It’s remarkably difficult to align our lives with what we believe to be true. For example, I believe in love and compassion, in approaching all beings with an open heart, in kindness to self and others, in the power and beauty of words, in the importance of creativity.
But I forget and spend a good amount of time—especially mental time—acting as if I believe in getting things done and receiving recognition for doing them well. Why don’t I more consistently practice what I believe?
Or to phrase the question in a more useful way, how can we live our most deeply held convictions ever more fully? After all, we are and always will be works in progress.
Jim Finely says we must find our identity and security in God alone. That’s a radical statement. He’s not talking about our 401ks and insurance policies. He’s talking about the place from which we move.
Finley also says God is loving us into being with every breath and heartbeat. He’s describing our fundamental nature, beyond protons and electrons, our identity as beings of Love.
When we know we are loved and are made of love, we become free to express that love without worrying that its lack of reception will define us or that we’ll run out of love and there won’t be enough left to sustain us. This freedom allows us to act in accord with the beauty in and around us and discover and reveal that same beauty in others.
Life will always be unpredictable and insecure, but the nature of our existence is utterly reliable. We are made by Love for love. By becoming ever wider conduits of love, we live into the fullness of ourselves, and it is glorious.
Being Finite 
Great post 😁
Yes.
Thanks Rachel,
I recently have been reading a book by a Zen monk titled “Love For Imperfect Things”. One theme that he addresses is about the gap between conceptual understanding and the kind of realization that enables us to live accordingly. He acknowledges the gap, or chasm that lies between, and councils patience, persistence, and offers encouragement. The phrase “again and again” comes to mind here. I tend to get down on myself when I don’t abide by my own best thoughts and theories on living. It helps to know what a great undertaking this is, and that it is a universal experience and struggle to grow into the wisdom that we only glimpse at the outset. We are works in progress after all. And a sense of encouragement and compassion toward ourselves is a good countermeasure to the brutality of our own wills.
Markus