Photo by Mathilde Merlin on Unsplash
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful. ”
We need Grace right NOW, more than ever!
Right now, we may be facing our own demons.
Physically, you could be undergoing treatment for cancer or some major illness, or your body’s broken from an accident or over-exercising or lack of exercising or you may be suffering from an eating disorder. Or if you are like me, going through IVF or the trauma of trying to conceive.
Mentally, you could have anxiety, PTSD, bipolar, anger issues, stress, uncertainties, depression …….
Or you have people issue - that nasty colleague, or the irritating mother-in-law or that friend whom you complain about (in your head)….
As I’m writing this, the corona virus is affecting a lot of people in my part of the world; Hong Kong is still recovering from the riots, not to mention the devastating bush fires in Australia, the unresolved climate issues and fear of ISIS, and just yesterday, I found out Kobe Bryant and his daughter died tragically in a helicopter crash, and Demi Lovato tried to commit to suicide last year... Ahhh ….
“It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.”
With all this messiness of life, what’s the point, right? The world is going to end soon.
But you know what?
The world has not ended.
You are here.
Alive and Breathing.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”
Find Grace
I’m deeply humbled by what’s going on in the world out there. I feel selfish for focusing on my fears and on what I cannot do, when I can bring my attention to things that work for me, on things that I can do.
I can’t reduce the suffering of the world. But I can start reducing my own suffering by finding grace and be grateful for what I have and who I have become.
And so can you!
We all need Grace, not only in the religious or spiritual sense, but so we can be more humane, in the good and especially in the bad moments, when things seem hopeless and we feel worthless.
The truth is sometimes things are out of our control and we can’t change other people, we can only change ourselves, how we react; only we have the power to change our stories. If we don’t like it, be in ACTION and be the change. Otherwise, find grace.
What is grace?
Grace is a quality of kindness, forgiveness, compassion & love.
In my blog post - Rediscovering My Human self, I talked about the real meaning of being human, which is to discover our compassionate and empathetic self.
And I’m asking that we find more opportunities to be human and by being more human means for us to be kinder to ourselves and others (living and non-living).
We need to remind our inner soul - the one who’s afraid, who’s hiding, who gives in easily to anger or self-harm (because its easier to be angry than to be vulnerable) - That:
It’s okay to feel the way you feel.
You’re not alone.
You have the courage to choose kindness.
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
Ask for Grace
How does one practice grace?
By being grateful, not only at the dinner table, but anytime, anywhere.
When you’re grateful, you’ll find your grace.
Related Blog Post: What You should have An Inner Conversation with Gratitude
All of us are seeking the same thing - to be heard, (do you hear me?) to be seen (do you see me?), to matter (do I matter)…….. in other words, we seek acknowledgement.
Consider, that in fact what we want is Grace.
We all want to be the recipient of Grace via acknowledgement, kindness and generosity - and truth is - what we want, we don’t always get.
But what if, we focus less on what we think we are l, and more on what we have? That we have enough?
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ”
What if we acknowledge that grace is all around, even if there is no acknowledgement? We forgive without expecting the other person to forgive? We choose kindness over being right? That we are generous and giving without expecting anything in return?
That’s grace in practice.
And gratitude is the cataylst for grace.
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ”
Grace is Gratitude and Kindness and everything good!
It’s more than just saying or writing the words "I’m grateful” …….
It’s about:
Being kind-er, forgiving yourself and open your heart so that grace can find you.
“Where there is gratitude, there is the realization that we can find happiness and peace even when things are not going our way. ”