What makes life sparkle?

When we officiated at our niece’s wedding it was a gorgeous day. Sunshine sparkled on the lake. Bubbly sparkled in the fluted glasses. But, one family member seemed to be engulfed in a black cloud. For her, nothing was sparkling.

Because the sparkle comes from within.
And is then reflected in your environment. The world you experience is . . . your experience. Are you infusing it with loving kindness, humor, and compassion? Or grimness, groans, and gripes?

I’m not talking about plastering over the suffering of the world with smiley-face stickers.
I’m talking about choosing to be a source of blessing in this world - not only  a thermostat that reacts the rising temperature of suffering. But, to be being a generative source of healing, blessing, and goodness. To be an activist from the inside out.

When you make this choice, your perception of suffering clarifies.
It starts as you stop expecting the world to make you feel better. You see the ways in which your emotional expectations have hampered your capacity to be a source of blessing. How they’ve trapped you in a self-projected (self-protecting) world of sustained disappointment.

You don’t banish those childhood programs to a dark corner of the room.
No. They’re in need of blessing too. They’re one of the many beings that need loving kindness. Send it to them.

But, don’t stop there.
Extend the blessing beyond the circumference of your personal psyche to include family members, neighbors, grumpy drivers, power mongers . . .and keep going. Include all of life in the circle of your undefended heart. Infuse it all with beauty. But, don’t stop there.

Bless whatever arises in your awareness.
Moment by moment choose to be an activist from the inside out. Whether what arises in your awareness is a crabby thought or a needy child. A sink of unwashed dishes or an angry customer. Bless each one inwardly and then . . . extend the inner blessing into effective action.

Don’t just pray for the world. Serve it.
Allow the expansiveness of your inner blessing to naturally expresses itself in action. The key word is naturally. Nothing dramatic or earth shattering is called for. Keep it simple and infuse that simplicity with the radiance of loving kindness. Remember Mother Teresa's wonderful dictum, "We can do no great things; only small things with great love."

Keep this in mind as you choose to be an activist from the inside out. Then, even as you encounter the challenges and tangles of life . . . it will sparkle.

Love & Shanti,
E & D