Everyman's Journal 2011

Everyman's Journal 2011, # 76

December 6

God's Will is the true source of courage.

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In this fully-integrated universe, nothing that happens in our lives is ever accidental. It really is that simple. Therefore everything that comes our way is both a teaching and a gift. Here is a brief report of recent times, as acknowledgement of God's goodness….

To create the context…a few weeks ago I received an unexpected financial windfall---a phone call offering another substantial (70+) institutional piano-tuning contract (scattered throughout rural northern New Mexico--to be done immediately after Thanksgiving so that all the pianos would be in good tune for Christmas programs). I accepted knowing it could mean dealing with the unpredictable NM winter weather, and therefore (in Yuma) I prepared for the probable two weeks of wintery car camping by digging out my longjohns, and my two down comforters to supplement my sleeping bag, etc.

I also called my Santa Fe, New Mexico-based friend Danny to let him know I would be coming so that we could continue our ongoing musical collaboration project--- I on piano, he on flute. As I did during my October NM visit, after I tune one of the grand pianos, I have been setting up a simple but very high quality sound recording system and then I just play the instrument for a while, digitally capturing it's just tuned freshness with my piano improvisations. Danny then takes these recordings and creates flute parts to add to them. Musically, we are both thrilled at the album we are co-creating, and in due time we believe the world will receive it also.

So that's my personal post-Thanksgiving context in a nutshell… I've been in New Mexico working hard on these two projects, and it has been very wintery and cold, and that is why there have not been any Journals of late. However, God does not 'respect' our busyness as any excuse to stop learning… oh no, it's actually the opposite… it is in our times of such busyness that the Divine often inserts special curriculum gems… just to see if we are really awake. (A friend recently called this 'being unwaveringin the truth'….).

One such gemlike learning moment occurred at a friends doorstep as I was arriving for a short visit. She lives in a city apartment with only street parking (which is an issue for everyone living there), and she doesn't know her next-door neighbors.

Having a history of living in process-oriented spiritual communities (and a strong preference to be well-related to others), my friend used the opportunity of my arrival happening at the same moment as her neighbors return from work to say a friendly hello to her neighbor. It turned out the neighbor was unfriendly to the friendly hello and I witnessed a complex series of reactions occur. The neighbor was increasingly irritated at the interruption and demanded her RIGHT to her privacy, her RIGHT to not 'have to' know her neighbors. For me (standing aside at a distance), the teaching was in the simple witnessing of the two egos at work, both increasingly committed to being RIGHT (or at least, NOT BEING WRONG…one by being dominate, one by being apologetic). A montage of insights downloaded, and I saw clearly the ludicrousness of the situation, everything in the confusing dispute being based on the personal claim to having an imagined RIGHT to this or that.

The fundamental insight? Without an ego, there is no such thing as a 'right'. Birds don't demand rights, neither do trees… Why would anyone even need a 'right' unless they existed 'in separation'? In that moment, I realized that 'surrendering our lives to God' is exactly the same as 'giving up the RIGHT to have 'right's'…. I mean, think about it… imagine coming into the Presence of God on His/Her Throne etc, and persisting in arguing with the Almighty that 'You' have 'Rights'. It's kind of tough to get at in words, but it's pretty simple viscerally. God's Love and 'our rights' are oxymorons. In God's Love there is absolutely no need for a 'right' (obviously because in Love, we are given everything… therefore we have no need to CLAIM anything)… And conversely, to live in a 'receiving everything surrender' to this infinite Love is impossible in any moment we become an ego in pursuit of a claim of a 'right'.

There's more but later will 'have to do', as morning approaches… just thought I'd get up early and share a bit :-). Oh, BTW, I have to acknowledge my own learning wasn't perfect… after a while, I tried to help out… that did not work so well either. Guess I still have an ego too, huh? Who woulda have ever guessed? :-)

Namaste,

David

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My partnership request.... Please consider yourself an important gateway this message is passing through on its way to others. Please do 'send it on'. Thank you.

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Rev. David Seacord

Fine Art Painter / Sufi Cherag

david@davidseacord.com

www.davidseacord.com

(my fine art website)

www.davidseacord-everymansjournal.blogspot.com

(archived writings and poetry, circa 2002 to 2004)

www.davidseacord-acimcommentaries.blogspot.com

(archived 2010 writings on the lessons of A Course in Miracles)

www.everymansjournal2011.blogspot.com

(archived entries of this years Everyman's Journal)