It is our mutual fate to live in a time of such chaos and upheaval that the institutions we hoped would protect us cannot keep up with the flood of changes that repeatedly disorient and confound us. In a world that is increasingly divided against itself, we can find ourselves on the edge of despair at any moment. Each time the world takes a darker turn, it becomes easier to feel lost and fear that we may become lost altogether.
Yet, the sense that everything and everyone has become divided into opposing parties or mutually exclusive beliefs is not simply proof that everything is polarized. Rather, it is the painful evidence that what we desperately need is a genuine sense of unity that can only come from a place that is deeper and more true than all that alienates and divides us.
In a world of radical changes, extreme beliefs and lost hopes we have to find moments of wholeness that can keep our hearts open and ease our minds. While anger can overtake us at any time and fear tends to fragment and diminish us, gratitude is the natural emotion that gives us a sense of wholeness. Practices of giving thanks are intended to bring a sense of wholeness that often goes missing in the world.
In feeling grateful for the gift of life and being thankful for those who bless us in some way, we can feel whole, for at least a moment. At the same time, the presence of gratitude serves as an indication of the innate nobility and natural compassion seeded in each of our souls. Although gratitude can be difficult to express because it comes from a deep place in the heart where pain and rejection also dwell; even a small sense of gratefulness can generate a feeling of inner abundance and momentary wholeness.
Gratitude and grace are connected with grace being a state of being that reminds us of the mostly unseen realm of spirit and great imagination that is always nearby. Feeling grateful makes things whole and grace can make life feel holy again.
The need to be touched by grace and feel the underlying holiness of life is at the root of many healing traditions as “to heal” means “to make whole again.” Healing and making whole and feeling the holiness of life are all connected and are all necessary when we find ourselves in the dark times of division and alienation. At such times, the pain of separation and the fears of isolation can be redeemed, at least for a moment and that is a kind of grace.
Since the world will not soon settle and the tensions that divide us may intensify, we need to find and make moments of wholeness that remind us of the underlying unity of life. We need to feel that life, despite all the current divisions and heart breaking conflicts, remains holy, that healing remains possible and that grace can fall upon us at any time.
Listen to a full hour in conversation with Michael Meade
on a recent episode of the Sounds of SAND Podcast.
