“But I want first of all…to be a peace with myself….I want, in fact – to borrow from the language of the saints – to live “in grace” as much as possible. I am not using this term in a strictly theological sense. By grace I mean an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The sun feels like warm honey dripping down my back. Its medicine soothes my cold sick bones.

“Lean back and rest,” whispers the sun.

So I oblique and lean into its comforting embrace from my cosy chair near the window. I write a few words and then snooze. When I open my eyes, I jot down a few more dreamy words – “This is how I’m meant to be right now. This is grace for me in this moment”. Then I drift off again. Wrapped in a cocoon of warm honey sun, I close my eyes and surrender my tired body to sleep.

Most days I convince myself that living in grace means doing certain things. Things like waking up early, meditating frequently, drinking tea, journaling, doing yoga or connecting with Mother Earth. Yet now, being man down with terrible flu and unable to do many of these things, I’m reminded that I’m not necessarily living ‘out of grace’ when I’m not doing these things. Yes, the activities I’ve listed are all valuable pathways which do indeed lead me back to a state of grace. However, the experience of living in grace is not so much about the doing and as it is about settling into a space of quiet inner peace and allowing it to translate into a harmonious outer essence of flow.

Grace is such a fluid thing. It’s a tender process of surrendering, flowing and allowing things to be as they are. It requires easing through each moment without resistance.

Mother Nature does grace so well. I see it in the poise of the robin sitting on my windowsill, in the way another brown leaf falls to the earth and in how the paper white blossoms next to me glow like luminous snow in the winter light.

I breathe in this serenity slowly, mindfully and exhale any resistance to what is. I remind myself once more that this is what grace looks like for me right now, even if it means making peace with this illness

What does living in grace mean to you?