Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa once said,"The grace of God is always blowing." And it is up to us to catch it.
Interestingly, we, being the confused complicated mortals that we are, don't realize this. Instead we thin
k and expect God to be an external resource who will come riding in a shining knight's armor and save us from pain and suffering. A more evolved perspective is that because we think of God as an external resource__separate and detached from us__we don't open up our souls to liberation, peace and opportunity. We conduct our lives like untrained boat people, who are trying to get their boats moving, but without opening and hoisting their sails. Result: the boat wobbles, needs tremendous energy and effort to budge and, often times, capsizes. On the other hand, those boats, whose owners, hoisted their sails, manage to catch the wind and set sail. Reaching their destinations, effortlessly, purposefully. Ramakrishna's subtle reminder to us should invite us to look within and open up (the sails of) our souls. We must realize that only an open soul can benefit from the grace that exists within us. You can call this acceptance or surrender or even joyful living. Whatever it is, it is the most intelligent thing to do.
Learnings:
1. God is no external resource.
2. It is the grace within us.
3. But to catch it, we need to open up our souls and stop trying to control our lives or those of others around us. Or to seek external solutions to the emptiness within us.
4. Just open yourself up and you will experience a whole new world of peace and possibilities.
Interestingly, we, being the confused complicated mortals that we are, don't realize this. Instead we thin
k and expect God to be an external resource who will come riding in a shining knight's armor and save us from pain and suffering. A more evolved perspective is that because we think of God as an external resource__separate and detached from us__we don't open up our souls to liberation, peace and opportunity. We conduct our lives like untrained boat people, who are trying to get their boats moving, but without opening and hoisting their sails. Result: the boat wobbles, needs tremendous energy and effort to budge and, often times, capsizes. On the other hand, those boats, whose owners, hoisted their sails, manage to catch the wind and set sail. Reaching their destinations, effortlessly, purposefully. Ramakrishna's subtle reminder to us should invite us to look within and open up (the sails of) our souls. We must realize that only an open soul can benefit from the grace that exists within us. You can call this acceptance or surrender or even joyful living. Whatever it is, it is the most intelligent thing to do. Learnings:
1. God is no external resource.
2. It is the grace within us.
3. But to catch it, we need to open up our souls and stop trying to control our lives or those of others around us. Or to seek external solutions to the emptiness within us.
4. Just open yourself up and you will experience a whole new world of peace and possibilities.
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