Destination vs. Journey

As I sat in meditation this morning I contemplated experiencing God’s love. Stepping beyond my resistance to these words, not pausing to analyze why I resist these words, I rather explored, “What would that be like, to experience God’s love?”

Then suddenly, instantly, before the question mark was added to the question, and totally by surprise I realized that my excitement and resonating with Pathwork teachings, feeling enlivened by the words and insights of others that seem so aligned with my own sense of truth, feeling awakened by my own insights and sense of truth about self, others, and God, all of this and more IS EXPERIENCING GOD’s LOVE.

I was stunned by the obvious.  Experiencing Life, is experiencing God’s love. Experiencing the NOW fully, is experiencing God’s love.  Yes, as Jesus said, don’t search for the Kingdom of God out there; the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Truth, the Kingdom of Love is within! Truly a whack up side the head.  Amazing.

Here all along I thought I was searching for truth, for love, for God.  And all this time I have been living in it.  So when I have a lively intimate conversation with Pat, my brother, my kids, or a special friend on matters of Life, God, Spirit, or Love, I am experiencing God’s love.  So when stand in awe of a Deep Space shot from the Hubble telescope, I am experiencing God’s love. When I stop and say out loud and in excitement, “YES!” to a paragraph of a Pathwork Lecture I am reading, I am experiencing God’s love. I am swimming in God’s love.

This does not mean there isn’t pain and frustration in my life.  It just gives me a different perspective on pain and frustration.  I can pause, take it in, be curious about the lessons in it for me.  Feel it deeply.  All of this, the ebb and flow of life, is living in the love of God.  The Mystery of Unknowing.  The Peace of Trusting the Mystery.  The growth possible when I am not trusting the Mystery.

Spiritual teachers have often said that life is about the journey, not the destination. I think, in this moment at least, I experience the truth of what this means. Yes I have an inner compass to guide me, but it is guiding me on the journey, not toward a destination in some far away future.   Maybe what I have is not a compass at all but rather a flashlight, a magnifying glass, a deep awareness of all around and within me. All of this sudden awareness excites me.  I rejoice.

My brother and his wife for years have had as their message on their answering machine, “May you experience God’s love today.” Perhaps I can now say “Amen” to that, realizing this blessing is a matter of choice and perspective on what is, not about being blessed with some special good fortune.

Another day.  Yea.  And may you experience God’s love today.