For most of my life, I’ve been a believer that there is something out there much bigger than me. I know that I wouldn’t have been so blessed in this life, if there wasn’t something guiding me each and every day. This higher power I choose to call God. This wonderful God brought me to my knees, guided me out of my addiction and led me on the path to more meaningful life.
Today, I experience God as an energy much like our own. An energy that I can only connect to when I’m living in the present moment. When my mind is still and my heart is open, his great energy arrives. In these moments, I realize the endless capacity of our mind, body and soul to experience heaven on earth.
Some would ask, “How can you believe in something you can’t see? There is no proof of a God.” I respond by saying “Oh, but I do see it. I see it in everything around me. I see it in people and in nature. I feel it in my soul.”
The problem some people face is that they can’t feel it or connect to it, because they don’t allow themselves to. They don’t allow room for faith. They also can’t imagine a God that would allow the horrible suffering that humans experience. To this, I respond by saying “No matter what happens in our lives, good or bad, we still have the power to find peace.”
I wouldn’t consider myself religious. I don’t go to church on the regular. I believe there are beautiful lessons to be taught from every religion. But at my core, I just consider myself spiritual. Spirituality to me is not always found in church or a book. I find God by simply living life itself. I see God in the sunshine, the flowers, the birds, the rivers, the loving messages of others and in the miracles that make themselves visible every day.
The higher power I choose to call God, is a loving God, who lives through the trees, the wind, the sun, the sky and in all living things. The messages he sends are the power and the truth of life. I’ve always seen God this way. I don’t believe God only reigns in heaven, but that heaven can be experienced right here on earth. By living in the present moment and being grateful for each breath, we can certainly experience heavenly joy and peace.
My life used to be filled with sadness. My addictions began as a child and a black cloud rose above me. I was filled with delusions and a lack of confidence in who I was. But somehow I found a way out of this black hole. With everything I had, I dug myself out, pushed the cloud away, and allowed the sunlight of the spirit to touch my soul. Through this experience, it wasn’t so much that I’d become a different person, but I’d rediscovered who I always was and was meant to be. The truth of my existence.
I don’t know the grand plan for the world. I don’t know what’s going to happen today, or tomorrow, or twenty years from now. But when I let go of needing to know or needing to control the outcome, when I cease fighting everyone and everything, amazing things happen. Amazing things!
The world is not perfect, it is a canvas. As long as we stay flexible and do the work we need to do to make positive changes in our own lives, we can change the way we think and live. In doing so, we create our own happiness. If we adopt a life of mindfulness that allows us to live in a state of awareness, compassion and tolerance, we can let go and choose joy. It doesn’t matter what is going on around us, we can choose to live peacefully in the present.
