In Change We Trust

The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own strength. A Course in Miracles (WB 77) I once saw a cartoon entitled, "Mastery" that showed a man standing in the middle of a one-way street, cars whizzing past him, while he pointed in the direction that the traffic was moving. A bystander provided the caption that read, "He even controls the flow of the traffic!" The rest of us make a stand against the flow of life, argue for what should be happening, and are run over or run through by the isness of life that we oppose.   We may know better but we resist this wisdom. We find it hard to go with the flow and trust in this world. No matter how many admonitions and parables exhorting the path of least resistance, never mind the track marks evidencing the consequences of standing against the flow, somehow we remain unconvinced that pushing back against life is unhealthy and unwise. Jesus had a lot to worry about in his time, and yet he preached, "Do not worry." I doubt Jesus had a healthy pension, or even a stocked pantry, and we know he had some serious enemies.   He had some very good reasons to worry, but he did not worry. How was he able to respond to 'worrisome' conditions with confidence, ease and grace? Answer: He had a big Trust fund. He truly knew the source of his well-being, and found true security in the invisible and very real Spirit of life within him. He was identified with an indwelling Father, who knew his needs before he asked and whose pleasure it was to fulfill them. Jesus was not in denial about the difficulties of life and we know he had his preferences (remember the 'take this cup' moment in the garden) but he could see beyond the appearances, and trusted more in the Greater Good than his personal will. He could see beyond a fallow field, to a harvest; beyond evil ways to essential innocence; beyond death to life without end. You and I have the same indwelling Father to rely upon. Jesus did not have a bigger God than we do. He had a bigger faith, a bigger trust fund. The potential for us to live in trust is equal to Jesus. We can begin in small ways to release the opposition in us, to relax and let go in small things. As we let go of the wheel and discover how Divine navigational intelligence operates in the minor redirections through life, we will begin to build trust for the major road closures and detours. This is how trust is built, incrementally over time, girded by faith. As every farmer knows, the real magic in the field is beyond his control. He can plant the seed, but the earth bestows. The very same Life force conspires for our good; and knows what makes us grow, thrive and prosper. The more we can trust it to work through our lives the more we will witness the ease and grace of life flowing through us. This is the path of mastery.

Shift Happens

If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change

If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change.                                           - John A. Simone, Sr., author Dealing with change in our lives can be the most daunting of challenges. Most of us find it difficult to embrace change, no matter how many times we've heard the axiom about change being life's only constant. When change knocks on the door, we loathe its intrusion. We are more likely to do battle with change; either fighting to hold on or fighting to let go. Why do we resist change so tenaciously? Change alters the reality picture and requires a new coping strategy. As one author wrote, "Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter." When life changes, we must make adjustments to navigate the new course. Most of us fear losing our way in unfamiliar terrain. With our fondness for predictability and control, we find comfort in the familiarity of the status quo, and cling to it. Yet despite our predilection to battle change, it is the nature of reality, as likely to arise as the morning sun. Indeed, shift happens, and will continue to happen and rock our world as long as we inhabit this physical plane. We can resist change, resist reality, but in the end, reality wins, every time! Putting it bluntly, resistance is futile and only increases suffering. Yet if we would find some measure of equanimity in the midst of change, we must ultimately accept the changes that surely will come, again and again in this life. As Alan Watts observed, "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." When we fully embrace, and enter the currents of change, then the headwinds of resistance subside. In the calm that comes from acceptance we make way for wisdom and understanding to arise. With a degree of acquiescence to our new reality, we may begin to understand the course correction. If we maintain this willingness to flow with change it can lead us to deeper understanding, and allow us to find inner peace despite an outer life that remains rife with uncertainty. No matter the rise and fall of the economy or any volatile worldly structure, there is a still point within you that remains constant and always accessible. This is the essence of you that is not subject to the ravages of upheavals, and remains a sacred haven even when everything around you is changing. My sense is that change is only going to accelerate going forward on the present trajectory of human/technological evolution. Realizing there are no fixed end points in this life, malleability will trump rigidity, and the truly happy of us will learn to surf the rising and falling tides of change.