Grieving in the Now

Share insight into the symbolism of serving tea to Buddha, inviting you to explore the boundless nature of love and compassion. We contemplate the present moment's perfection, finding solace in the unity of the divine breath.  Honor our collective journey towards oneness with God.

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Our theme music is:  Gentle Breeze by Yeti Music from the album "Uppbeat".
Additional Music and sound effects today by:   via Pixabay

Transcript

Candee: 0:13

We we welcome you to Solace: Soul + Grief. I'm Candee Lucas, your host. When we started this ministry, we understood how difficult it was to lose a loved one, and we had hoped to create a space and a ministry that addressed these concerns and served as a source of comfort and wisdom for those who travel with God on their grief journey. This podcast is brought to you by Catholic Cemeteries. Diocese of San Jose. We're glad you're here. You're always welcome in our circle of healing, love and support.

Candee: 1:30

There is a story of the devoted servant of Buddha wanting to bring tea to the Buddha, but not his visitor. Bringing tea to the Buddha is a metaphor for offering something of value or significance to someone who is already enlightened or complete. It suggests that the act of giving is more important than the actual gift itself, and it represents a gesture of respect, appreciation or devotion. In this story, the servant wants to bring tea to the Buddha, but not to his visitor. This reflects the idea that the servant values Buddha more than the visitor and wants to show him special attention. We should wonder if we are handing out our love and compassion like we only had a finite amount and not enough to go around, no matter how many times we say it or read it, or speak it or pray it. It seems like there's not enough to go around. Maybe we get this idea from living in a culture that gives high value to things that are scarce or make scarce things of value. This makes our own mindfulness all the more meaningful. If we stop and worry about running out of love or compassion or energy, we need to remember that we can find all those things in the now. This is easy to say and oftentimes more difficult to do. But we should remember this moment is perfect. We are not in pain, we are loved, we are fed, we are warm, we want for nothing and we do not wonder about or worry about the next moment, and we do not carry the last moment into this one. We are listening to the rain and a tiny bell behind it. It is lovely, it is now.

Candee: 4:18

I am breathing, I am centering, I am aware that God is surrounding me. It is now. It makes me wonder about the difference between a memory and a dream. Both are now, but holding the past too dear and too near, as we are learning to tune ourselves into the vibrations, the energy, the breath, the God that is now. This is what God asks of us. We should be glad to be reminded.

Candee: 5:11

Breath is prayer. It's what we did first. It's what we will do last. In this moment, I will not dwell on my past disunion, dismemberment of good from humans, from other humans. In this moment, they are all me, I am all of them. There is no difference. I am the Buddha, he is me, Jesus is me, I am Jesus, we are God. There is no difference, no boundary. Our breath is our breath. As we breathe in together and breathe out together, it is one breath.

Candee: 6:06

But this presentness does not address our longing for and yearning for God. Theology tries to fill that gap. Teach us, let us educate ourselves into a space where we can be in now and also long for oneness with God, true union that cannot be while we walk this earth and with our fellow wanderers, yearners, longers. It's that space we want to learn to hold on to. That concludes another episode. Please support us by subscribing on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts or Google. We always welcome your comments and feedback. Remember, spiritual Direction is always available through Catholic Cemeteries. I'm Candee Lucas Chaplain, Aftercare Coordinator and Spiritual Director at Catholic Cemeteries. You can reach us through the email or telephone number in the show notes. Be gentle with yourselves. Travel safely with God. Vaya con Dios.