Find A Place For Grace

jenniferhoffmanJennifer Hoffman – When I was growing up my father used to call me ‘grace’ and not because I was the most graceful child around, quite the opposite. Even before I had to navigate with crutches and leg braces as I learned to walk again after being paralyzed for several years, I was always tripping and falling, mainly because I was rarely grounded and present, so my feet were going in one direction while my mind was somewhere else.

The implication was that if I was graceful then I would be moving with purpose and flow, and I wouldn’t be bumping into things. While my father didn’t know it, he was teaching me an important lesson, that there is a place for grace in our lives, an ease and flow of energy, and we benefit from slowing down and making room and time for it.

When we talk about grace we think of it as a blessing from God and that it’s a holy and special thing. But grace is an ordinary, everyday thing. It’s part of the flow of energy that we are part of, it is present in the beauty we notice, and the things we take for granted.

We are in a state of grace when we notice the beauty of a flower, a sunset, the stillness of a moonlit night, or a peaceful nature setting. I remember the grace I felt the first time I saw the Grand Canyon and was overwhelmed by its beauty. Grace is present everywhere, all of the time, whether we notice it or not.

Grace is what makes life bearable when we are overwhelmed by examples of humanity’s ugliness and vulgarity, and it reminds us that beauty and peace co-exist with the most dire of circumstances.

Grace is what reminds us that we are not alone, unguided, and unsupported, when the loneliness of our chosen path can make us feel like we’re an island in a sea of anonymity.

Grace is present in the stillness and in the noise, in the light and in the darkness, when we remember that it is there. It is our refuge from what threatens and scares us, bringing us back into the quiet stillness of its power and presence, and the warm embrace of connection.

It cannot be taken away from us but we can ignore it. It cannot be extinguished but we can turn away from its presence. Grace will wait for us to return to it, which we do when our soul is tired and our heart hurts.

When we make room and time for grace, we allow the light of our divinity to become integrated into our humanity. It then quietly reminds us of who we are and uncovers our light from the layers of fear and forgetfulness that we allow to extinguish our hope, trust, and faith. Grace is the portal of connection to the divine, to our Source and center, that we can feel as our longing for ‘home’.

We make room for grace when we practice gratitude and find joy in each moment. It doesn’t jump up and down and shout at us, but it does try to get our attention. Notice where grace seeks to connect with you in each moment, which you see in the way you are aware of moments of peace, beauty, and joy.

Did you notice a beautiful sunrise or sunset? That’s grace trying to get your attention. Did someone smile at you or was particularly kind or considerate? You received a gift of grace. Did you have a moment of contentment, peace, and security, in which you felt fully aligned and connected? You experienced grace in that moment. You can also be a source of grace for others, when you remind them of the beauty, peace, power, and joy that is in the world.

Being graceful isn’t limited to the movement of ballet dancers, we are ‘full of grace’ when we make room and time for grace and stay grounded and present in that connection. We are powerful beings who can command the energy of the universe into being. And we use that power in the best and most beneficial way when we remember the presence of grace and stay plugged into it so we are always connected to the divine, always mindful of the flow of abundance that is present in each moment, and the refuge that grace can become when we need to remember ourselves as divine.

SF Source Enlightening Life  Nov 24 2014

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