Although I am humbled and honored when I am asked to compose a Living Grace passage, my initial reaction is still a lump-in-my-throat feeling. My next action is to take my feelings to God and Guru in prayer and meditation. As God and Guru calm my surface level fears, my soul settles into a peaceful state of a simple desire to share whatever God wants me to say. This time, a reading from Yogananda’s Spiritual Diary came to mind, an entry from Sri Gyanamata for July 19. Her three suggestions sound simple enough: detach, think of God, and be patient. These three suggestions take on a very different perspective when I put them to myself as questions on a daily or even a moment-by-moment basis. Do I detach? Do I think of God as the Giver? Am I patient? I consider how I felt when the person in front of me at the checkout needed a price check. If I have worked hard on some project, I look at my motives: am I looking for someone’s approval or recognition? Am I giving myself credit for working hard to purchase something new or realizing first and foremost that God is abundantly generous with His gifts to me? Because I am a disciple, these simple reminders need my daily attention and action. I truly believe that Sri Gyanamata’s three suggestions not only give me the right attitude but also right-size my whole outlook on the time God grants me.
God, Christ, Guru,
Thank you for giving
Sri Gyanamata these words
And helping me with mine.
