Embracing the gift of grace

The gift of grace is not something you earn. It’s not a reward, or something you pray or ask for. And it has nothing to do with karma or your past actions. It is the one thing that transcends the black-and-white way we think about the world: that good people get good things and bad people get bad things. Grace falls upon good people and bad people equally.

Grace is a perfection of life that exists with or without you. You don’t earn grace, or deserve it – it just falls on you. You don’t have to create it – it’s already there. You just have to slow down and look around.

What’s remarkable about grace is that the more you acknowledge it, the more it appears. Grace can be a guiding force when your intent is pure and your will is strong, but something else pushes you through.

Embracing the gift of grace

All too often we ignore the presence of grace. As a society we’ve been trained to work hard for the things we want, and if we achieve something after working for it, we give ourselves all the credit. Grace – whether we define it as a spiritual force, a higher intelligence or just a higher purpose – doesn’t get credit until something good happens that we didn’t set into motion ourselves.

The flip side of this is blame. If we take the credit when things go well, we must also blame ourselves when they don’t. But blaming others or blaming yourself never solves anything. We all face things we can’t control. We all face tragedies. Life isn’t always happy, but it can always be meaningful.

Grace is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. When we accept grace in our lives and are thankful for it, everything becomes much more fulfilling.

Grace exists with or without you

Grace is often categorized underneath religious trappings, but in truth it has many names. Sure, some call it “God” or a spiritual force; others just refer to it as luck. Michael Singer, author of The Untethered Soul, describes grace as a cool breeze on a hot day: It isn’t something you’ve created for yourself, and it can happen to anyone, good or bad.

Grace is a gift of the universe. You can’t bargain for more of it by doing good deeds. It may not visit you all the time, no matter how many good works you do. The proper response to grace, according to Singer, is with gratitude – for all the grace in our lives, as well as all the challenges.

Everything is a gift

Challenges and painful moments can leave lasting scars on the psyche. What if we didn’t view these moments as setbacks, but as gifts? Painful moments can often create a greater beauty than what could have happened without them, if we are willing to accept grace into our lives.