The axis of love invites us from the confines of the ego into the vastness of a love that spins every atom. It has never been easy to accept the invitation. Ikkyu, the 15th century Zen poet, chided the priests of his own time:
Every day, priests minutely examine the Law
And endlessly chant complicated sutras.
Before doing that, though, they should learn
How to read the love letters sent by the wind
And rain, the snow, and moon.
The intimacy and tenderness of the Absolute reveals Itself where It wants. In one moment it is the salt smell of the sea, the sunlight in a field, the clear chill of autumn, the dewdrops on a spider’s web. Another moment it is in the heart, an unbelievable sweetness, the total belonging to an unnameable presence. Along the axis of love, we know real belonging. It works with the majesty of God to draw us nearer and nearer, ultimately in devotion and complete surrender, until we realize that we are the oneness that includes all of creation, we are the love alive in every cell.
~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
there is no diminishing life force….don’t even worry about it……
inquiry for today~ the circle is unbroken……no energy is ever lost……we can stop….we can simply live and be well…..
Every human being is born with some sort of gift, an inclination or an instinct that can become a full-blown mystery. We may not see our gift for what it is. Each of us is a master at something, and part of becoming fully alive is to discover and develop our birthright competence. Our tendency to identify ourselves with our acquired skills rather than our natural gifts is one of the less desirable habits of the ego. It is the ego that decides what skills it prizes, the ego that exerts the effort to develop those skills, the ego that manipulates and markets those skills once it acquires them. So when we seek our own birthright gifts, it is important not to equate them with the techniques our society names as skills. Our gifts may be as simple as a real interest in other people, a quiet and caring manner, an eye for beauty, a love of rhythm and sound. But in those simple personal gifts the seeds of vocation are often found, if we are wiling to do the inner and outer work necessary to cultivate our mastery.
~Parker J. Palmer
