3/29/20
Revelations 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
I once heard a story about a man who took his family to the zoo. In one of the cages there was an eagle; a beautiful bird that had been injured so could not survive on its own. The keepers had clipped its wings to keep it from hurting itself. For the most part, the bird sat hidden in a sheltered area, but occasionally, when the wind blew just right, the eagle would find its way to a perch at the top of the cage. As the wind blew through the cage, the bird would stretch out its wings, talons holding firmly to the branch, enjoying the wind moving over and under its wings and body and tail as if it were flying again, reliving its natural abilities: soaring powerfully, effortlessly to great heights.
Like this eagle, we were meant to soar, to be raised up by the currents of Spirit, effortlessly gliding to heights far above our too familiar earthly circumstances and toward the light of God; free and powerful, simply by surrendering to the ever-present Creative Force within us.
God wants us to do important things; we are here to make a difference. Yet too often many of us are caged and broken by our own thoughts of lack and limitation and the past. We are entrapped by our ignorance of our true spiritual nature and diminished by our unwillingness to accept our good. At these times we cling tightly to our ego-perch, seduced by the false security and comfort within our cage of clouded awareness, unable to allow the fullest expression of God through us.
The eagle is dependent upon the air currents to soar. Oh, it can fly, but when the eagle and the winds combine it is a new creature – a creature of grace and admiration, living to its fullest; the best of what it was intended to be. We may want to live a life of independence, and yet where would we be without love, joy, or kindness.
The Dali Lama says,
“Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others?”
When we can acknowledge our dependence upon God, our Source and Creator, we become the best that we can be. When we trust in God, in the Creative Life Force that is the Oneness-of-All, we are able to stop trying to arrange the world to suit our needs. We recognize that we actually have no needs, and that all answers are within us as the wisdom of Christ-Mind. We observe love around us in everything and everyone as the Love of God. When we attune ourselves to Spirit, our inner awareness reveals that there is nothing more to get, nothing more to do; we just have to be.
In this state of God-Centeredness, we know that all that comes to us is good, whether it is a challenge or a delight. In this holy place of God’s Presence, we are aware that in this moment God is all there is, all there can be; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
This applies to Covid-19. When we are immersed in God, we realize that this virus does not need to be hated. It is doing what it does in order to live. It is not intentionally killing us and has no awareness that it is harming us. Yes, it needs to be managed, engaged, and stopped, but it doesn’t need our hatred.
There are people in our lives similar to this virus: they are harming us, not out of intention, but out of who they are. They have no awareness of what they are doing. From a state of God-Centeredness, even these people, and the virus, have their place.
Yet, for most of my life this state of mind has been infrequent and fleeting, more a dream than a reality. If you are like me, countless responsibilities and stresses distract our minds and hearts, and deter us from going within. Our earthly thoughts can quickly disconnect us from an inner moment with Spirit and force us into earthly chaos once again.
And yet despite how busy life is, how many trials we experience, the gentle wind of Spirit still finds its way into our cage; and almost instinctively, we turn to face the wind, stretch our wings, and once more, long to soar. From our darkness, again we dream; we envision; we hope. Discontent fills us, manifesting as a search for something more, something beyond what we are experiencing.
We can fill our minds with whatever we choose. Our dreams and moment by moment visions can be of darkness or Light, beauty or offensiveness, health or disease. Or we can release our mental images entirely, and allow Spirit to fill our minds, hearts, and souls with a new dream, a new desire.
We recognize the yearning within us to fly to God, powered by the Presence surrounding us. We long to follow that new dream, to hold it close, and no matter how infrequently it appears, we revel in the love that flows through us in those moments of joy.
When Spirit fills us, our God-awareness allows us to live the simple life: Decisions are easier, choices clearer. God-love flows to us, through us, and from us in all directions. We find ourselves bathed in Pure Love.
So, there it is – the solution to all obstacles – Love. Love is the healer of the soul, the unifier of all nations, the solace in every relationship, and the bridge between doing and being.
When we live our life from a consciousness of love, we step out of our cage into freedom. Although we will never be free of the human struggle until we leave the body behind, when we live in God’s love our worldly problems are not burdens; they are teachers, aids to becoming stronger, wiser, and more aware.
When we express the Christ within us…Life becomes simple, and we can avoid the entanglements of emotion - the guilt, shame, and fear. We can enjoy comforts and luxury, and not be enslaved by them. We can be joyous in humble surroundings and not feel lack. We know that we are not our possessions. In times of illness, we know that we are not our bodies and are perfect despite a physical challenge. In these times of ‘social distancing’ we can still love each other through prayer, thought, and some form of communication. Love does not have to be thwarted simply because we cannot get together. When we encounter a person who is mean, irritating, or lacks integrity, we reserve judgment, because we know that we have been there, and it is only through God’s grace that we are not there at this moment.
This is the soul’s long-term dream: to live in Spirit. It is always with us and has always been with us. When we are God-filled, we know with every part of our being that God is enough. Our love-filled soul is satisfied simply by the awareness of the presence of God. We relax and allow the Christ within to express into life as the dreams we hold in our hearts. If we allow it, Life becomes our ally, fashioning our dreams, longings, and visions into reality. What thoughts are creating our dreams – thoughts of kindness, giving, listening, and compassion? When we commit our spirits into the hands of God, we allow the Father within to do His works. God will use whatever we bring to our awareness.
“I am the Alpha and Omega,” says the inner Christ. “I am the beginning and the end of all things,” whispers that still small voice of God. As one season passes, another starts. After a challenge is endured or overcome, there is a period of light, healing, and strengthening. In this circle of creation, the awareness of Spirit arising within us quenches one thirst, while another desire and dream forms right behind, inviting us to more, more Good, evermore awareness – and so, as it is our nature as a Child of God, we move ever onward, soaring to greater and greater heights on the wings of Spirit, and to the dreams in our hearts that never end.