Small Graces

  BELOVEDS,HOLIDAYS ARE VERY HARD FOR MANY PEOPLE.

Small graces to me are: the ability to pause and soak in the song of birds in trees outside my window, to savor the flavor of the soup I am eating slowly, to be witness for a friend simply sitting conversing or even in silence. Recently, I was home for Thanksgiving, it was a challenging week trying to serve my mother to see she is in need of assistance and she is not doing well mentally. The two small grace moments that stand out are: sitting with my friend Mary in a cafe and sharing appreciations of each other without any pressure, simply sharing softly while holding hands what we admired about the other, that spark we saw in each other that perhaps we couldn't see in ourselves. Another was watching my cousin's 2 dogs play together, the miracle here is both are rescues, one badly abused and I'd never seen her play like this. It was a reminder of the healing that can happen through love. 
Thank you for this post I needed the reminder of the impact we each make simply by being who we are. I've felt pressure (some my own, some from others) to reach more people with my healing Storytelling workshops. I've felt less than and not enough through some of the expansion process. I am reminded that what I am doing right now is enough. <3 

 I love reading  weekly Awakin Readings. I love reflecting on them. I am grateful for this precious gift. This reading is another  lovely gift.

I love to do both, big and small things.There are times when I get caught up in living in the big dream world missing the small graces right in front of me. This morning, my daughter was  lovingly offering me a cup of tea. She cherishes time spending with me  I missed seeing her right in front of me. I was with her physically but not really with her. I was in my dream world of designing a great and grand project. I missed the small offeringby being mentally occupied with the big thing.. I remember reading Rabindranath Tagore's poem.  While the poet is looking for majestic beauty on the far away Himalayan peaks, the little flower smiling in front him says to the poet, " O great poet! Can't you see the the tiny beauty right in front of you?"

Her question, "Dad, where are you?" wakes me up to taste the tea-her warm, affectionate presence. It is a small graceful act radiating heartfelt loving energy. This Saturday morning, she woke up early to make khichadi for my lunch before she took off for her work. Watching her making food for me joyfully was a blessing to me.Such small acts of kindness are indeed a great source of joy and contentment.

I fondly remember my mom singing a lullaby before I would go to sleep.Her lullaby still resonates in my heart. Such a small gracious gift! And that's the way she lived her life.. She exemplified the wise saying of St Francis of Assisi: " We cannot do great things. We can do little things with great love." I find the words of Kent Neburn very appealing: " The world we shape is the world we touch with our words, our actions, our dreams."

Let us make everyday a good day by doing small good things for us and for others and be grateful for small graces we give and receive!

Namaste!

Jagdish P Dave

 Enoughness of small graces is a paradox, akin to the concept of human perfection.  Shunryu Suzuki summed it up perfectly when he said, "Each of you is perfect the way you are ... and you can use a little improvement."  When we consider human evolution, paying attention to all the little things that are not quite right is what allowed our ancestors to survive on the savannah, whereas basking in the gratitude and sufficiency of small graces might lead to inattention toward fundamental survival threats.  In the modern world, we must balance the ever-rising tide of hedonic adapation-- where we get so used to every new comfort and advantage that it ceases to bring us joy-- with gratitude for both the blessings and challenges we encounter.  In my personal experience, this is very difficult to do without both a meditation and a gratitude practice.  Meditation is what trains and restrains the momentum of the powerful subconscious mind that operates wildly like our ancestors from the savannah.  Gratitude is the precious food that puts a higher clarity and perspective in charge.