Work is Love made visible -- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
Today, as you read this, perhaps you are taking your break from an endless number of chores or tasks you have started or about to finish. I sense the feeling of being unproductive, despite doing a lot and spending great amount of effort, time and money. For the longest time you have believed that the things you do can bring you more meaning and purpose in your life. And you often equate this meaning with a brilliant career, a new set of skills, a fantastic relationship, or any expensive material possession. They are all good at their ends. Yet after achieving a few of them, if not all, you still feel the void. Something is looming, waiting to be discovered. It's a black hole of uncertainty. And it remains untouchable, and you are driven away by that fear that might sweep your life off your feet.
Why is it that even if you do things, you still have that feeling of being adrift in the ocean of the unknown. You have been asking yourself "What's next?" a lot of times, and trying to have fun or hooking yourself up to something enjoyable and addictive so you don't bother yourself answering that very difficult question. Because deep inside, whatever things you do remains empty, until such time you take the risk of discovering the answer way beyond the predictability of your life. There is more to do, but that thing is more than just any backbreaking stuff. It is more of an undertaking that neither your career nor your possessions can equal, yet both of them provide the tools you need to accomplish it.
Why not rethink your life right now? Why not see it again in a larger different perspective? In retrospect, try to see what you have worked for and what you have accomplished. Embrace all those things you did and had in the past, and those that you presently do and have. See all those failures and blunders and mistakes as part of your learning process. And see your small successes and big achievements not just rewards, but keys to the meaningful and purposeful life you are about to commit. You are here not as an organism of random biological processes. You are not here by accident in a seemingly unfriendly world. You are not alone in this vast universe waiting for your certain death. While life is full of suffering, it is in the realization of it that makes life more joyful. This is what you need to accomplish. To live your life full of joy, going above any pain and pleasure. But the question is, "How?"
Seeing the worth of your Soul is where you start. You don't need any credentials, or implements, or possessions, or rewards to fill in this inner space of worth that you often think as a void. You need not to capitalize on what you have or what you do, but on what you ARE. By the virtue of being a human, you are enough. To realize your worth without judging yourself against the standard of this world is the beginning of your true Soulwork. This is where the "next" comes in.
In this way, you are reliving again your Life as conscious as possible. You are not anymore an automaton who follows what the world dictates you to do. You are not just a rank-and-file jobber who is often measured by the things you do or have. You cannot be deterred in fulfilling your true life simply by being compared or prejudiced. Because you are precious enough to be you, and from being you, you can open yourself to the wide breadth of your potential. You can now begin to put grander meaning to everything you have, for they are the tools you can use to fulfill your purpose. You can see that the things you do are not just mechanical duties, but your great endeavor done little by little, adding to the magnificent scheme of inner and outer possibilities. Your Soul is doing a great job in allowing the Universe to reveal itself to you, simply by making yourself revealed in full awareness, of showing that you are conscious enough to see yourself as a work and product of Love. Each thing you hold is empowered with your Love. Each thing you create becomes Love. Whatever that is, it becomes an instrument of Love.
You are not anymore trading your blood, sweat and tears off. There is no need to die for any strenuous and stressful work. Because everything you do leads you to a fuller life. What you do is done with Love, a wordless prayer that expressed through your hands, a faith that is worth a thousand labor. Being you is a labor of Love. This is enough.
At the age of seven I was thinking of what talent I do really have. Is it dancing, I thought. Perhaps singing, since I used to get up on stage and perform. Or cooking. As a pre-schooler, we were asked to bring eggs and hotdogs and pancake to fry and serve them for lunch. I enjoyed doing them. Well, those little things, as a kid, were things of enjoyment, of being in that moment without really worrying what will happen in the future. So it didn't occur to me that there is something more that I could really do.
At age eleven, I started reading a poem in Filipino. That poem ignited my deep interest on poetry, which was then the spark that has made me explore writing up to now. This newfound power compelled me to write my own story, create imaginative characters which I used to do while playing on my own, making humanoid toys converse with each other. Through writing I could create my own world of magic and possibility. I write stories on a yellow pad, a bond paper, or even on a flattened cigarette carton boxes. Inspired by children's fantasies on TV, I would write my own alamat (legends), fables, and fairy tales. I even create my own version of well known children's stories. During my grade school days, I would go to the library and devour on Filipino high school textbooks. After my stay, I would bring at least two textbooks with me, so I could read them the whole weekend. When my mom bought me a typewriter as a gift, I typed stories voraciously, spending my holy weeks madly banging the typewriter with endless ideas, stories and poems that spring from my imagination. These are my writing adventures, all of which are foundational for all the writings on Love you have read on this blog.
"Writing is my Soul. It is my being. It is my becoming."
