Getting in Touch With the Divine

Last night I was sitting by the pool here at a resort in Ixtapa, Mexico, with my good friend, Prashant, a hedge fund researcher from Connecticut. Earlier in the evening we'd had a great meal with good friends on the terrace of the main dining room, overlooking the ocean and the waves crashing on the beach below us. Afterward, I had the honor of doing a few Tarot readings at a table on the beach for some lovely people, while the rest of our group danced and mingled, and a few enjoyed some Cuban cigars. Now, though, most everyone had gone to bed, and the conversation had turned to spirituality, as it often does when Prashant and I get to talking. He was telling me a story about some situation he'd recently faced that presented a spiritual challenge. The details aren't important, but what stuck with me was when he described how he had pushed his Higher Power, or god-awareness, away:

"...at that point," he said, describing how he had become immersed in self-will over this issue, "god was no longer in the building, let alone the room with me". Then he paused, took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and amended, "Let me re-phrase that: god had never left. Of course he was there, but I had ceased to acknowledge his presence or direction." It is statements like that one that make me so truly grateful for the gift of Prashant's friendship. And that was when I had my own little "god moment".

I had to take my own centering breath, and say a quiet "thank you" to all the people in my life whom Providence uses as vessels to deliver a message of divine grace and love. Because it is not the waves crashing on the beach that reminds me of this. It is not the gorgeous sunset descending behind the coral island in the middle of the bay. These things are lovely, to be sure, but it is the voice of the person sitting next to me and witnessing these natural beauties, leaning over and whispering in my ear "How blessed we are!", that truly reminds me. My god speaks to me through the people I love, and who love me, and there more of both of those groups than I ever knew was possible. So thank you, to all you messengers of hope, love, and grace, for being present in my life. 

Heatherleigh