The Potter
Should you be an artist, or not, you will relate to the following?
Once you have put clay onto a potter’s wheel to fashion an exquisite piece of art, you have absolute and complete control over what happens with the clay. Should you not be happy with your effort, you can simply smash it into a lump of clay again and start all over. However, should somebody other than you, the artist, smash the artwork, you will be very, very annoyed with the destroyer, wouldn’t you? Why? Well, the destroyer did not create the art/object in the first place and therefore have no right to destroy it either! The only person with that right is the artist!
People often speak about how someone is clay in the hands of another or how we are clay in the hands of God the Great Spirit. We present and allow ourselves, or not, to be sculpted and moulded in order to achieve our purpose and be the light unto this world as we should be.
How often though do our actions and thoughts destroy our lives, health and that of others? The first reaction to this often, is to blame someone else and even God. Do you think this is fair? What are we to understand by a “destroyed” life?
Do you think that the beggar is living a “destroyed” life? Not necessarily! Somebody who possess all there is and more, might actually be in the process of destroying his/her life and the lives of many others! It is all a perception? For many though, perception is reality! Can we change that reality?
In this world as we know it, perhaps yes, but not in the eyes of God! All there is, is all there is and we should not assume to know all the why’s and the how’s because we do not see the whole picture. We did not create the universe! That which we did create … all the chaos, hunger, and wars and so forth … this is our reality and it scares the heck out of us and we often blame God and almost always somebody else for this. How can God allow this to happen, we ask?
He did not create it! He is most certainly observing it and taking serious cognizance and He will and does share His views and instructions with us. He offers us the solutions, the tools and the knowledge to repair our handiwork. The choice however is always ours though!
One might not be happy with your perception of how you have been created whether on a physical or mental level, but in the world of God we have all been created perfect for our purpose in this life. As such, we have no right to “destroy” ourselves although He, as our Creator certainly can.
Question is, would He do that? No, I do not believe that He would. We should fear ourselves, our inability, based on our egotistical behaviour, for this is why we make choices which are not ideal for what/who we are. God will however, should we not heed to the nudges, do what is required to point us in the right direction and He will continue to do so until we get the message and often these nudges, if our stubbornness persist, can become pretty uncomfortable.
The clay cannot argue with the artist. Neither can we argue with God…. observe and let go… let God!
Sometimes these nudges can be very harsh and seemingly unfair but we have to remember that God may re-arrange our life as He sees fit. Remember we have been created in His image and likeness. When we realize that all of the nudging and the bruising which result, is part of a perfect plan and then stop to resist and accept His love, we become free of all the anxiety and fear that creates dis-ease in our lives.
Interesting thing is that when this happens, when we let go/accept, we become happy people and we grow in knowledge and wisdom. Now you may ask … but what about what I want to do or achieve? Well, what about it? Awesome question though! Nothing prevent you from achieving whatever it is that you want to achieve! As long as it is part of the perfect plan and does not violate God’s laws and you do not become fanatically attached to your will.
We don’t know the plan though, so we have to accept that the Power that be, will nudge us if and when required and that we have to accept this with grace, gratitude and faith.
The moral of all of this is that we have to reach a point in our spiritual development where our will for ourselves, become the same as that of God’s will for us because this is when we begin to live our purpose. On our journey to this point, we will be nudged … we will be bruised … we will heal and we will get to where we are supposed to go. And then when we look back, we will say … what a journey … I have been truly blessed!
Those of you, who have watched a potter or a sculpting artist work with clay, will remember that the work is mostly done with a very gentle hand. Very reassuring is it not? Is it not wonderful to know that every thought, feeling, action, experience and word is part of that/who is molding us to become even more masterful, within the power of God, in our own right?
I thank you for reading these thoughts. It is a blessing for which I am truly grateful!
Peace be with you!
© Matthys Ferreira
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