Connected to Source

Relationships form the foundation where love learns to breathe. For many, the acts of parenting or care-giving provide a space where the soul, heart, body, and mind can expand. Each space is as distinct as the one who creates it. Whether or not you are a parent, may you be inspired in the generous, creative act of caring. If you are nurturing young or grown children, unable to have children, or have chosen not to, if you care for an elderly parent, if you are a teacher, social worker, or nurse, know that you are not alone, that our divine Father and Mother nurture you as you nurture others.

True holiness and wholeness arise when we allow divine love and grace to unfold in the present moment and respond to what is before us. Holiness is simply being connected to our Source. From this connection, our compassionate response to suffering and need flows naturally—from who we are in love, not from ego or fear.

This is why many parents become such good and holy people; caring for children fosters this transformation. Children can be seen as mere extensions of our ego, but we cannot always predict or control what they will ask of us. They often make us much less egocentric.

We encounter unavoidable demands that require our response, even when we feel inadequate. These God-given reminders show us that we are not always the central reference point. Giving of our physical, mental, and emotional resources in this way is not usually ego-affirming, but it is a path toward holiness. It is not what you do that makes you holy. It is what you allow to be done to you that makes you holy.

(inspired by: Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ and Letting Go)