Finding Grace in Transition

Finding Grace in Transition

 Evolution. It's not just a good idea, it's inevitable.

   

   

  

One thing about evolution: it's always moving to the future. Even when it seems like we're moving backward in some kind of bizarre regression like the Tea Party -- the actual movement is still forward -- sort of like the planets going retrograde every so often. They haven't actually changed direction, it just appears that way from our stationery perspective. Astrologers will tell you that retrogrades can represent the disruption that leads to a new order. Retrogrades are also times to clean up the past.

  

So here we are, at the front end of 2012, perching on what we believe will be evolution's Big Shift Year. Decades ago, when I first thought about it, I imagined we'd be much farther along by now -- that we would have figured out how to live in peace, share wealth, take care of the environment, and live elegant lives supported by advanced technology. I certainly didn't think a world teeming with overpopulation would be arguing about women's legal right to use birth control (thank you Rick Santorum), or that 115 days into the Occupy movement we'd be listening to Wall Street brokers threatening to quit if their bonuses were reduced.  

   

But wait, isn't it always darkest before the dawn? Aren't we just barely crawling out  of the  darkest time of year, still at the pink-orange sunrise of the new year, let alone the dawning light of the next era? Here's something to think about as the light grows around you: Like a holograph, whose parts always contain the whole, each photon of light carries information in a 360-degree perspective. That's what light does; it helps us see where we're going, helps us see the big picture. If we listen to each other's perspective, we can see the whole take shape.   

The dance of evolution moves toward greater bodies of wholeness -- more parts working together in larger numbers. From single-celled organisms that took 3 billion years to cooperate as simple creatures, to ego-based individuals who must now figure out how to run a planet together, evolution is a cauldron of creativity always finding new ways to melt its disparate parts into a greater whole.   

To transform into that whole, we first have to melt. We have to be willing to let go of old forms, attachment to outcome, to believing that we know everything. We have to let go of the illusion of separation, even as we hang on to our own important agency. Our unique note in the symphony is necessary, but the symphony is something we create together. We can consciously co-create with evolution -- as long as we understand that it's the senior partner in the dance -- much, much older and wiser than we are.

Where there's pain, that's evolution urging you somewhere else. Feel it, pay attention, then melt your stance. Listen to the heart, which moves toward greater expansion. Anytime you create more organization, harmony, beauty, truth, or goodness, you are moving in the direction of evolution. Where can you create more beauty in your life? Where can you find more harmony with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, home environment, or within yourself? How can you use this time to get more organized for the year ahead? Step outside, into the light, and see the bigger picture taking shape, one photon at a time, all around you.

Grace is the music that coordinates separate parts into a greater whole. When those parts move in harmony, singing to Divine's not-so-subtle urges toward greater perfection, try to surrender and ride the waves -- even through their ups and downs. Have faith that you really are going somewhere -- just like all the rest of us on this bumpy ride to the future.

Brightest blessings,

-Anodea Judith, Ph.D.