|
Enjoying the Sweetness
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Boothbay, ME
* * *
"He [Jesus] was in the world... ."
*Gospel of John 1.10
* * *
A clergyperson questioned the Sage, "Sir, what do you teach about the afterlife?" "Life has no after." "So," replied the clergyperson, "you don't believe in heaven?" "I know," replied the Sage.
*Brian K. Wilcox. "Meetings with an Anonymous Sage."
* * *
In these words, "He was in the world," the Jesus community remembers him as one fully here, in the same world we live in, among the same beings we live among. The words invite us to live wholeheartedly, not moaning about how the world is not as we think it should be or seeing here only as preparation for a better place later, maybe after the body drops.
* * *
I picked up a little book by Julia Cameron titled Answered Prayers. The Prayers are from God to us. I randomly turned to a Prayer one day. God spoke of how I get distracted by little problems and the idea of my littleness amidst what seems overwhelming life challenges. God said, "You brood over your problems."
In the Prayer, God told me she could intervene and help me, that she wants to do that, and that all I need to do is open to receive in childlike faith. God assured me, "It is my intention that you find this world rich and enjoyable." Well, I had not found life like that much of the time. In fact, I had been raised to see this world as something to endure and use to get ready for a much better one - and reserved just for an elect few. So, was I even really here?
The last words of the Prayer most caught my attention: "Bring your pain to me. Allow me to lift its burden so your heart can rejoin the world." The invitation reminded me self-absorption removes me from others, the world I am to live in, serve, love, and, yes, enjoy. At any moment, I can return to the heart, and, in this return, I rejoin the world.
Since reading the above Prayer over ten years ago, life has changed for me - better, I have changed. Life never needs to change. Life is not a problem. True, challenges come our way, and there is much suffering among us. And I have had my share of that, too. Still, always, life is a gift - and I am so glad to be here - living in this world. And I pray to die as I live - thankful. Enjoy!
What did the Sage mean by saying, "I know"? How do you know when you have disconnected from the world? How do you rejoin? Can our spiritual practice become a means of disconnection? Do you see your life as a problem to be solved or endured or a gift to be enjoyed? How might you enhance your appreciation for this life... your life? What are some traits of persons who live in this world spiritually awake? Who in your life inspires you to live gratefully and fully?
* * *
*©Brian K. Wilcox, 2022.
*Use of photography is allowed accompanied by credit given to Brian K. Wilcox and notation of title and place of the photograph.
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse.
|
