The Grateful Heart Portal

Today is the Lion's Gate, a portal, August 8, 2021 the New Moon in Leo which appropriately is a pathway to the Heart. I love synchronicities, those little moments that line up just so, that make you stop, ponder, recognize and smile. A few days ago the Sufi Book of Life, 99 Pathways to the Heart, Practices for the Modern Dervish by Neil Douglas-Klotz called to me to create once again.  Using the book has been part of my on-going spiritual practice since I "found" it back in 2015. Then one day in 2017 inspiration came to me to explore each path through the medium of collage. I wished to delve deeper into each of the pathways and through creativity and art seemed only natural. Gratitude, Giving Back is the 35th pathway. I have shared each of the previous paths here on this blog if you wish to view them in order.

It's been six months since I explored a Sufi pathway through art. I have been immersed in starting a business, Flora Sophia, the Wisdom of Flowers, a real hearts passion for me. I've also been involved in a deep-dive into the Tarot with a friend also through collage and I've spent much time in writing. Suddenly out of the blue the other day I heard it calling. Yesterday I sat down, suddenly compelled, and went about creating the collage. Today was for writing and sharing and I see now why it had to be today...the portal. In fact this morning attending my spiritual community via Zoom we explored Meta Meditation-Loving Kindness and looked at how our society has been creating an environment of fear with the intent to divide us further. This pathway holds the answer to division, Gratitude. 

What does it mean though to be grateful? Really think about what gratitude and being grateful means to you. We hear these words all the time; we see them written on home décor, art and clothing, people keep gratitude jars, endless social media posts are dedicated to gratitude and countless books have been written on the subject but, if we are truly living lives filled with gratitude in our hearts than why is our society so divided, more so now than ever before with hearts filled with judgment and hate? 

The definition of gratitude is " the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness." Ash-Shakur, the name of this pathway in Arabic, translates to "the attitude of recognition and appreciation, rather than with the "specific" facts of a situation...which indicates a circle opening to include more, the rays of the sun...that shine on the just and the unjust." It means we need to follow the light rather than the shadow because light leads to transformation and growth. Being thankful changes everything. If we feel that everything is a personal attack, if we hold on to these perceived affronts then our hearts are constricted and not able to truly see and appreciate the many blessings that surround us every day. We aren't able to see the Divine Intelligence that is at work. Everything has a purpose. Everyone has a light within. Every being has beauty within them. We have to learn to see clearly; to look beyond the differences of opinion, the threats, the shadows that threaten to engulf us; the thorns we feel are surely just below the surface ready to pierce us at any moment. We have to learn what true gratitude looks like.

Klotz shares this from Shabistari, a Sufi poet of the 14th century;

In the Secret Rose Garden,                                                                                                                           roses bloom that reveal                                                                                                                                 the mysteries of the human heart,                                                                                                                 Lilies sing and the narcissus                                                                                                                        sees everything perfectly.                                                                                                                               To enter this garden,                                                                                                                                     see with your heart's eyes and                                                                                                                      gaze gently on these blossoms.                                                                                                                     All your doubts will fade away.                                                                                                                     Don't look for mistakes:                                                                                                                                The roses may turn to thorns.                                                                                                                        Ingratitude reveals ignorance,                                                                                                                       and the friends of truth are truly thankful.

This poem acted as my inspiration into the collage. Everything begins in a garden. An eye, mirror of the soul, beholds the beauty of the flowers that issue from the heart in the center. Flowers are grateful for the sun, the soil, the rain and they spontaneously and freely bloom. The garden starts with a seed. We nurture it into being. When I see a flower I thank it for its beauty, for its being. When I see a field of corn I thank it for its sacrifice to feed. When I see a person acting out of the kindness of their heart and helping someone I am moved to appreciate that they are acting out of love.  The butterfly is a symbol of transformation, joy and  beauty. But did you see that the heart is half buried in what appears to be rock and mud? Life is messy. You don't get a fertile garden with blooms without digging, without getting dirty, without the struggle of mud, but that experience will make that future moment of wonder ever more sweet. In this instance the mud is a sacred vessel. Darkness is needed as surely as is the Light. 

Isn't gratitude more about learning to see and feel with your heart and responding in kind authentically and spontaneously rather than with what your mind believes is the correct response which is always going to be measured with reason in some way? 

Klotz then writes after asking you to thoroughly delve into gratitude to then look around you for the smallest things to be thankful for, "This pathway is not a matter of business, of give and take. It's the sign of a heart that remembers Unity." To be truly thankful is to recognize that we are all connected. 

If "each individual being is really a verse of the "sacred manuscript of nature" the "Mother of the Book" which all traditions descend from, then Love is surely the one thing they all have in common. Love is the source. What would this world look like if we All followed our hearts song? If we All loved ourselves and were grateful for this life to the extent that we lived without fear? If we All planted seeds rather than throwing weed killer on our own or another's dreams? If we simply allowed every being to Be what they intended, without  judgement, without comment, without strings attached?  That would be true gratitude, creating an environment of acknowledgement and acceptance, heart centered Unity.  Stop looking for the thorns. Flowers follow light, what if we did too? Gratitude is shown through the actions we take in response to kindness, and we receive so very much more than we even realize.   

 On this new moon go within, plant a seed, set your heart centered intention, and give thanks, true thanks. The Lions gate asks us to allow freely the life that wishes to be expressed through us. If you followed your heart, no matter what, where would it lead you? Be Grateful. Be Brave. Be Confident. Be Light. Be Love. Believe.

And thank you for reading and seeing me. I see, hear and am grateful for you. 

Bright Blessings.