I chose the title of this blog because I heard someone use this phrase and I really liked it…! Now I have to think of something to say that maybe relates to it…..over to God…..
I had an insight some time ago about being in ‘flow’ – by this I mean being in line with how the system, the universe, life works. As far as I can see it only works one way…. From the inside out – we experience everything through the gift of thought. When we understand this, insightfully, a natural by product is that life flows more easily. That is not to say that things don’t happen that I perhaps wouldn’t have chosen, but that when they do I am less likely to ‘fight’ what is and find myself being more accepting.
For me, this acceptance could be called being at one with nature or ‘holding hands with God’ (phew, I did it!!).
I can definitely say that during the more recent years of my life I have held hands with God on a regular basis. And it is so freeing – to know that the weight of the world isn’t in my hands!
I have come across a number of people (and I used to be one of them) who, given the chance would ask to be freed from their suffering. Understanding the inside out nature of life doesn’t offer freedom from suffering. The freedom comes from having a different experience of suffering.
I regularly have conversations with my friends about being ‘signed up for the full tour’. It is a phrase that we have shamelessly stolen (and butchered!) from Michael Neill. Here is what I heard when he spoke about this:
If you were an alien (something I am sure I must be seen as by some people….. ) booking a trip to earth and you are given two options – the Whistle Stop Tour; a few small cities, a brief look at a lake or river, to meet one or two human beings and a brief conversation with a passer-by OR you can take the Full Tour; visit every country; tour every major and minor city; see breath-taking scenery; lakes, mountains, canals, rainforests; immerse yourself in the culture and history of many different nations and tribes; have conversations with human beings from all walks of life; see the good, the bad and the ugly – which one would you choose. Honestly, I would always go for the full tour – I mean, who wouldn’t?
And it feels to me as though that is what I have signed up for in life – the whole tour, the ups and down, the highs and lows, the good and the bad. Including the suffering. And in knowing I am fully signed up and being sure that, regardless of what I see and experience on this tour, God has my hand at all times (ooh I did it again!) – I experience suffering entirely differently.
Thank God
(Disclaimer: May I remind you not to listen to the words but hear the truth behind the words. I really like being reminded of this - as someone who tries to put some of my thoughts into words – it is great to remember that truth is never in the words but in what the words are pointing to)