This Golden Moment

I am trying to feel hopeful this morning and finding it difficult, I admit. Spring flowers are in bloom, but winter refuses to loosen its icy grip, giving us snow this past weekend as a nasty Mother's Day joke. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling restless, two months into our virus-induced societal lockdown, with governments contemplating the great "re-opening", but none of us having any real understanding of whether it's safe to come out yet.  There is so much unknown...we don't want to live in fear, but we also know that acting foolishly can endanger our health and possibly our lives.  As always, when I'm feeling confused and a little afraid, I find that spending time in prayer and meditation, while not always providing the clear answers I'm looking for, at least gives me peace.

So this morning, I breathe deeply, taking life-giving oxygen into my lungs, thankful for this gift.  I turn within, releasing anything that hinders my connection to the Divine - all sadness, anger, frustration, anxiety or guilt, letting all float away like bubbles that dissipate in the air.  I give thanks for this new day, for life itself, as strange and sad as it can be sometimes. I open myself up to what is - the great "I am", the Source of all being. I focus on the word "One" and repeat this word over and over again, to keep the incessant chatter of my mind at bay.  I let my thoughts go and find my calm center.

Suddenly, the dawn breaks...I have turned on the lights in my spirit and am filled with a sense of peace and renewal.  Nothing external matters now, in this golden moment when my heart is open to Love.  From this point of peace, I turn outward, to family, praying for each one as the Spirit guides.  Then outward, further, my prayers go-for light where there is darkness, health where there is sickness, love where there is hatred, hope where there is despair. How much my small prayers can do I do not know, but I trust that there are many others praying at this exact moment in time and imagine that angels will be summoned to heal all that needs healing in the world.

Today, I vow to cling to "whatever is excellent or praiseworthy" and to replace fear with faith.