Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Falling on Grace

               There comes a time in life that you begin to see things differently, and this new insight is not always considered an attribute.  Consider it as a form of enlightenment from the vast experiences you have acquired throughout the years.  Our journey often takes different paths, unexpected paths, and it is this acquired insight that allows us to manage each new experience with more ease and Grace than before.

                It brings a heavy heart to mind, however, to use this new found grace when the path becomes dark and cold once again.  Somehow the pain and affliction build upon each other at the same moment and any hope for a life of light seems distant and almost obsolete.  Everywhere you turn negative energy and karma are directing spears of ice at your innermost being (the spirit of your beautiful beating heart) chiseling away at the surface, while slowing eroding your protective barrier. 

                How can those who you have loved most suddenly turn into harsh, bitter souls with vengeance as the only path left in their core?  Where they wronged so profoundly that they cannot see beyond hope? Or perhaps the present reality and the option of admitting fault is a burden just too large to carry?  Is loving another so cumbersome that choosing an anxiety laden life and regression to infantile actions  more appealing? Love cannot be turned on and off like a switch.  It evolved through positive actions and words forming a foundation to share throughout time.  If it truly ever existed it cannot be abandoned nor forgotten. 

                Falling on Grace  is the only solution that deems worthy in any circumstance, especially paths of cruel and unusual punishment.  The role of the servant and practicing submission is an arduous role, but one that proves rewarding at the end (I keep telling myself).  As we reflect on the past and the myriad of poor choices made is it possible to consider present day challenges as continued punishment? Absolutely not!  This is when you come back to Grace and understand in our hearts that if we are truly remorseful we can justly walk on paths of peace.  The speed bumps along the way are merely reminders that all energy is being attracted and repelled at the same time and it is our choice to choose love, gratitude and humility vs. vengeance, deceit and pain.

                A life without love is not the intention of this earthly world.  With this in mind, do we actively seek this love out or allow it to gently fill our lives in divine timing?  How long do we live without this innate quality, this love?  To watch selfishness vs. selflessness is heartbreaking and often a lonely road for many.  Where do we find strength to walk our walk of Grace each day when those that mean the most are on a self destructing path?  We can walk with open hearts through prayer. 

                Solace can come through formal prayers, breath prayers, and in the comfort of nature.  Let the soothing sound of the leaves gently falling bring peace as they drift through the branches onto the crisp, frosty grass only to be met by the glistening sun.  Allow the bursts of color warm your heart and bring a sense of comfort as thoughts of this new path of darkness attempt to taint your soul.  What lies ahead is unforetold, but the power of Grace will take you past the pain and into a sea of light.     

                      

Sleepless Nights….Sending Peace and Prayer

Why are some souls restless and others peaceful? Is the night air prejudice? Or, perhaps it is unsettled as it lingers, waiting for signs of weakness and not unlike a virus, it feeds on the weak and wraps itself around their core until they stir with unrest. Like many things in life, the more you experience something, the more arduous it is to break the pattern, especially if it is a detrimental one.
To find peace is a gift. To sleep with peace is a blessing. Can one embrace peace after battling with the sleep demon? Sleep is common to all life forms and during this natural necessity we are at a minimal degree of consciousness. We drift off and forget the world, at least the real world. If we dream, it is of another world…something far better or something far worse.
To watch a child sleep brings peace to many. It slows the heart down as it mirrors that of the child. Their soft breath exhaling and their small lungs filling up with the night air. Long and hard they rest. Growing and regenerating. Their precious, petite bodies gently bow to the evening stars as an ethereal presence hovers over them.
My children use dream catchers each night, or rather, I do for them. It has become part of their routine. Somehow we came to rely on these Native American traditions that are meant to protect the children from nightmares. By each bedside hangs a web of color to catch the bad dreams accompanied by the following verse: “Bad dreams, bad dreams go away. Come on back another day! Good dreams, good dreams come our way. Good dreams, good dreams here to stay!” Even if a bad dream does occur, there seems to be no memory of it come morning.
Another legend of the dream catcher tells the tale of the web catching the good dreams adding them to the web of life and the bad dreams are lost through the center hole. It has also been said that the morning sunlight purifies the web of dreams and the feather often found hanging from them allows the dream to slip down it into dreamtime.
The most important component of the dream catcher is that it is surrounded with prayer. Through prayer we calm our souls and allow it to evolve into its ultimate purpose - peace. We connect with our inner self. Slowing our fast pace down to that of nothing. Where are we running to? Why can’t we be “nothing” for a moment in time and let the rest of the world pass us by? Let the moments unfold and body intertwine with the soul like an ebb and flow. Let our heads lay to rest in the palm of the Maker’s hands.
In a time of need a verse was shared with me from my uncle. It is an imprint on my heart now and it reads: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 NIV When total surrender occurs, there is a new light. A new way to approach life and each obstacle it throws at you. For there is only One who will love you consistently each day of your life. He is waiting for us to ask Him into our life. Often we think we have, but one day it will all be clear; The glasses will come off and the peace will fall upon us as we sleep and when we wake.
The sleep demon took years from one man, but he has found a process…a path to peace. “While I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep, my thoughts are focused on the days events and I have to take each event, analyze it, put it in a box and then put it on a shelf in alphabetical order. Once I've done that for all the days’ events I can go to sleep. Imagine being in a wind tunnel and your thoughts being confetti, each thought associated with a particular event is color coded, I have to gather all the like colors in the wind tunnel prior to putting them in the box to be filed ... but honestly, I did not come to the place I am now, in peace, until I started praying.”
Some choose supplements, herbs, alcohol (clearly noted to have an adverse effect on sleep), and other physical crutches, but perhaps one day they will come to realize that three deep breaths and some time for prayer is the best remedy. For nothing great was ever accomplished with out sleep (or was it enthusiasm? or was it passion?). A delicate balance may be the key, but according to the Dalai Lama ~ “Sleep is the best meditation.”

For those with a fetish for facts:

According to the National Sleep Foundation, those getting a good sleep (and enough of it) are two times as likely to be more productive at work, eat healthy and maintain an active lifestyle. 28% of Americans sleep over eight hours and 20% get less than six.