Divinity

Two years ago, I met an amazing woman at a yoga retreat in Costa Rica.  (Lest you think I am a yoga afficionado, let me assure you, I was mostly there for the Costa Rica experience, not the yoga experience.  Don't get me wrong . . . I respect and admire people who are into yoga.  In fact, I envy them.  But I have never been able to get to a point where I can say "I get it!")  The first thing I heard Karen say when we met was, "I take my yoga seriously."  And she does.  She is also a beautiful soul, inside and out.  I am happy that she became a Facebook friend and I can see her inspiring posts.  And it is one of those posts that is the inspiration for this blog entry.

It's a quote by Fyodor Dostoyevsky:  "Love the animals, love the plants, love everything.  If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.  Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day.  And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."

I thought it appropriate to include that quote in today's post because I have reached a mini-milestone here.  I have fallen in love every day for 30 days.  One-twelfth of my mission is complete.  But have I achieved that which Dostoyevsky is predicting for me?  Not even close.  The mystery remains a mystery.

I willingly admit, however, that I love the word "divine."  I have long struggled with the name "God."   I won't go into the reasons for that struggle here, but it is important to note that my questions about spirituality and religion have a lot to do with that name.  So I have chosen to use other names in order to allow me to focus on defining my belief system.  "The divine" is a term I can embrace.  It helps me understand that "god" is internal, not external.  The divine is within.

And that is what I hope this exercise in falling in love is helping me do.  To look within for meaning.  The world we live in keeps telling us that meaning is to be found outside of ourselves, whether it's in a designer handbag or a hot car or a killer sound system.  I fall prey to these desires myself at times.  But the satisfaction that they bring is fleeting.  And it doesn't come close to love.

So here's to one month down and eleven to go on my journey toward divinity.