Honoring the Mystery

My good friend Char, who died a few years ago, once loudly exclaimed, "Life is big!' At the time, I didn't realize how powerful those three words were or how they fit so well with Char'‘s other favorite statement, "I don't know". When you put those two small sentences together, it's clear that she was gazing into the mystery, and that she was seeing so far into the depths of life that her words became as simple as a child's.

Words drop when we are in the presence of the essence of life. Awe comes to mind.

There is so much we don't understand. Thus, we must bow to the sacred mystery within us, around us and through us. Our very breath is a mystery. Most of the questions we have about life and our existence cannot be answered. And yet, we wake up every day stepping into the unknown. Some days we embrace this mystery full on. Other days, we'd rather not engage with it.

That's okay.

Char handled the bigness of life by focusing on love. She called herself a love investigator because she enjoyed reminding people that love is what matters. In fact, she often said, "Love is calling.” Removing the inner veils that blocked the flow of unconditional love was her life's work, so to speak. She didn't just speak about this, she practiced and lived it every day. She had to, because she was married to a man who was extremely difficult to love. But, instead of walking away from him, she decided to see him as her teacher, as the one who could most polish the mirror within her heart.

She honored the mystery.

As much as we'd like to control our destiny, sometimes the mystery has other plans for us. We head in one direction, and life blocks it, requiring us to go in a completely different direction. It is an act of deep surrender to face what may be the most challenging of people or situations and embrace them as teachers. Few of us have the tenacity to do this. We'd rather run from the pain. But sometimes pain is the very best way for us to grow and stretch and evolve.

Char discovered this, and even though her life could have taken an entirely different direction, she embraced the one before her, committed as she was to love. Imagine accepting the challenge from life to love someone who is difficult to love on a daily basis. What resources would you have to drawn on within yourself?

Love is calling. It's calling us all to dive deep into the mystery and honor it with our presence. There, and only there is where we'll find love. Because, as Char surely discovered, it is who we are. Nothing more. Nothing less. It is what we're all seeking. She knew this, which is why she cast off anything that wasn't about that. She headed straight into the burning fires of love so that she could be purified and cleansed of anything that was not that.

I can only hope to come close to that. 

How about you? How do you honor the mystery? Where is it calling you out? In what areas of your life are resisting the call and in what areas are you embracing it?

Maybe right now your answer is, "I don't know". 

That's okay...just continue to listen to those quiet whispers in your heart and they will lead you where you need to go.