40 Days of Letting Go, Letting God
From Release to Embrace
Rule 30
“The true Sufi is such that even when he is unjustly accused, attacked and condemned from all sides, he patiently endures, uttering not a single bad word about any of his critics. A Sufi never apportions blame. How can there be opponents or rivals or even “others” when there is no “self” in the first place? How can there be anyone to blame when there is only One?“*
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Today we affirm: I see with divine eyes; grace fills my days and prospers my struggles
The true Sufi is such that even when he is unjustly accused, attacked and condemned from all sides, he patiently endures, uttering not a single bad word about any of his critics. A Sufi never apportions blame. Rule30
I see a deep relationship between ‘struggles’ and today’s rule. It seems to me that we often struggle because ‘judge’ what’s in front of us as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. In my experience struggle starts when I decide that something does not work. Every time when I want something but it is not happening or at times when I don’t want something and it keeps on popping up, I move into ‘struggle mode’. I either struggle to get something or struggle to avoid something.
I don’t think we need to struggle. Challenges are good, we develop character through being outside of our comfort zone, but struggle is a kind of attitude. Struggle is similar to ‘drama’, to me. As I struggle, I try to manipulate my environment to help me or God to provide me with what I want. Very tricky!
If I could move into neutrality, like a Sufi, into a ‘mode’ of total acceptance of what is, regardless of circumstances, I would surly stop struggling. I would just go with the flow. I would just keep on embracing each moment with what it brings. It is a huge learning for me!
What did you discover by contemplation on this rule and Lent reading?
in Loving and with many Blessings,
Rev Kudlik
Please note that though I may use ‘him’ or ‘his’ pronouns to talk about God/the Divine, it is only because the English language does not have a gender neutral pronoun. ‘They’ sounds odd to me to use and ‘it’ sounds lifeless.