dailydatewithgod

If we believe ourselves to be separate from everyone else because we are so different where does that leave us but alone?  If we perceive others as separate from ourselves because of their distinguishing factors, where does that leave them but alone?  Call me crazy but I can’t imagine that the millions of people in existence are here because they are meant to be alone.  We are all part of the same universe.  We are all part of the human experience.  We are all part of the same Creator.  In the same way that our body has different parts it also functions as a whole.  I can look at the parts as being separate or as part of the whole.  Perhaps it is a glass half versus glass empty proposition but maybe all God is asking us to do is look of ourselves and each other as part of the whole instead of apart from each other.

My prayer for us is the willingness to see through God’s lens of wholeness in which we each play a vital part of the whole of love’s existence today.

We were created out of love for love.  It is the core of our identity and when we forget that we run into trouble.  A Course In Miracles says that fear is the opposite of love.  By that accord, when we find ourselves in fear, we have forgotten who we are.  It is not a matter of us being wrong or bad.  It is a matter of being forgetful.  Yet if we remembered all the time we would be perfect.  Perhaps the key is knowing how to get back to the truth of who we are.  God does not care how often we stray or forget ourselves.  God is ready to help us remember and welcome us back into our truth.  This is how love works.  In the Christian scriptures according to Paul in a letter written to the community of Corinth: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Paul was helping the people of Corinth remember how God works.  We forget that God does not think as we do.  Therefore, love cannot only be what we think it is.  We are not only who we think we are because our core is something of God’s conception. If I am operating out of any of the above, I can stop, acknowledge I have forgotten who I am and ask God to guide me to remembrance.

Who Am I is one of the most fundamental questions we ask ourselves.  We draw answers from our experiences, our culture, our family, and a number of sources outside of ourselves.  It is when we take the question to the inner realm of our hearts that we can explore the true depths of who we are.  Our identity is not only who we present to the outside world but that which is operating within ourselves.  Our identity is how we talk to ourselves, what is most important to  us, what our intentions are and from where we draw our power.  If we rely on outside people or circumstances alone to define our identities we become chameleons.  This will fuel our lives for a while but to the extent which it is incongruent with our true selves it will not last. I tried this route most of my life.  I worked hard to be identified as someone who everyone liked. I saw it as essential to my safety because in my mind if you were disappointed or disliked me for any reason, I was not safe.  It was not until recovery and my daily dates with God taught me how to build and inner sense of safety that it was possible to be more of my true identity in the world.  I had to learn to sit in the quiet with the layers of identity on top of my heart and inventory what was true versus what was protection.  It is not an easy or one time process but it grants me the freedom and peace to show up in the world as my true identity.

Knowing where we come from is important not just as an origin story but so we can recognize true selves when we awaken in our hearts.  It can be scary to shed the false sense of self that we carry around with us.  It may not be the whole truth of who we are but we become familiar with it.  Stepping into unfamiliar territory is scary because it is unknown.  We interpret this as uncomfortable, associate discomfort with pain and become afraid.  It is a cycle that is all too easy to fall into.  God can lead us gently out of that cycle when we pause, take a breath, and draw our attention to our hearts.  There within the deepest part of ourselves we come face to face with the Source of our being and the truth of who we are.

The proper sequence for accuracy is ready, aim, fire.  We know this when it comes to weaponry which is usually life or death.  Why then do we scramble the order when it comes to life? Often we find ourselves maybe ready but before we are even sure if we are ready we have fired.  What happened to the aim?  How will we get where we want to go if we have no sense of what direction to move in. Sure we will go somewhere but if we have not determined our aim it may not be where we would like.  It may not be what will serve the greater good of love. Often times we place pressure on ourselves to have the answer, make the decision, get out of whatever we are in and so we haphazardly fire.  We fire our mouth, our body, use our money, drive our car, or letting our mind fire off stories that are not true.  These may not immediately cause death or injury but sometimes they can. If we prepare ourselves by connecting with our own hearts, touching the inner part of ourselves that knows what direction love is, then we can aim. It does not mean the outcome is always rainbows and butterflies but our soul can rest in the knowing we did our part to show up as God would have us show up.

In the western world we are driven by scores, awards, degrees, and accumulation of things and people.  We measure ourselves by how much we have achieved.  So what happens we when those achievements no longer hold meaning?  What if getting one more degree does not make you happy?  What happens ten minutes after we got the multiple likes on our Facebook post?  Where is the room for defeat or failure?  Those are the very things that bring about the achievement of learning, character, resilience, and perseverance.  Where is the recognition of the achievement of being in the process of life?  God does not measure achievement as accumulation or numbers. In God’s eyes the expansion of our hearts to live in love is an achievement.  The honest recognition of when we feel disconnected from this love and reach out for help as an achievement.  God uses those who show up.  We see that through and through in the stories from sacred texts and scriptures.  The people involved are not the perfect ones or the ones with the most things or accomplishments.  The people God uses are those who are present with a willingness to learn.  They attain achievement because they are willing to hold on to the hope of love being the greatest achievement of all.  In the world, achievement is what happens when we are done.  In God’s world, achievement is what happens when we are in the process and growing.  I used to look to when whatever it was would be done and over.  When I am connected to God I am grateful to be in the process, on the path, and growing. I am able for that day to trust in the power of love to grow in and through me no matter how defeated I feel.

