What if I Choose "Amiss"...?

I had this wrestling, anxious moment this morning, in the bathroom, as I finished one book, and wondered which of the MANY books, sitting there awaiting me, was I to read next ... I confess I was in a bit of angst, "what if I choose amiss?"

As IF I needed something from outside of me to lead me...!

NO! A thousand-million times no! Am I not IN Him -- is He not IN me...? Is not all that He has, mine (& yours)? Is the Kingdom not in my midst ... within me (within you)?

When I read that which resonates, that which *appears* to be "fresh" ... it's nothing more than a reminder, a ringing-true, a deja-vu of that which I once knew, but forgot...!

Woo-HOOOOO!

It doesn't matter what I read (or do, or experience) ... it's ALL good ... God, Who is in all, who is all, Who cannot be missed, Who is INEVITABLE, IS leading me, from within me, through my own desires (which are, of course, One with His desires, for who else is IN me, desiring THROUGH me?), and I cannot choose amiss, for it's all good, all for my good, no matter what!

And the anxiety itself, is absurd.

It's as if I would have anxiety over which flower to sniff in a garden ... I take it all in at once, in a heady, intoxicating symphony of scent & beauty ...! And then, as I am drawn, by eye, by that nebulous inner-drawing, toward this one, and that one, comparing, noticing the beauty of diversity, even as I notice that all of it vibrates and glows with the Self-same LIFE...!

And so it is, everywhere I look around me, whether I'm glancing upon plants, animals or humanity ... or the whole panoply of Creation that fills my senses ... it all vibrates with the Presence of God ... all speaking to me OF God, if I would but pause, and see, and hear -- deeper than the story of confused humanity, deeper than the story I tell myself ... past history to HIS-Story ... right there, where it's always been, for me to read. Creation is GLORIOUS!!! And ... Glory-US!

The books, the relationships, the situations, the opportunities, the blessings, the lessons, the remembrances ... it shall all unfold before me ... because when the pupil is ready, the eye shall see...!

(OH, but this was fun to write!!!)

Shalom, Dena

P.S. And, on the heels of this experience, comes this delightful expose into the thoughts of yet-another awakening human, delivered smack-dab into my in-box ... enjoy this brilliant foray into glory:

When people ask me if I am religious, I tell them I love God far too
much to be religious. "Oh, then you must believe in God?" they inevitably ask. "Of course not," I reply with a smile, "does a fish believe in water?" For me, God is all there is. What's to believe?

Although all the world's major religions agree that God (however they define the term) is omnipresent, it seems that very few of their followers including their clerical hierarchy actually understand what omnipresence really means. And therein lies the source of the world's ills.

For a start, we take our relationship with God far too seriously. We bring so much solemnity to the way we view God awe, veneration, obedience, and the like that we end up creating distance between us and the object of our worship.

Expressions such as "God is my judge," "God forbid," and "God bless you" creep into our language, and consequently our thoughts. People are actually proud to call themselves God-fearing folk. For too many of us, God is somewhere out there, watching and judging us as we struggle through our imperfect lives.

And consider this: Some religions consider the name of God so holy that it is never pronounced. Instead they create a litany of substitute terms so they can talk about God without having to commit the blasphemy of actually using his name.

When practitioners of these religions write about their deity, they are instructed to omit the vowel: G-d. Other religions take the opposite tack. They encourage their devotees to chant or meditate on the name of God for hours at a time.

To their way of believing, focusing on God leads to a state of bliss that opens the door to transcendence and enlightenment. But if God is truly all that is, what can possibly make one of his names more powerful than any other?