Open to Everything

Thanksgiving

“It's as if what is unbreakable,

the very pulse of life—waits for

everything else to be torn away,

and then in the bareness that

only silence and suffering and

great love can expose, it dares

to speak through us and to us.

It seems to say, if you want to last,

hold on to nothing. If you want

to know love, let in everything.

If you want to feel the presence

of everything, stop counting the

things that break along the way.”

Mark Nepo (“Where is God” in Reduced to Joy)

This weekend, as you and your loved ones are sitting around the Thanksgiving table, don't fret about overcooking the turkey, or whether the dressing is as good as your mother's used to be. Don't talk about the election, or the terrible conditions in the world. Just look around that table, and say “Thank you.” Thank you, God, for all these crazy people who love me. Thank you for the fact that there is food to eat, and stories to recount. Thank you that my life has not been easy, because otherwise I would not know how strong I really am, and how much I rely on You to hold me up.

Don't judge the others, don't let them crawl under you skin. They are here for that very reason—to help you stop counting what is broken, and begin to allow in everything. Let your heart be open, and grateful—for the good and the bad, for the dark times and the light. For all the emotions you feel, and have felt, and will feel in the future; for all the experiences that you have celebrated or disdained, just say thank you. These are the small, exquisite nudges of Soul that keep you moving forward, and opening to the reality that all that exists is divine love.

                                                               In the Spirit,

                                                                   Jane