On Gratitude, Compassion & Finding Your Ikigai
In my previous blog, I had shared about accepting God’s bigger plan, knowing that all of creation is designed to fulfil a unique purpose, realizing that the Divine exists within all of us, and most importantly, turning our pain into a purpose.
I am overwhelmed by the kind of response and support I received for this blog. Writing it was an exercise in healing, sharing my testimony and being able to reach out to at least one other person it could resonate with.
In this blog’s follow up post, I would like to take you with me just a little further —
Seeing God in Everything Around Us
“And if you would know God, be not therefore a solver of riddles.
Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.
And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.
You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.”- Kahlil Gibran
There are moments in our life when we may feel truly alone and bereft of hope — it is in these moments of stillness that we can sense God’s presence most clearly. I love this quote by Marianne Williamson:
“Something very beautiful happens to people when their world has fallen apart: a humility, a nobility, a higher intelligence emerges at just the point when our knees hit the floor.”
For what felt like the longest time, I was in a pit, with help nowhere in sight… But when I was truly ready, I began to see God’s hand at work.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?— Psalm 139:7
The key to peace and inner healing is within us, but it takes us a whole journey before we get to this realization!
Practicing Gratitude
When we come to accept that we don’t have it all together and that chaos is not that bad a thing as we once imagined, we become ready for an inner reorientation.
Breathe in positive affirmations, breathe out & let go of all that is holding you back.
In these challenging times, we sometimes forget the little miracles all around us; think about it, take a minute to appreciate the fact that as you read this, you are able to breathe to your full capacity, each cell in your body has worked in tandem to tide you through this pandemic; your spirit is capable of getting you through all this and more…
Practicing Compassion
It is very convenient to sit idle and say that the world has been unfair to us. This is the single most self-sabotaging attitude we can have. Instead, pay attention to your needs and desires; you may not have reached there yet, but you can help someone else on their journey.
Practice compassion and be the person you needed most, to those around you.
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
— Colossians 3:12
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
— Galatians 6:2
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
— 1 John 3:18
When we practice compassion, we are intentionally welcoming kindness, laughter and warmth into our lives.
Letting Go
All spiritual texts talk about relinquishing ‘I’ness or one’s ego. Let’s unpack this idea a little further.
In Rumi’s Sufi tradition, the ‘reed flute’ becomes a symbol of the human soul; in his poetry, we see how the reed is pulled out from its reedbed, and holes are carved into it, so the craftsman (here, a symbol of God) can make music through it. The reed here is a symbol of the human spirit which goes through seasons of separation and pain.
“Listen to the story told by the reed,
of being separated.Since I was cut from the reedbed,
I have made this crying sound.Anyone apart from someone he loves
understands what I say.Anyone pulled from a source
longs to go back.At any gathering I am there,
mingling in the laughing and grieving.”— The Reed Flute’s Song, Rumi
“A craftsman pulled a reed from the reedbed,
cut holes in it, and called it a human being.Since then, it has been wailing a tender agony
of parting, never mentioning the skill
that gave it life as a flute.”— A Craftsman Pulled A Reed, Rumi
This is a necessary passage; the reed is emptied and hollowed out, so it can make beautiful music. At some point in our lives, we will be faced with a choice to let go of all preconceived notions of our ‘self’. It is a moment where we are called to relinquish our ‘ego’, or ‘self’ as we knew it.
Being hollowed out & humbled is a direct call to let go of the ordinary and be filled with God’s purpose.
In the Christian tradition, the same symbolism is implicit in these passages-
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
— John 15:1–2
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance, for us to do.”
— Ephesians 2:10
“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
— Philippians 2:13
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
— Galatians 2:20
Realizing Our True Calling
The New Testament has several parables which call us to find our selfhood in Christ & hone our talents, so it may be of service to others.
We were not created for ordinary pursuits. What is our Higher Calling? What talents do we have, and what purpose does it serve?
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
— 1 Peter 4:10
I recently read the book Ikigai which sums up the same idea; ikigai in Japanese means one’s ‘reason for being’ or ‘raison d’etre’.
When we have a reason to get out of bed every morning, we become stewards of something bigger than ourselves, we are cultivating joy and long life.
Having Audacious Faith
I have explored many different ideas and schools of thought in this 2-part blog series. I want to conclude with a message of hope for everyone going through a difficult season during this pandemic.
It may be hard right now to come to terms with whatever it is you are dealing with, but reorienting our approach to the problem can make a world of difference. If you are waiting around for the pandemic to end, or for something else to miraculously shift place for you to begin ‘living’, stop this waiting. Live through the waiting and you will realize, you have been healing all along.
This is not a season of waiting, but one of healing. Just like the waves in the ocean, our problems are here today and gone tomorrow. Don’t lose sight of hope and the possibility of a new dawn.
Pray hard for the blessings you seek, but don’t pause living while you are ‘waiting’. Live as though you are fully blessed & fulfilled in this moment right here.
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
— Hebrews 11:1
Be childlike in your excitement for what’s in store, be mature in living each moment with intention.
I have a lot more to say on these topics, but they would need to be structured into a new standalone blog. Do let me know how you liked this read and if you would want to see more such blogs on Christianity, spirituality, gratitude and compassion.
