The four-letter unpronounceable name of God, Yud Hay Vav Hay, יְהוָה, is the verb to BE, (tense ambiguous), pointing us towards the miracle of BEING itself. It is a name so holy, so mysterious, that we can’t even say it aloud. BEING-ness is the secret foundation that holds us all. So, the love of God is the love of “what is”. To love “what is” …. is the highest love, and the greatest challenge. When I truly love “what is” … I am transformed by that love through the power of my total presence, receiving the Divine gift of this moment.
In that moment, my love of God is the same as God’s love for me. I meet God there… as the fullness of my presence merges with THE PRESENCE. When I can love “what is”, I am yielding my small will to the greater will. I am opening into the unknown and letting go of the illusion of control.
Perhaps we can’t say the name because that which IS, is always changing. The moment we try to say it, wanting to pin it down with our definition or judgment, it is already gone. To be in relationship with “what is”, is not to hold it tight; rather it is to dance with it. In this dance with “what is”, I must pay exquisite attention, so I can be responsive to what actually IS, and not to my idea of what was or what should be. The spiritual life is all about bringing grace to this dance.
The challenge I face is that I am sometime in an argument with “what is”; sometimes, maybe often, I don’t like it; I’m in a battle, a losing battle. When I encounter injustice, falsehoods, suffering, political defeat, or even the vicissitudes of aging…. some child-place within me cries out, NO! And then I am ensnared in that battle. All my energy goes to the fight.
In this battle I engage with a number of different losing strategies. Let’s say I fall and hurt my knee. I’m having trouble walking. I’m worried. I begin catastrophizing and imagine the worst. I’m mad at myself for falling. I’m upset with my knee for not holding me up, for not functioning the way it should. Perhaps I get irritable and blame myself or the uneven sidewalk. Or maybe I curse the situation and tell a story about my “bad” knee and how it keeps me from everything I love.
So, in this situation, what would it mean to Love “what is?”
Is it possible to love “what is” even when I sincerely don’t like what is? Is there another pathway? What if I responded to this situation of my hurt knee with self-compassion, with forgiveness, with patience, with wisdom?
When I face a challenge and respond with love, I am re-directing all the fighting energy, the great loud, NO!, and sending it in another direction, towards compassion and wise response. I am taking all that energy of upset and transforming it into something that perhaps might be useful in the long-run. That transformation requires spacious loving awareness.
When my loving awareness gets really spacious, I realize and really know that this whole world is my body or part of the Divine Body of BEINGness; it’s all connected to the larger Self that I am. So, when one part of that greater Being that I am, is hurting or acting out or has fallen out of alignment with the whole… I can call forth SELF-compassion, forgiveness, patience and wise response rather than judgment.
My spacious loving awareness goes right out the window when I am afraid. Fear sends me right back to judgment and separation and alienation. So, the key is noticing when I am afraid and then turning towards my intention for love, again and again. I know that unconditionally loving “what is”, saves me from being a victim of circumstance.
So, when we are courageous in facing “what is,” and letting our hearts open to the truth of this moment, rather than shutting down in denial or fear… we encourage each other. Then we can step forward together and embrace the challenge that Life sets before us, with curiosity and joy.
©2024 Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.
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