All sacred texts speaks of the love humanity has for their Creator. Verse after verse expresses the devotion to God through praise and worship and a constant longing for God's presence.
Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Christianity. 1 Corinthians 10:31.
The supreme Lord who pervades all existence, the true Self of all creatures, may be realized through undivided love. Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita 8:22
Heaven and earth contain me not, but the heart of my faithful servant contains me. Islam. Hadith of Suhrawardi
Greater is he who acts from love than he who acts from fear. Judaism. Talmud, Sota 31a.
This longing for the knowing of God draws me passionately. The love and peace I experience when I pray and meditate and connect to this Divine presence consumes me. I melt into the nothingness and into the allness of the ALL. It is the purest form of love that there is.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Feeding the Hungry
Today I was blessed to spend the day feeding the hungry with the Peace Ambassadors. In all faith traditions, we are called to feed the hungry.
Most of us think this to be the obvious, feeding those without food. But I believe there are those among us who are spiritually hungry or actually starving.
Volunteering and reaching out to those in need is not only feeding the physically hungry but its feeding all those who are spiritually hungry.
The joy experienced at the soup kitchen today was phenomenal. As we laughed, cooked, served, washed dishes, we smiled, sang and danced. Our spirits and hearts were filled to overflowing. This is the magic of love, this is the magic of service to others. Those who serve are truly those being served.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Most of us think this to be the obvious, feeding those without food. But I believe there are those among us who are spiritually hungry or actually starving.
Volunteering and reaching out to those in need is not only feeding the physically hungry but its feeding all those who are spiritually hungry.
The joy experienced at the soup kitchen today was phenomenal. As we laughed, cooked, served, washed dishes, we smiled, sang and danced. Our spirits and hearts were filled to overflowing. This is the magic of love, this is the magic of service to others. Those who serve are truly those being served.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Friday, February 12, 2010
Love found at the Olympics
Settling in with my tea and cookies to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, I was saddened by the news of the young man from Georgia who died while training this morning. My heart went out to his family, his friends and all of the athletes. What a sobering wake up call for all of us. We never know when our time will come to an end on this plain of existence.
Because of this, I believe we must work for greatness in our lives not necessarily success. We have to live to love and to develop relationships to promote peace. The Olympics is the prime opportunity for our youth to come together with others across the globe and build friendships that will last a life time.
The Olympics is a time that the world can come together as one, in peace and in harmony. Working together to bring out the best in one another is a perfect expression of love; whether it be an athletic achievement or helping the hungry in our neighbor.
We are all participants in the Olympics of life. Be whom ever you are called to be at the depths of your soul, with passion and vigor and you will spread love, peace and harmony in our world.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Because of this, I believe we must work for greatness in our lives not necessarily success. We have to live to love and to develop relationships to promote peace. The Olympics is the prime opportunity for our youth to come together with others across the globe and build friendships that will last a life time.
The Olympics is a time that the world can come together as one, in peace and in harmony. Working together to bring out the best in one another is a perfect expression of love; whether it be an athletic achievement or helping the hungry in our neighbor.
We are all participants in the Olympics of life. Be whom ever you are called to be at the depths of your soul, with passion and vigor and you will spread love, peace and harmony in our world.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Honor and respect
I have found as I grow in love with life and more importantly with myself, I find more wonderful things in people. This is an amazing paradox in my life. The more I honor and respect myself, the more I honor and respect others. The more others are honored and respected, the more they honor and respect themselves.
Maybe we truly can change the world by becoming the change we want to see in the world, as Gandhi says.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Maybe we truly can change the world by becoming the change we want to see in the world, as Gandhi says.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Love found in making cookies
Today I was blessed to bake basketball cookies for my daughter's last game as a 8Th grader. She is moving up and my friend, Melissa and I wanted to do something special for the team.
We baked and decorated 30 little basketballs and one big one. We had such a great time reminiscing about the season, thinking about all of the funny happenings at the games, and excited about the girls progress. As we worked, we were completely present and enjoying the art of creating. Each cookie was a labor of love.
I remembered all of the cookies my mom baked for all of my classmates and for all of our family and the cookies she is still baking. These memories brought to surface the love given me as a child, but love I did not appreciate or understand.
