My life, when it’s on track, adheres to a pattern of spiritual growth that guides me increasingly to the flow of grace. That is to say, good things happen when I’m true to what’s good, even when things may not seem so good at the time.
This pattern, as I perceive it, falls neatly into five steps, all of which begin with the letter A: Attitude, Awareness, Acceptance, Attunement and Action.
Before getting into each of these qualities a little, I have to mention, as I’m sure would be fairly assumed, that I haven’t always met the challenge of completing the five-A sequence. Acceptance and attunement are hurdles that one’s desires and attachments tend to resist surpassing. The phrase “Work in progress” continues to apply!
So, how do we get from Awareness to a high-minded, positive approach to life? For starters, it helps to trust that God knows what He is doing, and that nothing delivered to our doorstep is by mistake. Having the right Attitude, even when tested severely, is essential to the journey of Self-realization. And this opens the door not only to further Awareness of why things are as they are, but to Acceptance of every challenge as a gift from God for our spiritual evolution.
Acceptance of that reality then serves to raise our consciousness to in-sync Attunement with the Spirit that is implicit in all that is. And that brings us to Action. Up to now, we have set the stage for things unresolved to resolve, but this is not going to happen merely because we have our ducks in a row. Understanding an issue, no matter how complex, is essentially just information until it is translated to an actual expression of will power and energy.
Every situation comes with a choice. What am I aware of, and what is my attitude toward it? Have I read its meaning correctly, and do I accept the reality of its message? Am I attuned to my highest self as I face into it, and what is the action I am willing to undertake to make the most of the opportunity?
When this five-step sequence becomes our way of being, it is no longer just a descriptive pattern. It is who, as seekers, we allow our soul to lead us to be.