Presence is happening right where you are
When my heart is closed, Love is harder to see - even when it walks right up to me.
I am writing these words: We must be present in order to experience the wonder right before our eyes when this waitress walks up and starts bothering me.
Gahhhhh! She is driving me crazy. Chattering to me, distracting me, breaking my concentration. I am frustrated and upset. I want to write about Divine Love. She is ruining everything!
As she walks away, I think, Thank Heaven! Maybe NOW I can get back to this blog post about unconditional love.
And then... I start to laugh.
I hope I don't look like a crazy person, sitting here alone, laughing, tears streaming down my cheeks, but I find this so funny... I... this is hilarious.
Here I am, writing about unconditional love, and about presence. Here I am writing about attending to what is right here before us — letting the divine look through our eyes — and here is love, walking right up to me. And instead of seeing her, I am hurling hate darts.
I am hurling hate darts at love. I wipe my eyes with a napkin. I shake my head. This is just...
And then, oh, hooray!
Here she is again, the waitress, bubbling with friendly invitation. And this time, as I turn toward her, all I see is love: her wide-open face, her childlike, welcoming heart, inviting me to connect, to converse. She is not bothering me, she, Puckish and playful, is inviting me out of my head and back to real life - right here, in the present moment.
Oh, these angels are so crafty.
They do things like this.
All the time.
As the waitress walks away, I notice other things: the music, a sweet, high-pitched song with flute and piano and a strange, high-pitched whistle. I notice the fans gently turning the air, the water dripping from the ice where the oysters are stored. I am noticing what Love notices. And it's not my theories and lofty ideas that interest Love. It’s my fingers, dancing across the keys, their dexterity, the wrinkles on each knuckle, the gleam of the gold ring on my left hand.
Love, it seems, is interested in everything – the snow heaped in the parking lot, the light through the bottles – green, gold, red jewels – lined up above the bar.
Love is focused on the details, the smooth edge of this white china cup, this small pitcher of cream, the rich, smoky flavor of this imported tea, the tiny salt crystals and pebbly grey pepper in these glass shakers.
In just the kind of paradox the Divine loves, I see that awareness happens not only in the yoga studio or house of worship or the mountain retreat but everywhere - here at this table, there in that heap of snow, here in the bright eyes of this waitress, interrupting my work with a bright burst of love.
I gave myself this extra credit assignment. You might like to try it, too.
Think of a person (or situation) with whom (or with which) you are in conflict.
Let the Divine step forward. What does this person (or situation) look like through the eyes of love? Ask Love/The Divine to show you what they see. Look through the eyes of Love. Think with the mind of Love. Feel with the heart of Love.
Open. Willing. Appreciating everything.
(A mysteriously accurate and wonderfully playful reading with the Soul Call Cards. Curious about the cards? Read more about them here.)
(This post is from the archives of one of my other blogs. I transferred it over here because I think it’s worth keeping. You’ll find other archived posts under the WorthKeeping tab on my homepage.)
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You are loved. You are blessed. You are already perfect. Nothing you do can exile you.