Practice The Presence: Practice Grabbing Hold

Carpe Diem! Seize the Moment! This was a ‘new’ saying that took hold a few years ago. Everywhere you went you saw it posted on walls, books, posters, bumper and even a few inappropriate places too. But nonetheless it was well used. But not well understood.

We get knocked about in life. That’s a fact! That’s just the way it is! We see all these people with perfect lives on the television and wonder “why can’t I have their life?” And then we are reminded that even the Superstars have pain to bear. This last year alone there have been a few deaths due to drug overdoses. And why do they overdose? On purpose? I don’t think so. They overdose by accident. They are trying to escape that lot that is theirs. And they slide down that dark tunnel alone and too deeply.

We can look at these lives and say, “But look at them! They are millionaires with mobs chasing them and people adoring them and people serving them and, and, and…” They are empty. Just like you feel at times. Just like I feel at times.

When I was younger I would often just throw my hands in the air in despair and just want to give up. I did give up on three different occasions in fact. But just when I threw my hands up, there was a hand there to pull me up.

Now in recognition of that and the gratitude I feel for the second chances I’ve been given I know that in the depths there is hope. I now can go to my quiet place. I can put my head on my pillow and say, “Tomorrow I’ll feel more rested. Tomorrow will feel different.” And if I don’t sleep or I get up feeling rotten, I just say, “Tomorrow I’ll feel more rested. Tomorrow will feel different.”

I go to my time of meditation and prayer (if you like that term) and journal. I fill the emptiness with ritual. I am kinder to myself and the Creator. I Practice The Presence: Practice Grabbing Hold.

What do I grab hold of? Sometimes just air (faith). Sometimes just a few sane words in the storm (hope). Sometimes a rest (peace). I grab hold of that hand that is always there for me.

I also, with this perspective of years, grab hold of my own strength. Faith, hope, peace, they build an inner calm; a place of strength. It’s all good and well to believe that your Higher Power will be there. But as my Mum used to say, God helps those who help themselves. She didn’t mean it in a trite or profane way. She knew that deep within all of us is the Creator, built right into our DNA. There is strength. There is fortitude.

MY TRUTH: This roller coaster ride I call my life, it’s been an interesting series of loops, bumps, drops and even stalls. But I know that deep within, when I go into my quiet place, there is the Presence. Carpe Diem!

 

 

We don’t just need to come to believe in God (Higher Power). We need to come to believe in ourselves. Let your I can’t turn into I can. Take all the time you need. Learn to enjoy the process of coming to believe you can. Accept where you are in your learning curve today (and always).

Melody Beattie,

More Language of Letting Go,  November 2

Brackets Mine

 

Practice The Presence: Practice Grabbing Hold