As the warmer weather arrives and the summer kicks into high gear, many of us are joyfully engaged in the natural beauty that abounds in the Pacific Northwest. Our attention turns to the outdoors as we spend more time in summer activities – gardening, traveling, vacationing, hiking, biking, water sports or just plain relaxing.
The wonder and magic of creation is revealed in the natural world as it comes into its fullness in the summer months. The beautiful sights and sounds, the tantalizing fragrances – nature’s bounty fills the senses and provides evidence of the Presence of Spirit. As the poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning writes, “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God.” This speaks to the ever-present Infinite Spirit within all of life.
Nature grows and evolves into fruition without struggle of any kind. There is no need to force a rose to open its bud. It naturally unfolds as it allows an inner blueprint of growth to be fulfilled. Just as the gardens we see don’t have to struggle to grow, neither do we. The activity of the Divine has as its intent to bring all of creation into greater expression, including every one of us.
As inlets and outlets of Divine Mind, our charge is not to struggle, but to allow the Power of God within us to do the work. It is not a matter of forcing things to happen or pushing the river in order to be happy in life. Rather, it entails removing the obstacles to the Divine Flow to let Spirit be expressed in its fullness. That work is done through the heart.
This summer, wherever you find yourself and whatever activities you choose to enjoy, remember to take time to pause, to come into harmony and alignment with the Living Spirit within your heart and be sure to cram a little heaven into your day.
♥ Blessings, Jane and Gary
