A Great Fact

The great fact is just this, and nothing less:
That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences
which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life,
toward our fellows and toward God's universe.
The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator
has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 25


A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift.

Housecleaning

Until we actually sit down and talk aloud
about what we have so long hidden,
our willingness to clean house is still largely theoretical.

When we are honest with another person,
it confirms that we have been honest
with ourselves and with God.

Honesty is the absence of the intent to deceive.

Imperfection

There would be no music if high C were the only note,
no art if spectrum red were the only color,
no joy in pleasure if pleasure were the only feeling -- and paradoxically,
there would be no perfection without imperfection.
What does this mean to me?
Well, first it means that I don't have to be perfect.
All I have to do is grow at a pace natural to me --
and that is all I have a right to expect of others.
~ The Best of the Grapevine [Vol. 1], pp.60-61

Neither swift nor easy

. . . I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.

Marie Curie

 

The patterns I am weaving with my life are complex, full of intricate detail and knots.

I need to go slow, taking only one stitch at a time.

With hindsight I will see that whatever the progress, it was the perfect fit to the overall design.

Solution-Full Life

In life, the difficult periods are the best periods
to gain experience and shore up determination.
As a result, my mental status
is much improved because of them.
The Dalai Lama

Life is a process of meeting and solving problems.
Solving problems is a way that we test and develop our spiritual muscle. Problems often come to us in the form of crisis.

Rather than pray for a life that is problem-free, ask for one that is solution-full.
Instead of requesting that God remove the mountain before you, seek the strength to climb it.
Remember that the best students always get the toughest problems.

Love the problems you have, and their priceless gifts will be yours.

शिप्व्रेक्केद इन साउथ कैरोलाइना

Honesty

Honesty isn't an event . . . it's a process.

Present In The Progression

Letting Life Unfold

Our lives are guided by natural rhythms that are particular to each of us and cannot be altered by force of will alone.
Life itself is a journey made up of processes and events that manifest before us only to be swept away when time marches on.
Whether we envision ourselves creating a career, building a family, or developing the self, we instinctively know when the time has come for us to realize our dreams because all that is involved comes together harmoniously.
When the time is right, the passage of destiny cannot be blocked.
Yet as desperate as we are to touch these beautiful futures we have imagined, we cannot grow if we are not fully present in the evolutionary experience.
The present can be challenging, uncomfortable, and tedious, but life unfolds as it will, and the universe will wait patiently as we make our way into the unknown.

The fate that awaits us is not dependent on our pace, which was preordained before we ever appeared in human guise.
Therefore there is no reason to rush through life to reach those pinnacles of development associated with the paths we have chosen.
Enjoying and fully experiencing the journey of life is as important as achieving goals and reaching milestones.
There are lessons we can learn during those moments that seem immaterial or insignificant that we cannot learn at any other time.
Appreciating these takes patience, however, because human beings tend to focus on the fulfillment of expectations rather than the simple joys of being.

Like many people, you have no doubt longed for a device that would give you the power to fast forward through certain periods of your existence.
Yet haste is by its very nature vastly more stressful than serene fortitude.
When you feel yourself growing impatient because the pace of your development is deceptively slow, remember that everything that will occur in your life will occur in its own time.
Quelling your urge to rush will enable you to witness yourself learning, changing, and becoming stronger.
There is so much to see and do in between the events and processes that we deem definitive.
If you are patient enough to take pleasure in your existence's unfolding, the journey from one pinnacle to the next will seem to take no time at all.