During my walk I saw this and strode on by, but then something in me wanted to go back.
Four simple words, I was thinking, that could invoke a ton of different responses in people. We could cave to our first reaction. We could get caught up in the language of them, the vowels and consonants of them. Why? “God,” of course. We’re obviously not God in the traditional sense of the word. But the word “God” is just that, a word. A pointer, that points to a universal power that is so beyond our comprehension that assigning a gender or vowels and consonants to it doesn’t do it a bit of justice.
And what about that “remember”?
I wonder, if we might go beyond our human-minded idea that God is a bearded being in the sky who’s watching our every sin, that we might see and feel the potential beauty in the idea here. Perhaps this statement could mean that we are inherently good, because we are all of God/a higher power/Source/the divine, whatever you like to call that unexplainable universal intelligence that exists beyond us, around us, within us. Maybe it means that we are all born with the spark of the divine within us. That we are one with it, because we came from it. That, if God is the sun, then we are it’s rays; pure consciousness, pure joy, pure love. Jesus, who many believe was God in human form, said that the kingdom of God is within us. Is this what he meant? Is this all the same idea?
I’m not talking about putting ourselves up on a pedestal or exhalting ourselves. I’m talking about recognizing the divine part of us, our soul, our authentic self, and never forgetting how precious it is. And through the power it holds, we might recognize this power in others, not feel threatened by it, because we’re all connected by it. It goes way beyond our egoic needs, and it doesn’t need pedestals. It doesn’t invoke arrogance, but gratitude.
Someone said that ego is a good servant, but not a good master. It thrives on validation and how we’re perceived by others. It’s that voice inside our heads that’s sometimes quite demeaning to us. It wants us to base our worth on our earthly identity, status and successes. It serves a purpose in areas of practicality and logic, but when gone unnoticed and unchecked, it’s also the part of each of us that keeps us fearful and separate from others–and from the divine, for that matter. As children our mindsets were birthed from simplicity, goodness and joyful innocence. We were our hearts. As life teaches us adversity, our minds pass judgement and divide to armor ourselves against pain. Our survival brains kick in, for they love fixating on what’s wrong with everything, including us. How often in your life have you felt that something is wrong with you? That you’re not enough in some regard? Maybe you can’t even put your finger on what what feels lacking.
It seems to me that self-love is the basis of everything in this world. Can we recognize the divine in others until we’re able to recognize it in ourselves? Can we create change around us if we can’t first do it within us? I don’t believe so. It seems to me that in order to receive what we want, we must first embody it; become it. I wonder what would happen if we all became love, instead of reaching, searching, grasping for it.
Self love means nurturing yourself within when there’s no one there to do it for you. It means realizing that, in fact, there’s nothing wrong with you. You’re exactly who you’re supposed to be. You are enough, even when you’re just existing. You’re miraculous, even when you’re merely breathing. While I don’t condone graffiti, I wish I could thank the person who wrote this for reminding me to love myself enough to trust the divine in my heart, right inside of me. I believe that we were created as expressions of our creator, as emanations of this light, to joyfully be lights for the planet in whatever ways we feel guided to. That no matter what happens to us, our inner essence always remains. That we are not at the whim of our circumstances. That we are creators ourselves, we just don’t remember.
I believe that the power of our thoughts, our intentions…The power of our love…Is potentially transformational in our lives and the lives of those around us. And it’s more beautiful, more brilliant, than we can even imagine.
