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Everyday Graces
I like to think that moments of grace are available to us all, all the time, if we are open to them. Grace requires no effort other than an open heart and our presence. These holy moments, which so often come unbidden and in such ordinary trappings, can make the difference between just another day passing and a day that leaves us filled with hope, gratitude, and the belief that our journeys are inextricably connected and bound by love.
I am a big fan of Marianne Williamson, because she makes me think and examine my own life and what I think I believe. Her message about grace is that through grace we can find another perspective; one that allows us to look at situation or a person differently. As I reflected on her message I was reminded of situations where my whole opinion shifted because of a single piece of new information or because of a new or different connection with the person involved. In those instances the facts didn’t change but I did. I remembered too hearing a sermon about repentance, and that the root word came from the Greek ‘mentanoia’ meaning, “change of thought.” It should be an easy thing to change your mind or revise your position, but so often we get caught up in wanting to be right, or wanting to please others, or not wanting to admit that we don’t know as much as we thought we did. It is precisely these aspects of our ego which make us so human and so in need of the light that grace brings.
A case in point was when I was listening to the Congressional hearings with the three big auto giants and their bid for government money to forestall bankruptcy. I had such a negative impression, initially, as I listened to Congress grill the auto executives about their mismanagement, their failure to design and produce economical cars, and their excessive accommodations to the auto unions, not to mention their own salaries. Why not let them suffer the consequences of their greed and mismanagement I asked myself? But then I heard Mitch Album, author of Tuesdays With Morrie, on “Charlie Rose.” Mitch lives in and loves Detroit. He spoke about how they looked at what was happening in Washington. He said that as, “Congress was giving a ‘beat down’ to these auto executives we felt like, they were really talking about us-our jobs, our families, and our children’s’ future. People forget that Detroit was once the fourth largest city in the US, and that the auto industry helped to define a big part of the fabric of America. The unions, of which Washington is now so critical, helped to build the middle class in this country. And we are proud of that. People may think that it’s just Detroit that this is happening to, but we are only the first city. And we will not be the last. It could happen anywhere. So don’t treat us like we’re gum on the bottom of your shoe. We are part of this country and we’re just asking for some help.”
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