deeper meanings ~ the spirit of life

i've been reflecting a lot lately.  a crisis has touched my life and i no longer see things in life quite the same.  so many of the petty preoccupations and superficial attachments to my life have given way to a deeper connection with myself as a soul and the essence of what this life is really about.

the older i become, the more clear it becomes that no amount of education, money, possessions or status will ever satisfy our soul's need for love..

all of the material ways we form an identity -- race, nationality, age, culture and class -- and all of the ways we nurture our ego, lead ultimately, at some point, to disappointment, disillusion, emptiness, loneliness and discontent.  none of these nurture the innermost part of who we are, our soul, which is the essence of who we are.

many people grow up without unconditional love.  they feel abandoned or alone.  they feel expected to be someone they aren't or achieve something they don't truly want to do.  some haven't received enough affection, forgiveness, fair treatment, patience, or understanding.

~ Shrine of Baha'u'llah ~

our souls desire unconditional love -- love which transcends our identity.

nothing material sustains our soul.

nothing of this world leads to happiness or joy..

"Spiritual happiness is eternal and unfathomable. 

This kind of happiness appeareth in one's soul with the love of God

 and suffereth one to attain to the virtues and perfections of the world of humanity. 

Therefore, endeavor as much as thou art able

 in order to illuminate the lamp of thy heart by the light of love."
 

(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 673)

below are a few words in my life which have taken on a deeper meaning:

illness -- one of the many tests of this life in which we are given the opportunity to turn to God, our Maker, and rely on Him and trust in Him, no matter how grave or agonizing the condition.

darkness -- many, many moments throughout many days when one feels the pain and often unbearable struggles of suffering without knowing how or when one will come through it

faith -- beseeching the Almighty One throughout countless moments of helplessness and powerlessness as one clings to the power of divine assistance day after day without any apparent sign of confirmation

beauty -- the process and reality of transformation from a lower state of existence into a higher one that is reflected and sustained by many spiritual qualities such as radiant acquiescence, humility, purity, patience and servitude to God

success -- overcoming obstacles that accumulate and occur throughout life which serve as barriers to one's spiritual progress and well-being

this life is a spiritual journey.  if we desire peace in this world, surely it begins with love.  our innermost beings must be sustained by all of the elements of a spiritual life, beginning with unconditional love for one another.. the source of this love is the Love of God.

"O loving God! I am a young child, a suppliant, a captive. Be Thou my refuge, my support, my protector. I am in distress: give me the means of tranquillity. I am needy: bestow upon me the treasure of the Kingdom. I am dead: give me the Spirit of Life. I am weak: favor me with power and strength, so that I may be a maid-servant in Thy Threshold, with perfect purity and sanctity; sacrifice myself unto Thee, be quit of myself and seek Thee, walk in the path of Thy good pleasure, speak Thy secret and witness the signs of Thy Oneness wherever I look. O God! Make me ablaze, like unto the fire of Thy love, and make me free from attachment to this mortal world, until I find the peace of soul and the rest of conscience.

"Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty! Thou art the Hearer, the Seer!"

(Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v1, p. 196)