Aug 19, 2018

 

12 Steps to Joy (18)

The Light (1)

In the beginning the Word already existed.

The Word was with God,

And the Word was God.

The Word existed in the beginning with God.

God created everything through the Word,

And nothing was created except through the Word.

The Word gave life to everything that was created,

And the life of the Word brought light to everyone.

The light shines in the darkness,

And the darkness can never extinguish it.”

John 1:1-5.

The light shines in the darkness,

And the darkness can never extinguish it.”

The light is in all of us, and it shines forth at the darkest times of our lives, and in the darkest time of all lives. In one sense, this is the function and the necessity of pain in our lives: only when life seems darkest can we see the brilliance of the light that is cradling us. Generally, we are lulled into complacency, and we fail to see the gift that God has placed in our lives – the gift of paradise that exists all around us, in everythingthat exists, and permeates all of the universe in glorious wonder. We let the darkness of life take us away, and call it “the good life”.

It may seem strange to say that ordinary life is darkness, but unless we see the light shining in every moment of life, we have covered ourselves up and live in darkness and call it happiness. But still …. at those quiet moments at 3 am and we wake up, and we find ourselves swimming in unnamed fears and hauntings of ‘what ifs’, or ‘but still…’ do we have an inkling that life is not as grand as we want to tell ourselves. These are the times that God is speaking to us and telling us to listen to the joy of love that surrounds us if we but look.

The ‘good life’, where everything is going along smoothly and life seems good, lulls us into a sense of comfortability and the sense that everything is good and will always be good. Days go by, then weeks and months, then years – and suddenly a good portion of life if we are lucky – or as I think, unlucky. Why unlucky? Simply because we are not living but losing our life. What do we remember of the years that have gone by? Just a small fraction of the daily life becomes memorable. These periods make us think that we deserve this all our life. Life is short – and we just go along missing what life has to offer us in truth – life in the joyful union with God, the wonder of the heavens that is ours to enjoy if we but see. We fail to remember the times of pain our parents and grandparents went through, if we were even aware of them. But all, everyone, has gone through painful periods of life. It is in these moments of pain that we reach out and ask God “why me?”. Indeed, these are the moments when we can shut off the din of our surroundings and ponder the deeper moments of life, and if we are lucky, to see the grand possibilities that surround us in all moments.

We are in the midst of paradise. God is everywhere, not in addition to but as the universe itself. It has been said that a grain of sand contains more atoms than there are stars in the universe, and each quark of every atom contains the entirety of God – for God cannot be divided up but is a whole, expressing Its creative self at every moment in every moment. God fills us and is every particle and energy level that makes you and me. We are indeed the image of God (see Genesis 1), in all the beauty that the image of God is in every quark and electron, as well as all the dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Everything that makes our universe be. From the big bang until now, 13.7 billion years and more, stretching back an eternity.

It is the Light of the world that fills everything. We see usually only the outer glimmer of the Light and express it as the beauty of the universe and, if we are lucky, the touches of love and hope that keep us going. We live in the brilliance of the light and see it not, but we cover the Light with the darkness of our thoughts and actions. We hopefully see the edges of the Light in the love that we feel around us, in children, the beauty of nature, and the wonder of life that shines in our midst. God gives us glimmers of the light, and entices us to look deeper and uncover the light that fills all that we are and what fills the entire universe.

Meditation

Oh Light of Life, I am often overwhelmed by the brilliance of the fire that fills me. I am constantly surprised and find myself in silent wonder at the beauty of life that has filled my days; even when things seem dark, the Light has continued to fill me and bring me hope. Open my heart to ever more joy and brilliance, as it is Your very Being that fill all that I am and everything that I can see and catch a glimmer of understanding. I know so little of the truth of all, only that You guide and patiently wait for us see just a little more of all that exist. I give myself to You, knowing You will fil my days and eternity with Your Light and wonders.

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MY BOOK, THE 12 STEPS TO JOY AND HAPPINESS,IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM HAY HOUSE, BALBOA PRESS, AMAZON, AND BARNES AND NOBLE, AS WELL AS OTHER SOURCES, IN HARD COVER, SOFT COVER, AND EBOOK FORMATS. Click on the “Learn More” button for further information.

We are bound in the music of life where we dance and weave within that glorious melody, or what some call God. Now, God has said that we are the very image of God (Genesis 1:27), and as images of God, we have the inborn ability to have Joy and Happiness forever present in our life. The author, David L. Peters, is an octogenarian whose life has always been filled with joy, regardless of outward appearances. The wonders of the Kingdom of Heaven is everyone’s birthright, if you know how to let your Creator and the Universe enter your spirit. Jesus put it succinctly: “The Kingdom of God lies within” (Luke 17:21). The Kingdom of God, Paradise, Heaven: these lie within you, right now, waiting for you to only turn and see, and join in the dance. Paradise is right within us, but how do we unlock the door to this wonder of joy? This book lays a path open that the author has followed for almost 80 years, starting as a young boy in rural Ohio, and it operates as advertised. No matter how things look in life, how bad it seems, all one need do is look deeper within and find the joy that can fill life: life is good! The life of abundant joy and happiness is yours for the asking. Dip your toe in the living waters, and taste the Beauty of God that is awaiting. Click on the “Learn More” button for further information