02 May God’s Will – May 3 2019
It is not God’s will merely that we should be happy, but that we should make ourselves happy.
Immanuel Kant
The soul can split the sky in two
and let the face of God shine through.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
When I first began studying spirituality and metaphysics with a group of like-minded individuals, there was the idea that each of us had to discern for ourselves ‘God’s will,’ as opposed to our own. We spent many hours discussing these concepts of will–free will, divine will, surrender, fighting, cursing against, working toward, working against. To be fair, the hours spent were hours I was not getting into trouble in some other fashion. Much coffee and many cigarettes were consumed. No answers were found.
The passage of years and continued survival brings about an understanding of these questions that is above reproach and that turns out to be so much more simple than I ever would have imagined. There is, indeed, a very simple determining factor as to whether something is or is not the will of God:
If it’s happening, it’s God’s will.
The question is never God’s will or my will; the question is, do I try to align myself with God’s will, or not? Do I get present to what is? Or do I stand back judging and comparing and being upset that the world isn’t matching my expectations. Do I choose to go along with the movement of the laws of nature, or do I try to swim against the current what’s happening?
I am merely one point of perception on what is happening, from an infinity of possible points. If I let go and stay open to seeing other points of view, I may be able to be useful, no matter what is happening. I may be able to exemplify how to go through challenging experiences without falling into self-pity and despair. I may be able to offer help to others. But the real choice I have to make is will I resist what is, or will I accept it, good or bad, and move forward from here. I can say it’s wrong, bad, even evil; still, if it’s happening, it’s happening. What will I do with what is? That is always the question.
Being present to ‘what is,’ is the prerequisite for enjoying life. Life is an extraordinary gift. What will I do with this gift today?
Today I will stay present to the whole of life, and to my inner Self, that I may feel the movement of the law’s of nature, the movement of God within me, so that I may choose with each moment to move joyfully in that direction myself.
