Only Everything

As an expression of her pain and frustration about all that is happening in the world, a friend recently posted on Facebook,

Is there anything still considered sacred?

To which another friend replied,

Only Everything.

When I read the first post, I connected with what was alive in this friend. I, too, when observing some of what is going on in our world wonder if we have completely lost our sense of connection with the sacredness of all life. I was not sure how to respond, so I didn’t.

I am certain that many of you reading this post share that pain and frustration. At times, we feel angry, sad, helpless and hopeless. We mourn. We scream. We cry. We curse. I know. I have been there. I still go there from time to time.

Still, we all know in our hearts that a better world is possible. Even so, we may think that we don’t know how to help bring it about. We may even think that there is nothing we can do. When I read the response from our mutual friend, I felt uplifted and hopeful.

Just the simple words “Only Everything” helped to remind me that there is something I can do. I can be mindful that everything is sacred. As author, teacher and Franciscan priest, Fr. Richard Rohr reminds us in his book, The Universal Christ,

Everything visible, without exception, is the outpouring of God. What else could it be? “Christ” is a word for the Primordial Template (“Logos”) through whom “all things came into being, and not one thing had its being except through him” (John 1:3).

What can we do? We can begin by knowing ourselves as the “outpouring of God” – the Christ embodied. When we know ourselves as that, we can choose to behold from the mind of Christ the Light of Christ shining in and through all. That is a conscious choice that each of us can make. And, it does make a difference.

When we choose to behold the Christ in and honor the sacredness of everything from the perspective of our indwelling Christ, everything changes. The Christ sees the beauty of all. The Christ hears everything as an expression of love or a call for love. The Christ speaks with empathy and compassion. The Christ acts in ways that respect and honor all people and all creation. As Paul said in his letter to the church at Corinth,

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Each thought, word, and action expressed from the consciousness of the Christ contributes to creating the world that our hearts know is possible. I encourage us to not lose hope, but to remain strong in faith that we do make a difference. We may not be able to see it immediately. In fact, we may never know the impact we have on others or the world around us. We can only trust that when we align to the Christ within, the Christ does its perfect work as us.

I invite us to allow the words, “Only Everything” to be our mantra this week. Allow it to be a reminder that we are one with everyone and everything. As we behold the Christ from the consciousness of the Christ, we uplift others, ourselves and our world.