This time, I am rediscovering writing. It is my great tool. No, it is more than a tool. Writing is my Soul. It is my being. It is my becoming. It is the best thing I want to do, to enliven and to achieve. It is not just a routine of scribbling sentences and paragraphs. Writing is my form of expression, a personal experience, a timeless adventure. In writing, I can write my own world, bring back my wonderful memories, chronicle my own history, describe my experiences, learn from my inner creativity, relieve my stressful days, talk to myself and to God, share others my heart, and explore my true self. My writing is as unique as me, as specific as my DNA, for it allows me to create my personal dimension manifested in words. Sooner I may die and be forgotten for years, yet the gift of my writing to the world will outlast centuries, just as many writers who have lived their lives and left their legacies. Writing becomes the fossil of their once living beings, a blueprint of their entity and a witness to the fulfillment of their souls. In truth, I am bringing these same effects in my life.
Writing from the Soul has led me to find that everything around me can be captured through unspoken words untainted by worldly meaning. There is suchness in each truth I see, and each can offer that power to become written experience. The sea can become an inkwell or the earth can become paper. Or the sky a blank screen and the stones a keyboard. Every movement in nature has a dynamic awakening of words, in which every heart can read Love.
I am now writing a book on Love. Of all my writing adventures, this one is the ultimate. As words spring forth from this book, each rings the wonder and magic of Love. My Soul writes its own enlightenment, as Love brings light as its message to the world.
My greatest fulfillment, and perhaps equally as my greatest success, is to write from the depth of my Soul. Yes, I could write in many ways, about many things, yet to write from the Soul is much more transformative. I have enabled myself to see things in the eyes of Love, and to account for those sights, hindsights, and insights. Bringing life to Love through words is a magnificent achievement. I feel that this goes the same for Souls who have chosen to express Love through music or arts or helping each other, and the expression of Love becomes their own radical unfolding. The same is true for my writing experience. Writing is the very key to the immense potentiality of my Soul. I have realized that if I'm going to seek first the kingdom of God, I have to find it through writing. Because this kingdom of God, which I call and experience as Love, remains formless until the time I weave words that would express it. Then Love becomes tangible and real. And from there, all forms of Love would flow incessantly, the blessings that come from my realization of Love.
How can we really see the world in a grain of sand? It seems that the English poet William Blake did it when he was alive. Rather than mastering poetry, he mastered how to see the miracles around him. And by seeing those miracles, he had written great poems that bespeak of these miracles. Perhaps that is the secret to witnessing a miracle. But for most of our lives, we have sought physical miracles. We are trying to wait for someone to descend from the sky, casting shimmering radiance. Or maybe be astounded by any object showing faces like miraculous inkblots. Yes, these can be miracles. They can demonstrate puzzling phenomena never before seen in daily encounters. Thus, a definition of a miracle is something that can shock anyone, usually in a very rare, extraordinary moment, preferably an attention-grabbing, mind-boggling experiencing that will bring out again that sense of faith buried beneath the consciousness.
Are we missing great miracles in our everyday lives? We have been living in a rapid pace of changing trends and technology, and still remain static in our sense of existence. Many of us still look for something grand and perfect that will somehow captivate our spirits hungry for magic and enchantment. If not a miracle of some supernatural event, maybe the thought of fulfilling our mundane desires could be equally miraculous, such as having a perfect partner, or winning in a lottery, or being promoted in our jobs. Those are miracles in their own ways. But all of them are miracles happening outside, making us flabbergasted. Nonetheless, within us are great miracles that are more than what our senses can witness; they are extraordinary that only the awakened soul can discern them. In the eyes of world, these miracles are mere ordinary occurrences, let alone a nonsense humdrum.
What are these miracles?
It is the miracle of the stuff you enjoy using, such as your phone or personal computer, assembled through the genius of their inventors, to make your life much easier. Haven't you wondered how it is miraculous to receive messages from your dear ones and friends in a blink of an eye? It amazes me how our technology has gone far just to make us more connected in the midst of long distances and time.
It is the miracle of the fragrant flowers blooming countlessly, the leaves growing from a broken branch of a big tree, the brook burbling continuously, the crickets chirping in chorus, and the small white butterfly gently flying from one leaf to another. It is the miracle of the changing sky, with its clouds fleeting like long, endless feathers; or its kaleidoscopic horizon in a sunrise or sunset, with a play of bright orange and yellow, or purple and red.
It is the miracle of the laughter and smiles from your loved ones and friends, kindling the fire of joy that gives warmth in your most intimate moments. It is the miracle of touching, hugging and kissing, ways that connect your soul to their souls, connections that even death can be defied.
It is the miracle of you as you see yourself in the mirror, feeling everything around you with your senses. The miracle of your sense of sight that sees every color and movement, your sense of hearing that hears every sound and music, and your sense of smell that enjoys every scent and aroma. It is the miracle of your hands holding anything and touching another, and your feet walking and dancing in various movements.
It is the miracle of an awakened heart, discerning the existence of your Soul in each and every thing you encounter. It is the miracle of Love that arises in your awareness. When you begin to recognize that whatever you see in this world and this life, sans your limited prejudice of beauty and ugliness, are all miracles, then you can begin to see the reality of Love. Love and all these miracles are the same. You can see Love as you see these miracles. Thus, the definition of Love is not just something that can shock but astonish anyone; not just in a rare, extraordinary moment, for every moment is extraordinary; it's not anymore attention-grabbing or mind-boggling, for these happen to those that are yet to see the nature of Love; and this Love renews this sense of faith into an enlarged consciousness.
