Where do we find the courage to remain present in the face of the unknown, the unpredictable, the uncontrollable—to this thing called Life? Courage is not the absence or denial of fear; it is facing fear and surrendering to the gifts it offers: to change when change is needed, to embrace the unknown in spite of our fears and insecurities. We can actually begin to welcome such opportunities to become better acquainted with ourselves.

When we give our unconditional commitment to wake up, come what may, it gives us a taste of genuine freedom of living now—right here, right now, on the spot where we now stand. Heaven is happening right where we are, right in the midst of challenges as well as joys and we accept both as lights on our path.

Instead of resisting life’s unavoidable irritations or praying that they be removed from our life, we can choose to see their higher purpose as rich material for our ongoing, inner growth and transformation. Irritants show us where our ego is acting out, where we self-righteously blame outside sources and events for our circumstances. If we would just slow down long enough to give more mindful attention to those “irritants,” we could actually become grateful for how life’s simple, everyday happenings are invaluable opportunities for us to wake up.

Inspired intentionality comes to us during those measureless gaps when, in our meditations, visioning, or affirmative prayers, time stops and we catch inspiration directly from the intuitive faculty of the heart. From this inspired state of consciousness, we stand at the choice-point for setting and activating consciousness-expanding, life-enhancing intentions. And the more we do so, the more we can access inspiration even during the ordinary activities of our day.

It is said that the Cosmic Mother keeps written in her heart every prayer you have ever whispered from your secret soul into the universe.  This utterly tender aspect of Spirit's mothering energy is always available to those who turn to it with the trusting abandon of a child to its mother.

I like to think of the mothering energy of Spirit as another name for Unconditional Love.  Independent of giving physical birth to a child, we all possess the qualities of a mother's heart which, just as does the Cosmic Mother, nurtures every form of relationship—life partner, child, friend, student, neighbor, colleague, animal companions, those in need including complete strangers—with the compassion, the grace, the tenderness of a mother’s heart.  We can all bend a knee of gratitude before the unconditional mothering energy of Spirit.