“The Fall Season: The Process of Life”
By: Vince DiPasquale
As we begin another autumn season, let’s take time to reflect on the saying, “Life is a process, we need to learn how to trust it.” As I look at the majesty of God’s creation, I am grateful to be living on this earth. To experience God’s beautiful creation and our human dysfunctionality is such a wonderment of gratitude and love. As people walking the journey, we need to be able to look at our world through God’s eyes. Let’s examine our journeys through the eyes of our Creator.
“God is all knowing.” Even though God and the angels are here to be our guides, God gives us the gift of free will and we, in our humanness, have made choices. Sometimes we have to learn the hard way, we make mistakes, we are stubborn and sometimes we have all the answers. Yet through faith in God we can release our egos and through the gift of humility be open to learn from our mistakes. We thank God every day that he has the gift of patience with us and our humanness. As I ponder the mystery of life I realize we are never done until we are back in God’s presence.
“God is all forgiving.” Even way before we are able to forgive ourselves, God has already forgiven us. In our humanness we are all handicapped in many ways. We can learn so much by releasing hurts, pain and resentments and give them to God. Remember when you hold a grudge against anyone you only hurt yourself. We need to learn how to release grudges and give them to God. We must first learn to forgive others if we are to be forgiven.
“God is all loving.” So many of us on our journeys have experienced all different ways in which we envision the Creator. Each and every belief system is valid if we all see God as love. The ultimate commandment I learned as a young boy was, “To love God with your heart and soul and to love your neighbor as you would love yourself.” Once again we are being asked to be spiritual people. Our purpose on our life’s journeys is to take the time to keep discovering who we are. It’s our responsibility to love ourselves, to honor and respect ourselves and to care about ourselves. Only then can we share the gift of ourselves with others. The 12 Steps of our recovery program reminds us if we invest in our spiritual awakening then the energy will naturally reach out to others. Let’s all learn how to love ourselves and each person we meet on our life’s journey. They are all our teachers.
In the second grade I was taught each one of us is made in the image and likeness of God. This makes so much sense to me. At the moment of our creation and entrance into this world we were given everything we need for our journey. Isn’t it so wonderful that we are all different and unique? It doesn’t make a difference what our race, creeds, backgrounds, cultures or nationalities are, we are all equal. We are all responsible to rediscover all the gifts we have within. We have so many gifts and talents to discover and share. There is no such thing as a bad person. There is bad behavior that we can face, heal and become a better person as a result of our experiences.
Pain and struggle are part of our journeys. Our program gives us the tools to face our struggles and try to look at them in a positive way. The first step of our program reminds us that pain and powerlessness are God’s way of helping us to surrender our control and egos and be open to our Creator’s messages. I truly believe that each one of us is a channel through which God speaks to the world. It’s sad when we make money, power, greed and material items our God. Throughout history we have watched societies, countries, and empires come and go reminding us that there is only one constant through it all. Remember God, our Creator, doesn’t take sides. He allows us our journey and gives us the freedom to value what’s really important in life – every human being.
As we begin another season in life, let us watch Mother Nature teach us that change and growth are part of the journey. God reminds us that Winter is a time of preparation, the womb a place to be formed. Spring is a time of birth and new beginnings. Summer is a time for growth and Fall a time for change. Through our life’s journey we are all being guided by the Creator. Live life each day with gratitude, love, and pray to be open to the lessons of each day. We are all God’s creatures on a journey. Enjoy the ride, learn the lessons and pass them on to others. Enjoy the Fall season and always be open and willing to change and grow.
May God bless us on our journey.
