My soul is rising through the anger and fear, up to the love that holds everyone so dear…… Snatam Kaur
Whenever I drop inside for guidance about how to be and what to do about the state of the world, I get the same messages. Over and over again I hear, Stay close to God, and, Do your work. I’m jolted each time. It’s like being yanked back to center. It’s both embarrassing and comforting, and, it feels completely right.
But why jolted and yanked? Because, as much as I might understand and comply with the pulse of my life, I continue to stray from my soul’s assignment sometimes. I continue to be seduced by conditioned ways of thinking and traditional ideas about relationships and forms for social change.
Why embarrassing? Because, you’d think by now I would have fully embraced my soul’s mission here. I’m still reticent to share from the depths of my being that which is true beyond measure. Simply stated, that would be how much I love the world and all the beings in it. Part of me still wants to fit in to the over-personalized, competitive, soul-denying culture in which each of us struggles to survive. It’s a lot better than it used to be, but there’s still a ways to go.
And yes, comforting and completely right. I’ve been following the rungs of the ladder of love and devotion all my life. It’s just that in the early years I didn’t know it, and now I occasionally lose my way. The comfort of the reminders from Deep Intuition strengthen my resolve.
My perspective has grown and deepened as Spirit cleverly and often breathtakingly reveals itself to me. I’m now facing into an acceleration of intent and mission, the upping of the ante if you will . My sense is that God, the All, the Oneness, wants more of me. It wants me to trust in a deeper way. It’s taking me into new territory. I strongly sense this, and it’s compelling. The push comes from within.
Luckily, Love is in charge, not me. My task is to fine tune my ability to follow inner guidance. Learn to take exceptional care of myself so that I’m always available when called upon to do the work of Love. Listen carefully and notice opportunities to contribute to the sweetening of the atmosphere for the beings I encounter. Resist cultural seductions and set aside conditioned concerns, knowing they are false and unnecessary. Know that true change comes with being with the way things are. Explore what comes without capitulating to anger and fear. Let myself be held by Love.
As synchronicity would have it, last night, after an afternoon of writing all of the above, I clicked on a conversation on batgap.com between host, Rick Archer, and Terry Patten. Terry spoke eloquently about how to bring heart to the center of social activism. He’s put out a call with his new book, for “spiritual people” and anyone else to fully grasp the us-ness of the global crisis, and to recognize the immediacy of the moment and engage with others in heart based conversation and action in the political arena.
In other words, set aside anger and fear, and lead with love. Have a strong spiritual practice and register people to vote!
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, this morning, I came upon an audio of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preaching to his people about the power of love and how to love your enemies. It’s the sermon he gave on November 15, 1957 from which has been extrapolated the famous phrase, Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
It’s getting easier, to let life and love show me the way, and to follow. I’m more willing to trust my perceptions and feelings whether I understand them right away or not. I’m getting it that I can trust the process as it unfolds and eventually gives me the answers I need to go further. I’m learning how better to navigate interactions with people who have temporarily lost touch with their heart. My commitment is getting stronger and I’m grateful. It’s not always easy, but it’s all good.