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A Hassidic tale tells of a rabbi having a dream. The rabbi was dunked in a deep well, and when he came out, he saw only a few saints sitting at tables and studying the Torah. The rabbi asked the guiding angel, “Is this all there is to paradise?” The angel answered, “You appear to think that the saints are in paradise. You have it backwards. Paradise is in the saints!”
Lofty, ethereal ideas can leave us detached from the reality of what is simple and present, waiting to be seen and enjoyed, always. For example, grand ideas of a heaven or paradise somewhere and at another time can leave us insensitive to the deeper meaning of heaven, of paradise, as a timeless, placeless Reality right here, right now. To live with the awareness of Love, to live thankful for the Wonderful Presence which bathes the world in glory is to know heaven now, to have living within oneself paradise. Why wait to enjoy heaven later, when you can enjoy it this moment?
In good time we shall see
God and his light, you say.
Fool, you shall never see
What you do not see today!
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The hidden God becomes known
And general to humankind
In the created World of Things
Which He has fashioned and designed.
Angelus Silesius, 17th Century German Mystic
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I looked for You, My Love
Until You spoke to me, “Friend,
I Am in your looking, I Am in
What is seen, I Am the Seer seeing.
I Am the seen being seen.
I Am.
How can I, now, pine
For the sky's reflection, when
I have drunk the Ocean?
Brian K. Wilcox
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spiritual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net.
Brian's book of mystical love poetry, An Ache for Union, can be ordered through major bookdealers.
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
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