Everything God creates is sacred because it is created from love.  There is a precious nature to creation that we are able to see in some things but not in others.  Because our mind creates meaning and distinctions of separation it is easy for us to focus on what is different and why in someone or something other than ourselves.  We do not spend a lot of time focusing on the sacred nature of those we deem different from ourselves.  God is present in all things and therefore not only are all things sacred by their very nature but we are connected to all things.  It is difficult for our minds to wrap around the idea of sacredness because it defies the rational understanding of the world.  We even make distinctions about different parts of ourselves as being sacred or not. God does not operate on the understanding of the world.  If we want to experience the fullness of our sacredness this will include opening ourselves up to the presence of the sacred in all things around us.

The presence of light is one of the subtle needs in our lives.  Often we are not aware of our need for light until we have spent time in darkness.  There is something breathtaking about watching the sun light of the sky early in the morning as dawn breaks.  It is enchanting the way the light brings the world to life after the darkness of a storm passes.  We have the same experience of light in our hearts that we do with physical light.  We all have times of darkness and closing off our hearts.  We have all been hurt and burdened and unable to find the light when we thought we needed it the most.  I know I spent many years feeling like I would get glimpses of the shimmering elements of light but it did not seem to stay.  The shimmering was the underlying current of God’s unchanging presence in my heart.  It was the flickering flame in my shut down heart that would not go out no matter how dark it truly seemed.  When I learned to trust the presence of the shimmering base of light as present even when I could not see the full-blown light things began to shift.  When I held on to the belief that God would not abandon me or turn his back on me no matter what it felt like, I was able to hold on.  Those shimmering moments of light’s presence in my eyes began to weave together.  The light of understanding was opening my eyes to the possibility of light appearing after a time of darkness.  I learned it is always darkest before the dawn.  On our daily dates when the light outside is just beginning to shimmer with life I show up to live my belief in the power and trust of the light of love even in the moments when I want to think it will stay dark.

My prayer for us is the courage to take a chance on the shimmering presence of light’s flickering as a sign even if moments far and few between that the light of God’s love is burning brightly and waiting for us to open our eyes to it today.

Our world moves at such a fast pace all the time it is easy to get swept up in the fervor and excitement of it all.  Sometimes I don’t realize I have jumped on the fast paced train until the tracks go off the rails.  I catch myself checking a text message while in traffic, feeling like I need to return that voice mail right away, interrupting someone before they finish speaking because I am certain I know how to respond, or just walking really fast for no reason.  Even writing about it makes me want to write faster.  Moving quickly is not a bad thing but when I get caught up in feeling I must respond when I do not yet have a response or worse when the response would not create the kind of experience my heart wants, I become a slave to the thinking of the world.  One of the most powerful tools I learn on my daily dates with God is hesitation. God is never in a hurry to respond as far as I can tell.  Hesitation I have seen as helpful in my thinking even while on our date.  Together we watch the thoughts come and go without doing anything about them.  From it, I realize the power of the pause allows me to take a step back from my first thought or first few thoughts and decide if it is the one I want to dictate my actions.  Must I really respond to the email right away?  Is it vitally important that I see if the message I got is the one I have been waiting for?  Will providing an answer at this point in the conversation really provide what the person who is talking right now needs?  The power of hesitation is one of empowerment.  I am not relying on immediate satisfaction or the hit I get from accomplishment to define me.  I am better able to be present to what is happening by being with it instead of in my head.  It takes practice and consistent effort to remember to use the tool, but I have found it to be more satisfying to my heart and soul than any response I had ready to go.

I am fascinated by how we rely on our leaders (political, religious, parents, teachers, bosses to name a few) to do the right thing in every situation and then we are surprised when they mess up.  How come?  When have any of us done anything perfectly? Life is full of a multitude of choices before twelve noon.  With all the people and circumstances involved is it any wonder that things do not go as planned?  When I think about how God designed us with the rule of love.  Our purpose is to grow in love and live as an expression of love to the best of our ability. Sometimes my ability sucks.  I may find myself stuck in frustration, let down by expectations, in physical pain, too tired to care, or feeling disconnected from my own heart.  In moments like that, the rule is to do what I need to do to get back to my truest sense of self.  I cannot always do this on my own.  I have to ask God for help. God show me how to see this differently.  God, I am in a funk but willing to step out of it, show me what my next step is to be.  God, I hurt, help me feel a little less hurt.  God, I know right now I am disconnected from my heart but I have no idea how to get back and I am not sure I want to go back right now.  We may not be able to make it back into the rule of our design, but we can be honest about how much the power of love is ruling our lives in the moment.  Honesty is the surest step to returning to the rule for which we were made.