We just assume at times like this that something as simple as a yellow leaf falling on a red bush is merely a happy accident. But Anthony Bloom, in his Beginning to Pray, suggests otherwise:
"If you accept that this day was blessed of God, chosen by God with His own hand, then every person you meet is a gift of God, every circumstance you will meet is a gift of God, whether it is bitter or sweet, whether you like or dislike it. It is God's own gift to you and if you take it that way, then you can face any situation..."
I'm surely a person of faith, and yet something in me rebels against this idea. It might, of course, just be the language... or it might be that I can't handle the challenge of it; haven't yet achieved that level of commitment. And it is rather painfully reminiscent of the predestination stuff that I absorbed in my childhood.
But it's good to think of things in this way. If I accept that everything that happens to me today -- good or bad -- is a gift from God, how will I behave differently?
4 comments:
Perhaps the gift is in the observation.
A thousand people could walk by that incredible yellow leaf on that stunning red tree. You stopped, noticed, took a picture, captured its beauty and made it part of you. You are no longer exactly the same person you were before you saw it.
How often does God (Source, Creator, Allah, Spirit) offer us those gifts and we don't notice? Then, when we do, we wonder about the miracle of it. Perhaps miracles abound, waiting for us to have the eyes to see.
What a gorgeous coloring!
I love this...
"If you accept that this day was blessed of God, chosen by God with His own hand, then every person you meet is a gift of God, every circumstance you will meet is a gift of God, whether it is bitter or sweet, whether you like or dislike it. It is God's own gift to you and if you take it that way, then you can face any situation..."
I grew up in a Christian home, groomed by the grandparents of time past, when church and family was right up there next to God. Somehow I managed to come out of that life interested in religions and ultimately becoming buddhist.
I can choose to believe for today, that Buddha gifted me with this sight and feel enriched and special. Or I can slough it off and just admire the setting of colors as I walk blindly through my day.
What makes my heart sing is the feeling of being special and loved as I choose the gift Buddha has arranged for me.
Cheryl, I love that you can so easily move that into a Buddhist perspective; it makes glorious sense to me!
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