Today let’s look at effort versus flow. There are several ways to looks at this. One is yang versus yin, which might translate as masculine and feminine. In other words, how much do you make life happen versus allow life to happen, generally speaking.
None of us do this perfectly. We are go back and forth, sometimes using a healthy assertive attitude towards making things work, and sometimes trusting, having enough patience to let things work themselves out. When out of balance of course, we might push too hard or try to force things ahead of their time, or things that never even should happen, while on the other side, sometimes we are too sluggish, waiting and waiting and being lazy, not getting things going.
Let’s use the analogy of a car for this balance game. And let’s include the idea of big self versus small self, true self versus ego, or God versus human. There is a saying: God can’t drive a parked car. And there is another saying, If you want to make God laugh, tell him or her your plans.
In other words, we need a balance. As far as God not being able to drive a parked car, we need to get the car started, yet let go, to trust life. If we hold an intention or pray for help, but grip the steering wheel of our life tightly, Spirit, God, or our higher Self, whatever words you choose to us, cannot take the lead.
Similarly, about making God laugh by sharing our plans, we must know that our little egoic selves are not really in control anyway. We like to think we have it under our little control, but life always shows up and we get surprised when we realize how small we really are.
In India, at Oneness University, they teach that the formula for growth in life is this: Intent + Effort + Grace = Success. In this formula, the first two are up to us. First, we hold an intention, say for healing or growth or money or whatever. Then secondly, we put some effort into it. Again, God can’t drive a parked car. We get behind the wheel, we start the car, we get our car out on the road, but we don’t grip the steering wheel to tightly.
This is the grace, or Spirit moving through us. In truth, we ourselves, our little egoic selves, can do nothing. Oh maybe we can get the car started, but who really drives the car?
Rumi put it like this: You are so weak. Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave until it gets to shore. You need more help than you know.”
And Jesus talked about how he himself could do nothing. But we, when aligned with the Divine, there is nothing we cannot do. Again, as Jesus put it, These and greater things you too shall do.
So this is an invitation, to pay attention this week and play with this idea of balance. First, hold an intention to come into balance with this yin-yang, feminine-masculine, human versus Divine balance. Second do what you can do life, or step forward, saying yes to life, but third, opening to grace. It is said that like the NW rain, grace is always falling, but we often have our umbrellas up, not allow the grace to reach us and help us.
This week, try trusting a bit more, allowing and receiving a bit more, and forcing a bit less, and see how that feels. Consider that maybe there is a bigger part of us that has a much better perspective and can make our lives run much more smoothly with less angst, push, shove and conflict.
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