The mastery of Love is the mastery of seeing miracles. And the magic is this: we are not just spectators of these miracles. We can begin to create them. A Course in Miraclesstates " Miracles occur as natural expressions of Love. The real miracle is the Love that inspires them. In this sense, every thing comes from Love is a miracle."
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."--Book of Matthew
Our lives are full of uncertainties. These uncertainties are the result of suffering. We grapple our ways towards many fixations, of making life more secure and comfortable. We have sought ways in which we can stabilize the flow of life through the best ways we know, be it money or job or some sort of meaningful task or endeavor. We always make sure that whatever that is uncertain, which we always fear, must vanish through our efforts of creating a life that is more predictable and measurable. We often design ourselves like cogs in a machine, following the gears of a mechanistic, fated universe. So whenever we encounter the opportunity to change, we often shun them away, or worse we dread them, for these are uncertain choices that do not fit our expectations and assumptions. My former classmate raised a question during our usual group conversations a few years ago: "What happens to our lives after college? We'll finish school, get a job, get married, have a family, have kids, send kids to school, travel places, collect things, shop and buy, yet what will happen next? It is as if our lives is just a cycle of repeating experiences. I guess there is more to life than just these things." Yes, there is more to life. This is for sure. Still, what we are always missing is the certainty, the decision, the courage to take the risk and dare to venture the uncharted wilderness of that more in our lives.
Uncertainty is not just a fact, it is the truth. Through this, we can be always certain that there is more to life. But too seek this more outside ourselves is a futile venture. Because whatever we find outside, paradoxically, is all inside of us. Within us is the power to find the immensity of life. Our very tool is our Soul's Inner Knowing. It is both our tool and our being. The Inner Knowing brings us to this core of awareness, of being deeply certain in the middle of countless uncertainties. Our Inner Knowing is the sense of our Soul. It knows what it both knows and does not know. It is our connection to the mysteries of Life, to the things we are yet to experience, to the possibilities we desire to achieve. Our Inner Knowing cuts through our vague understanding and brings us to reexamine our decisions and choices, and leaves us a question: "Am I coming from Love?" We become aware through our Inner Knowing when we can sense that deep essence of Love, and we answer our life's puzzle through the test of doing and acting from that very Love. Within this Knowing, we discern the passion of our hearts, on how it wants to express and experience Life in the grandest way possible. Often, the world around us, and the people we know will find that our choices that come from Love will always be absurd. It is because Love never follows the standard of this world. It has its own Inner Knowing. This Inner Knowing is always sure of what it chooses. It is always an empowered choice. And it transforms our Life into its truest fulfillment.
This Inner Knowing is the Kingdom of God and Christ encourages us to tap into it. We could find it nowhere nor sooner. Because it is, in Christ words, within and among us. We never wait for it, for this Inner Knowing only knows that the only moment is this very moment where we can always give the world what our Soul can offer, and that is Love. So we must stop seeking it elsewhere or waiting for tomorrow to let the Inner Knowing come. The here and now is the best time and place we can Love. And it what ways this Inner Knowing knows and does Love? Our Inner Knowing knows Love if we stop judging and comparing ourselves with others. It does Love if we stop worrying of whatever happened in the past and will happen in the future. There is no Soul better than us, except the illusion that we are being compared and measured. These illusions stop us to acknowledge our Inner Knowing, but remind us that it is there. Soul has no time to wait, for there is really no time at all. In timelessness of the Inner Knowing, we have already achieve our desires, what we just need to do is to recognize them that we do. It is so obvious, but we think our Inner Knowing is still unknown because whatever unknown must be feared of. Fear of the unknown prevents us to seek this mystery, of diving to this overwhelming dimension of our Inner Knowing, of this Love within. Thus the paradox: the more we look for some known goal we are badly obsessed to grab, the more we lose our chance of being aware of the blessings that is right in front of us.
This Inner Knowing is the door leading to our awareness. Once we become aware, we are less afraid of what we don't know. Delving to this unknown, to this mystery of Life is the first step to our own transcendence. Life, however predictable it may seem to be, is no longer reduced into redundant routines. Each experience, even if it is so mundane and ordinary, becomes a sacred moment, where Love radiates into being. We can do things with Love, even as simple as washing the dishes or riding a bus. This awareness of Love moment to moment is the Inner Knowing that knows itself being known, and allows itself to be known in its most unknown and unlikely manner. It directs us into the state what our Soul really is. Inner Knowing is always sure and never fails to be sure, because the only thing that is exact to it is the certitude of Love.
In the unfathomable depths of our being, we have always known our Inner Knowing. It only waits for us to choose to know. There is no other way. Once we do, whatever limited things we know about Love expands. We will finally know that Love and Inner Knowing are both the same. This is the ultimate knowing that finally puts our hearts at peace with Life, and our Soul in the womb of Love.
The vision of PATHFINDERS' COMMUNE(Latin: to be one with) is to bring back the awareness of Oneness through sharing, understanding, and experiencing our true human nature: LOVE. We are Communing, thus we are Loving.
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