The last days of spring have slipped away setting the stage for the farms and gardens to awaken. The efforts of those who till the soil are beginning to bear fruit, literally and figuratively; farmers’ markets offering early yields, flower beds and planters awash in color and texture. This bounty is realized only after threats are overcome and crises are averted. These feasts for the senses are produced with great effort and exertion, much the same as the effort to awaken fully to one’s divinity. And those who seek to awaken have much in common with the farmer and gardener.
We often talk of rebirth in glowing terms and beautiful language as if it arrives with little effort or detached from difficulty. Nothing could be further from the truth! For sure on this journey, there are times when life pulls us down and detours abound. The harsh reality is that there are times when we must slog through the mud and muck of life, just like the farmer and gardener, to awaken to our divinity.
The context within which we live hinders our journey to awaken. Negative influences abound: countries at war, cultures in perpetual conflict, systems and entities lacking a compass of integrity, people resorting to violence to settle disputes, and countless folks disconnecting through addition to drugs, alcohol and some might add the virtual world. These harsh aspects of life encumber efforts to achieve peace, equanimity and ultimately bliss; like an overstuffed backpack that becomes a burden on a journey.
Rising above the negativity on the path to awaken is akin to the gardener coping with hungry deer and rabbits or the farmer withstanding drought or blight. It requires as much commitment as effort. Recognizing that the route is circuitous and that the journey will be long and difficult is prerequisite to success. Those who are steadfast in their determination will reap the ultimate harvest – ever new joy and bliss.
Those who have awakened are cheering us on, reminding us that no reward is greater than the full realization that we are divine; no prize is grander than the experience of merging in the absolute love that is SOURCE! Listen and you will hear them clapping in the silence of your meditation and contemplation. . .