Diligence

What is diligence and how does it have significance in a life dedicated to being of service to our Creator, which of course means being service to others? The dictionary defines diligence as follows: the constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken: persistent exertion of body or mind. I think I would also add spirt to the definition since body and mind is an incomplete description of the souls earthly journey that encompasses all three.

When I think of this topic, I can’t help thinking about my own life and how being diligent has been difficult and honestly exhausting at times. We all have our challenges and adversities. It’s nearly impossible to take on the human experience and not have our share of pain, tears, loss, and sometimes feelings of wanting to just give up.

Let’s do a short meditation to help us connect with what it feels like when life’s challenges get the better of us.

Close your eyes and find a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed or interrupted. Take a slow deep breath in through your nose, hold it and release it slowly through your mouth. Now take another deep breath hold it and release it allowing your body to sink into the support beneath you. Take one more breath and as your release it, notice there is a tiny spark of light that begins to grow deep in your core bringing with it a sense of peace and serenity.

An opening is visible in the center of the light and a scene appears before you. You are standing in front of a large hill. To the left and the right of this hill are other hills and you’re not quite sure which is the hill you need to ascend to get to your destination, but you decide it must be the one before you. Together with your spirit guides you had decided to embark on this arduous journey, one you have been planning for a long time. You have prepared carefully with your trusted advisors before setting out and you are feeling quite certain you can handle the challenges ahead. However, there was only so much you were allowed to know before hand, the rest you had to discover as you moved forward.

You begin to take your first step and the hill is rocky and filled with downed trees and wide streams that you need to get over. It’s hard and the father you go the more you begin to doubt whether you are capable of following through with your plan and purpose. Nevertheless, you continue on taking one precarious step at a time. Along the way there are brutal storms with biting, cold winds that weaken your resolve and thoughts of turning back and giving up rise and fall over and over. There are also blue skies and warm sunshine that fill you with joy and contentment and the journey transforms from drudgery to a pleasant walk in a field of wildflowers and colorful butterflies.

Eventually, you think you see a pattern and try to anticipate the challenges to come, and plan accordingly. Yet, you soon realize that your planning is of no use for the path forward cannot be predicted only handled as each task comes about. Over and over your confidence wanes and your determination to continue on loses its hold on your mind and heart. At last, you finally can see the top of the hill directly in front of you and take the last few steps to the peak. You stretch out your arms and embrace the view. A lush valley below is calm, peaceful, and lush with fruit and nut trees. Meandering streams flow gently throughout the valley providing fish to eat and water to drink.

You think you have finally reached your destination, but a familiar voice in your mind whispers, “Rest in this place of respite, but there is far more ahead of you that is part of the work you came here to do. You look beyond the valley, and you see another hill you must navigate. You have a moment of despair and disillusionment before remembering important words of advice offered to you before you set out on this great undertaking. “Trust in the Divine design for your life. Have faith in the guidance you receive and believe in yourself. You have come to change the world and only you can accomplish your tasks. You have vowed to conquer fear and embrace love both for yourself and those you encounter. It’s ok to experience moments of doubt and exhaustion, just never give up. You can do this.” So, you carry on… and on… and on… through all the jubilant joys and painful sorrows, heady triumphs and dismal failures, precious gifts, and devastating losses. In the end, when your time here was finally completed you were able to once again return home and rest in the satisfaction of a job well done and a life splendidly lived.

You can now open your eyes and return to the present moment.

The point here is simple, and you have most likely have gotten it already. Some of you reading this may be in a place of revelry and celebration for things like a wonderful new job, a beautiful new relationship, or the birth of a precious child. Yet, others may find themselves grieving the loss of a loved one, experiencing unemployment or poverty, or the empty nest feelings and lack of purpose that comes when our children venture out on their own. Some may not even understand their feelings of hopelessness and loneliness because their lives seem to be happy and fulfilling. This is one of the greatest challenges for our souls to overcome and only the most courageous of us take it on. One thing can be certain in this physical journey, none of us come out of it alive, or at least the bodies our soul inhabits don’t anyway. Our soul, as we know is immortal and can never die.

The time we spend here is bound to be fraught with just about all of the above and each of them occurs for us so that our soul can evolve. Wanting to give up when things get tough is understandable from a human perspective. From the soul’s perspective however, it is unacceptable. Why? The reason is simple. If we abdicate our purpose or relinquish our physical life, that will undoubtedly gift us with great lessons and opportunities to make a difference, it will not be over. We will simply have to do it all over again, with a different set of circumstances but the same lessons and purpose.

So, my friends, let us remember to pray for diligence when life’s slings and arrows wound us and take us temporarily off of our game. We are strong but we are much stronger together. Let us be there for each other. We can lift others up when they are down and accept a helping hand when we can’t find the strength to get back up. No matter what, we will never be given more than we can handle. Life can be a celebration or a confounding disappointment. It all depends on the perspective we choose. Let us choose the former, lift our heads and hearts towards the heavens and offer a fervent prayer of gratitude for all this, sometimes chaotic and crazy, world has and will gift to us throughout the rest of our days here!