06 October, 2010

Grace is...

Grace…
It is the first glimpse of the sun
The final closing of the eyes when day is done

It is the smile of a stranger
The laugh of a child
The touch of a friend

It is everywhere when we open our hearts
And invisible to us when we close ourselves

It is the waves upon the shore
The rain upon the earth
The floating of a snowflake
The consistency of the mountains
The fire of the stars

Grace…
It is forgiving
It is believing
It is accepting
It is walking side-by-side in silence

Grace…
The recognition of the essence that lies within
It is seeing beauty in everything
It is extending the heart or the hand to another offering acceptance
Offering love

Grace…
Compassion
Love
Connectedness
Strength
Giving
Grace is…
When I considered Grace throughout September, I came to realize the depth of the word such that I am not sure it can be defined as much as it can be visualized or conceptualized. 
Grace is going beyond what we feel we can do or the person that we are and recognizing that there is more or that we can give or do for the greater good or for others.  It is not seeing the barista or the service person or the wait staff or the person on the street as “something”; it is seeing them as “someone.”  It is recognizing the spirit within each of us and ourselves. 
September is a month of grace.  It is the beginning of seasonal transition.  We see nature turning from the life filled greens and pastels of summer to the vibrant gems of fall.  We are graced with a cooling of the evenings and the brilliance of sunny skies. 
This September held other beams of grace for me as  I took action to enrich my life with a workshop or two and the prospect of a new yoga practice.
And what is grace for you? 


RAOKA is founded on the idea that we can do little things to make a difference. The little things in life, the little things that we all can do and do daily – like laughter, express passion, gratitude… These acts are noted by various people in accordance with a theme chosen each month. September’s theme was Grace; The theme for October is Hugs!
If you would like to participate in RAOKA, please contact Zeenat at ‘Positive Provocations.  



16 comments:

Gayze (Gazehound's Animal Communication) said...

M, your thoughts on Grace are just beautiful. I am touched by your poem, particularly. You're so right in that Grace is a word very difficult to find, but easy to feel if we just open our hearts.

Gayze (Gazehound's Animal Communication) said...

(With apologies, that should have been "difficult to define", not "find". :-) My fingers type too fast for my brain to keep up.

BigLittleWolf said...

What a lovely post, TE. What comes to mind, for me, are two things. I picture my grandmother, who seemed strong, feminine, elegant, appropriate - in all things. And I also think of the dealings between my younger son and myself at present. My need for a measured tone, reserves of patience, and plenty of listening and observing. It isn't "grace" exactly, but it's something gentle and strong at the same time, outward focused (toward his needs), and bringing us closer I think.

Grace seems to do with love, ultimately. Toward one or many. A way of reaching out, balancing commission and intentional omission.

Robin Easton said...

This is so eloquent and elegant, dear E. I love how you talked about fall and grace. I sat here looking out my window at the evening sky, and slightly wintry clouds, and the aspen up on the mountain turning yellow and I could feel grace all the way down to my bones. It felt beautiful and poignant, at ease and accepting of change (like the fall).

This is a beautiful heartfelt piece that doesn't just define grace, but rather it let's the reader experience grace through your poetic words and emotions. Just lovely. You are gifted writer. Hugs, Robin

Eric | Eden Journal said...

Beautiful post. I especially liked this part "It is everywhere when we open our hearts And invisible to us when we close ourselves"

I feel this is so true. Being open to grace will allow it to flow freely and enter our world.

Barbara Swafford said...

I like the word grace, and I like the name Grace. It says so much, yet leaves a lot to the imagination.

Recently there was a car accident in our area and a little girl by the name of Grace was killed. My first thought was "She's gone Home to be an angel".

P.S. What you wrote is simply beautiful.

Zeenat{Positive Provocations} said...

Dearest M,
What beautiful thoughts on Grace. And I am glad this theme was a graceful transitional beginning for you. How amazing..when we are open tot Grace, everything just seems so much more magical.
Thank you fro your beautiful contribution to Raoka M! I truly appreciate it.
So Much Love,
Z~

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi TE .. definitely a post to be revisited .. such a wonderful poem so full of thoughtfulness .. so full of ideas for us all to follow ..

The path of Grace is a difficult one for us to follow .. I certainly need to meander down mine - to learn to take time to absorb Grace's fine points ..

This poem is wonderful - a really eloquent piece .. I loved it .. so gentle, yet so full ..

So true .. great to read today .. Hilary

The Exception said...

Thank you - Grace brings so much to my life and touches all of you as well. These comments and responses made my day... what beautiful lpieces of Grace.

Sara said...

TE -- This is beautifully written. I loved the poem and your comments about grace. My favorites lines were these:

Grace…

The recognition of the essence that lies within

It is seeing beauty in everything

It is extending the heart or the hand to another offering acceptance

Offering love..."

I think this really captures how I like think of "grace." Thanks:~)

Belinda said...

Lovely post, TE. I feel like you have graced me with your grace after reading this.

I also really enjoyed the poetry part of this post. Perhaps you'll consider linking up with One Stop Poetry? They're a wonderful community I stumbled upon through some blogger friends.

Tess The Bold Life said...

Grace is touching everyone I meet with a spirit of love and acceptance.
Love your poem.

Patty - Why Not Start Now? said...

Like the others here, this touched me, M. Beautiful and dare I say it - graceful. It's sooo hard for me to put words to grace, so you have done an amazing thing here. For me, I suppose, moments of grace feel like a flowing stream.

Joy said...

Wow..Beauty filled..*that* is grace...Opening my heart fully to experience life as it is presented to me..with my senses and my Being..such beauty here TE..thank *you*:)

Aileen said...

I love this celebration of Grace! October may me hugs - but I'd like to follow by celebrating grace for October. Ahhhhhhhhh :)

Anonymous said...

Love this lovely post on grace. Such a beautiful word. One of those words where you know what it is when you see it, but it can be so hard to define.