Love is a funny thing, expressed in a multitude of ways, but maybe never fully comprehended until you have a repeat experience of your own. The love I feel in baking these cookies is warm and nurturing and freely given, this is a mother's love. What a beautiful awareness at 47 to fully embrace the love of my mom.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
We baked and decorated 30 little basketballs and one big one. We had such a great time reminiscing about the season, thinking about all of the funny happenings at the games, and excited about the girls progress. As we worked, we were completely present and enjoying the art of creating. Each cookie was a labor of love.
I remembered all of the cookies my mom baked for all of my classmates and for all of our family and the cookies she is still baking. These memories brought to surface the love given me as a child, but love I did not appreciate or understand.
Love is a funny thing, expressed in a multitude of ways, but maybe never fully comprehended until you have a repeat experience of your own. The love I feel in baking these cookies is warm and nurturing and freely given, this is a mother's love. What a beautiful awareness at 47 to fully embrace the love of my mom.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Monday, February 8, 2010
Listening creates lasting Friendships
We are all wanting to be heard but few of us stop our activity of doing in order to listen. This was a key message from Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, about his work of building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said, progress was slow because the building of relationships takes time. To accurately assimilate the needs of the people he serves; he stops, has tea, and listens to the elders and the women of the communities. During this time, he gathers valuable information about the needs of the people.
Greg said, he watched countless $250 tweed jackets, sent by well meaning people wanting to help, being thrown into fires to cook meals and warm rooms for the children. He also witnessed nylon tents, sent with the same intention, melt and burn because the people were using kerosene burners to stay warm. He said, "If we had asked them what they needed, they would have said, kerosene and money to build a canvass factory to manufacture their own tents that would withstand the cold and provide shade in the heat." This would have been much cheaper and much more productive for the people in this region.
Taking the time to listen to those we want to help, we can find out what is required to empower them to meet their needs. By empowering the people, we are a greater source for positive and long-lasting change in our world. Truly listening instills a deep sense of trust. In building trust, we create a bond of love. With love, we establish lasting friendships, we heal wounds, we become ONE.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Greg said, he watched countless $250 tweed jackets, sent by well meaning people wanting to help, being thrown into fires to cook meals and warm rooms for the children. He also witnessed nylon tents, sent with the same intention, melt and burn because the people were using kerosene burners to stay warm. He said, "If we had asked them what they needed, they would have said, kerosene and money to build a canvass factory to manufacture their own tents that would withstand the cold and provide shade in the heat." This would have been much cheaper and much more productive for the people in this region.
Taking the time to listen to those we want to help, we can find out what is required to empower them to meet their needs. By empowering the people, we are a greater source for positive and long-lasting change in our world. Truly listening instills a deep sense of trust. In building trust, we create a bond of love. With love, we establish lasting friendships, we heal wounds, we become ONE.
© 2010 by Becky Benes
www.onenessoflife.com
Listening is a sign of Love
Multi-tasking is a commonly used term in our society and being a mom, I can relate. I am constantly doing at least 4 things at once. While I am busy with the hustle and bustle of life, I often do not take the time to listen to my children and/or my husband. This causes a lot of undue stress and tension in our family.
However, when I stop and listen, my children and my husband feel important and loved. They sense that I really care about them and what is happening in their life. Sometimes, it takes a lot of effort to truly understand what they are saying because I jump to conclusions and formulate an answer before I even know the question.
My oldest child is my greatest teacher and we work diligently and sometimes quite emotionally to get our points across. It takes time and effort to openly communicate, which means we must be willing to listen and be willing to be changed.
How would our lives be different if we took the time to listen? To listen without an agenda, without a prejudgement, without a radio or TV blaring in the fore-ground. How many more people would feel respected, understood, and loved, if we would just listen.
I encourage you to stop and listen to those whom you love and those whom you have conflict. You may be surprised what you learn. I know you will feel fulfilled and they will feel honored and loved.
However, when I stop and listen, my children and my husband feel important and loved. They sense that I really care about them and what is happening in their life. Sometimes, it takes a lot of effort to truly understand what they are saying because I jump to conclusions and formulate an answer before I even know the question.
My oldest child is my greatest teacher and we work diligently and sometimes quite emotionally to get our points across. It takes time and effort to openly communicate, which means we must be willing to listen and be willing to be changed.
How would our lives be different if we took the time to listen? To listen without an agenda, without a prejudgement, without a radio or TV blaring in the fore-ground. How many more people would feel respected, understood, and loved, if we would just listen.
I encourage you to stop and listen to those whom you love and those whom you have conflict. You may be surprised what you learn. I know you will feel fulfilled and they will feel honored and loved.
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