the children of Infinite Loving Kindness. May we remember the promises of our Prince and behave as if they have already come true. For if we so live they will have become true. They will have found a home in our life and we may begin to live up to our heritage.

May God bless you endlessly and awaken within you a sense of your own divinity.

THE VALUE OF DIFFICULTIES

From time to time we may wonder why we are experiencing our current conditions. We may think they are heaped upon us by others or they are the consequence of our past behavior. Some of us may wonder if they are karmic, the result of our behavior in past lifetimes, others may think they are misfortune, while yet others of us simply have no idea of the cause of what we are experiencing. No matter what we think in our suffering it is likely we are meeting our self and we have brought conditions about so we may benefit from the experience.

It is important to understand we are children of Infinite Mercy, His grace and goodness are absolute and such a God would withhold from us any difficulties that did not have the potential to bless our life. Without such a premise life can become a trial, an affliction and an insoluble puzzle. However if we can accept that He who is loving kindness has allowed for conditions to unfold in our life the way they have, the cause becomes less important than what we do with regard to them.

There are millions of us on his planet at this time who may be suffering and surely not all of us are aware of the cause of our experience.  Yet, suffer we do and we each have the same opportunity to use our experience as a blessing whether we are aware of its cause or not. If we recognize we have at least some responsibility for bringing about our difficulties we can stop feeling like a victim and take charge of our life.

We may wonder if we do not know the cause of our difficulties how we are to use these things we are suffering from at this time. Let us first consider our suffering may be neither a punishment nor an opportunity to undo anything we have done.  It may indeed be an opportunity to instead do those things we have not done. There are none of us so unimportant that others do not depend upon us. We can make a difference in the lives of those with whom we interact and current conditions may be the perfect setting for us at this time.  If this rings true to any of us we may wish to consider how we can use these experiences we have brought about to be a blessing to those around us. If we cannot find an answer let us begin anywhere and the answers may come as we move on. What we need is a willingness to begin that will energize our activity and the signs along the way will appear only after we have begun our journey.

May our Lord, the creator and keeper of tender loving kindness, bless your life and hold you in his embrace. May He guide you to transform your pain into grace that you may bless the lives of all of those little ones He has placed into your care.

AWAKENINGS

To awaken a sleeping child it is far better to speak to them softly; to caress them gently and persistently rather than to shout at or shake them. For what is the gain to have them awaken traumatized by a shocking experience? Are we awakening our children with love and patience or with anger and frustration?

The way a child begins the day is largely due to how that child awoke in consciousness. They are then free to process and build upon that experience but if we are the awakener it our responsibility for how they began their first moments of awareness.

All too often we use shock as a method of waking our brothers and sisters that we believe are only partially aware. It is fast, often easy and effective but our impatience may result in a trauma that is not easily overcome. In fact, our lack of patience and the absence of gentleness may result in a hurdle too high to overcome for those we wish merely to awaken. This is not how we would prefer for our children to begin their day nor should it be how we choose for our brothers and sisters to begin theirs.

Kindness and gentleness are acts of love, they require much of us and they are gifts of inestimable value when poured out freely upon those in our life. Our behavior can set the stage for healing or for suffering, for our self and for those around us. To what would we awaken others, to kindness, gentleness and healing or to anger, impatience and suffering? We may not be responsible for what others do with their day but if we choose to awaken them we are indeed responsible for providing that upon which they will build it.

The best way, the kindest way, the gentlest way but the most difficult way to awaken others may be through example. A good example is not only observable but it is ultimately irresistible. How we behave can be the foundation upon which others will build their day. It is an act of love steeped in patience that is at the same time instructive and inspirational.  However if we choose to awaken others by example we must be willing to persist for as long as it takes to change lives.

It is a high price to pay to be the example to awaken someone, to change their life and be a force for healing, but the outcome will be a life transformed. If our effort results in awakening just one person, changing just one life, becoming a bridge over which only one person can find healing, our life is justified.

I AM YOU

I am everything and there is nowhere that I am not. I am perfect and there is nothing I need. I desire not because I lack but because it is simply the nature of infinite love seeking expression. When I drew you from myself I showered inexplicable love upon you. I called you forth to grow as an individual so we could express our eternal love, one for the other.

When you were Me you were unaware that you were. Now that you have become aware that you are you are only partially aware that you are also Me. You are one of My heart strings and all that you do creates a magic symphony. I live in you as you live in Me and we are never apart. And this My holy treasure is our eternity.

The Ideal

It may not be reasonable to assume reason will win out. We view the world around us through the lens of our own emotions. What seems logical to us is usually a combination of deductive reasoning and emotional bias. Most often the mind will follow where the heart leads it and not the reverse. Consequently it is important that our heart leads us in a helpful direction.

We have examples all around us of how destructive behavior is rationalized by tailoring reason to fit emotion. When we act in this way we are unable to understand why others cannot see how reasonable our position is. Yet, the mind will go only where the heart has first prepared it to. Using this as a “reasonable assumption” it seems practical that we proceed in such a way that our intellect will grow in a productive direction.

One of the most helpful ways in which to prepare our self to grow in a helpful direction is to set an ideal. Our ideal will be our direction, one that will enable us to chart a course to navigate through life. With an ideal, each time the storms we encounter blow us off our chosen path we will have a practical way of returning. Our ideal, if well set, should apply to all things in our life and everything we do should express a portion of it.

One of the things about an ideal is that we are either expressing it or we are not. If we believe we are preparing to express our ideal, we are not expressing it at all. There should be nothing we do, no expression from rising in the morning to retiring in the evening that does not in one way or the other express our ideal.  As a result we have not only a direction but a way to measure our activity.

Those of us that set ideals have a tried and tested way to avoid living them. Instead of expressing only a part of our ideal we compel our self to express too large a portion at one time. We are quickly overcome and we use this as justification for abandoning our effort. Our ideal should be large; it should be magnificent if it is the direction in which we will live our life. However, the portion we should require our self to express should be reasonable and not self-defeating. Judgment is essential to insure we are challenged yet not overcome.

The leading cause of a life lived without direction is the absence of an ideal to guide us. A life without direction is chaotic and it will sap the mind and body of even the strongest among us. The road that leads to our healing is one that lay in the direction of our ideal.

Let us travel in an orderly direction guided by our ideal. When we will inevitably step off the path we may simply step back to resume our journey. Our ideal is not our destination but our direction and we can change our direction any time we wish.