Let Nothing Disturb You

This day comes gently, easily, as an opening in the eye of a hurricane, or the calm before the storm - I know not which it may be - and it does not matter...

I reflect on these wise words given by a soul friend, who offered me her interpretations of Teresa of Avila's well know prayer, given as a precious gift, a blossom from her heart:

"Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing frighten you.
Everything passes away except God.
God alone is sufficient."

I repeat these words over and over again - my soul masticating them - my essence nourished by their wisdom...

I think of the anchoress Julian of Norwich, counseling so many of those who searched her out, with these simple words: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well!" In the midst of incredible despair faced by the masses in the fourteenth century, her message was one of relentless hope...

There is always hope - in every moment - and in every circumstance...

Even Etty Hillesum, who died in Auschwitz at the age of 29, was capable of seeing the light of the Divine in the depths of her own soul and in those around her. I am edified by her words as well...

"It is sometimes hard to take in and comprehend, oh God, what those created in Your likeness do to each other...I try to look things straight in the face, even the worst crimes, and to discover the small, naked human being amid the monstrous wreckage caused by man's senseless deeds...

I am ready for everything, for anywhere on this earth, wherever God may send me, and I am ready to bear witness in any situation and unto death that life is beautiful and meaningful and that it is not God's fault that things are as they are at present but our own..."

Truly - how can I allow anything to disturb me? Everything passes away, like the grains of the sand blown away by the wind...

This morning, I read these words by Paramahansa Yogananda, and I found strength and solace in them:

"God understands you when everyone else misunderstands you. He is the lover who cherishes you always, no matter what your mistakes. Others give you their affection for a while and then forsake you but He abandons you never..."

The whole universe conspires to give you the messages that you need, and continues to do so in a relentless fashion until they are received and understood, deep within the heart...

Etty speaks again, touching the very fabric of my soul:

"Through me course wide rivers and in me rise tall mountains. And beyond the thickets of my agitation and confusion there stretch the wide plains of my peace and surrender. All landscapes are within me. And there is room for everything. The earth is in me, and the sky..."

I am without limit...We are truly "Limitless" as Danna Faulds writes:

"Be your own illumination...Do not stop for any obstacles...When the wind blows, bend easily, and trust your roots to hold...What you see is one small slice of a modest galaxy...Small does not mean powerless. Silence says nothing. In the quiet, everything comes clear. I say, 'Limitless,' I say, 'Yes.'"

That is what Danna says...

My friend says - paraphrasing Teresa - "Let nothing disturb you..."

Yogananda teaches that a good friend - a best friend - (and I have been blessed with a precious few beloved ones) - is the soul that leads one into deeper communion with the Divine...

I sit now, comfortable and content, in the quiet and the waning light of the day. I sit in the stillness and the calm that result from the shifted energies birthed in my saying yes...Nothing shall disturb me, for nothing touches my soul...