Arriving at Grace
Sometimes words, especially abstract concepts, flow by us without us pausing to really examine them. We think we know them, and we have a general sense of them, but like casual acquaintances there is often more for us to learn from them. Every now and then a concept “walks by” and I like to invite it in for a cup of tea, to get to know it better.
Lately, the word “Grace” has been popping up with unusual frequency in all sorts of conversations. I was getting curious about this when, after a long car ride, as I parked the car, I looked up at a street sign that read “Grace Street". That was the kicker - literally a sign that I had arrived at a place in my life where I needed to get to know Grace better.
“What is exactly is Grace?” I wondered.
When I looked it up, I discovered Grace is like an Italian rainbow cookie, with layers of meaning, each of them sweet. Grace is:
1.) seemingly effortless and beautiful movement,
2.) a willingness to be fair and honest, and
3.) an instance of kindness, courtesy, or forgiveness.
Once I had its definition, it still felt conceptual, abstract, so I began looking for moments of Grace in life, to have a more tangible sense of it. I noticed that Grace shows up in the space that exists when I’m not judging myself or others. It shows up when I meet a moment with equanimity, accepting the reality of the situation rather than wrestling it. It shows up when I’m aware of physically moving through space as I walk up the street. In the body, Grace feels like ease and possibility.
Before, when it existed for me merely as an abstract, Grace felt like the good china - something only brought out on special occasions. Now, though, I wanted to find ways to bring it into my every day. I began to explore ways to invoke Grace. As I breathed, I asked myself, “Can I breathe with Grace?” As I walked, I wondered, “Can I walk with Grace?”, and as I sat listening to people, I challenged myself to listen with Grace. I discovered, to my great delight, that, yes, it’s possible to bring Grace into all of these situations.
As I’ve had tea with Grace over the past few weeks, I’ve come to realize that Grace lets me see myself honestly, and Grace understands that I’m a work in progress. Grace says I love you even when I mess up, and Grace says, “Even your awkwardness feels beautiful". Grace says, “Life doesn’t have to be as hard as you make it," and Grace says, "Trust me." And then, more importantly, it says, “You can trust yourself."
I needed Grace and having learned how to offer myself Grace, I find I can offer it to others more easily.
From a practice perspective, we can build our Grace muscle through breathing meditation - letting ourselves rest fully in the present moment of each breath; through Mountain, Lake or Sky meditation - practicing acknowledging the reality of any given moment; through Walking Meditation - feeling the beauty of moving through space one moment at a time; and through any heart opening practice - letting ourselves feel kindness towards ourselves and others.
May we all feel the joy of discovery,
Your CMP Family
