by Joel Levin, Western Australia
In my life ‘grace’ has had many faces, and not all of them easily recognisable.
One period of grace was when I was starting my business and my business partner decided to cut me off once we had secured seed capital. This experience was made harder by the fact that I was the sole income earner of a family of four. At that time I was feeling crushed by life and the fact that all my personal development, spiritual development, work with charities, hard work professionally, and generally being a nice guy, had come to this…
It was hard to see the grace in this, and at the time I would not have called it this – but the experience stopped me cold and left me less sure that I had all the answers. As I look back, however, it was truly a period of grace, when the walls I had built crashed down – and all I had was myself.
About a year later, I had a raging fight with my wife over her desire to fly across the country to Lennox Head to attend a workshop with a guy named ‘Serge’(Benhayon). By then I had rebuilt some arrogance in feeling like I had life sorted again. And couldn’t see why she would need to travel all this way to attend a workshop.
There were many periods of grace through this time. First was my wife’s commitment to adhering to what she was feeling so strongly; the second was what she returned home with. There was a stillness, a presence and clarity in her eyes that couldn’t but make me stop. Even though I saw it and felt it, I still fought it… but that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to.
Now many years later, and after making many trips across the country myself, I realise how unfolding my experience of grace continues to be.
Initially through attending Universal Medicine workshops, I experienced a deep re-connection, joy and a stillness that could only be described as grace. As I applied the principles of what I had learnt, I would hold this connection for longer and longer and had begun to realise that the ‘it’ I had been looking for all these years was actually in me, and started with the choice to be me… Grace touches me again.
In those early days, I was going to workshops to get something, to change something, to arrive somewhere… in fact, this was how I was living my whole life. … Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.
At this point I was still looking for something outside of myself to ‘save me’, or to find the ‘one thing’ that I could change within myself that would lead to my moment of epiphany. Through this time I wasn’t able to feel as glorious away from a Universal Medicine Workshop as I did within them, as I was always looking for the next thing. This need to be ‘saved’ led to a period of intense frustration with the world and myself.
Then last year, I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within. It was not a single achievement, habit or reward, but came from the culmination of what I do each moment.
Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.
I dropped much of the search for someone or something to blame (it still pops up every now and then) and started more truly living from what I feel. I started realising that how when I bring all of this to any little thing, not only is grace ready and waiting, but that it comes with a sense of joy.
However, there is always another layer. I noticed it was easy to see myself as equal to others that were still battling life to various degrees – but what about the people I knew, who no longer battled, who appeared to just live a life full of love…? Surely I am not equal to them?
I realized that it was easier to make them ‘special’ and at the same time give me a reason NOT to live the same joy every day…ouch, grace, ouch… grace.
One person in particular I noticed I had put on a pedestal, was Serge Benhayon. I realized that I was treating him differently to others, and that this difference was coming from me, not him. While there is no doubt that what Serge Benhayon and many others live each day is ‘special’ – living from such a deep connection to themselves is special – I now know very deeply that this is equally within all of us. I also know that this ‘special’ is actually very normal, and not ‘special’ at all.
So there you have it… the grace of knowing that we can choose to be equal in our battle with life, and in doing so, feel frustrated, let down and disconnected. Or, we can begin to connect to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person – waiting…
Amazing grace.
The Truth about Universal Medicine 
I love that grace is part of our lives.
“Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” The Universe offers us the Grace to rediscover the truth.
You have here re-introduced to me something else into this word ‘special’ other than just to mean being superior and separate from the rest. It feels like a re-igniting of something that is totally innate and ordinary and re-recognizing how dear and precious that is, and that is deeply settling as if we have finally come back home from a very long journey.
Words are potent and understanding how words also come with an energy so we can stay “connect to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within”, provides a platform or foundation so we can be constant in our Loving movements, and thus adding to the list our energetic understanding of words the word potent energetically brings a deepening connection to the Soul or that “specialness” that we all equally have.
Thanks Joel, it’s always such a powerful read for me. “In those early days, I was going to workshops to get something, to change something, to arrive somewhere… in fact, this was how I was living my whole life. … Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” That’s the power of love, so simple and without any demands. That’s us also, but we have stepped so far away from this majesty, but it’s still there within us.
Many of us used to search outside ourselves for answers, ‘I was still looking for something outside of myself to ‘save me’’.
Amazing grace… is it difficult to see grace when things are not going how we want them to? Or is it easier to see that things are not how we like and be upset about it?
Maybe in those moments when our personal agenda or wish list is not met, the power of grace is right there with us and reminding us that something much bigger and more beautiful has already been given and it’s right there within us.
This article turns on its head the idea of ‘difficult’ and ‘challenging’ times. What I can feel reading this is that there is much learning and evolution in these times and it is at these challenging times that we can develop and where behaviours are exposed and there to be worked on.
We can use every situation to bring more learning and deepen our understanding.
Beautiful, thank you. It is really supportive to find the grace in every situation. There have been times in my life that have felt hard, but to see these periods as grace is really helpful, because looking back there has been much learning and change that has come out if these situations.
It is important to reflect on our life, on what we have learnt, and how we were supported to become more aware, and more responsible.
“I realized that it was easier to make them ‘special’ and at the same time give me a reason NOT to live the same joy every day…ouch, grace, ouch… grace.” Thank you Joel for this line, it highlights the lack of responsibility to be all we are from receiving the reflections of those around us who are living the power of their true soulful selves.
I love the word Grace which to me relates to our Soul and soulful moments – so in contrast that which is not soulful is a disgrace to who we truly are.
We don’t allow nearly enough grace in this world.
Yes, that is a disgrace.
Loving your humour Nicola.
Joel thank you for sharing your beautiful relationship with grace, and reminding us that grace is within us all, never asking anything of us only to be ourselves.
Grace along with Humble-ness are felt as we re-awaken these by re-connecting to our essence then that divine connection is essential if we are to hold our Grace as a Livingness.
“Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” The infinite love that we are and the infinite love we are held within, and the space, grace, to realise this and live it here on earth.
Joel has lovingly introduced us to see new areas of grace in our lives.
I love the grace you show here by sharing the learnings you have had through the events and the reflections that have come into your life. Sadly, our human race has a propensity to react and name, blame and shame when there is something they don’t understand. You have offered a space to reflect and respond and that is inspiring.
Maybe Grace is something that is given to us all of the time, we just have to appreciate it and then we can learn from what each moment brings.
Appreciating the grace in our lives makes sense, that then supports us to have more awareness.
‘I was going to workshops to get something, to change something, to arrive somewhere… in fact, this was how I was living my whole life. … Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me’. A timely reminder to check in with oneself and see where one is at.
What a gorgeous blog, showing us that there are indeed many faces of grace and perhaps it is not till a little later that we get to see that everything that happens happens for a reason that perhaps is there to support us to let go of any control, protection, hardness, trying, doing, achieving, and to learn to trust, and surrender to love that we all are.
Yes I agree, what if that is the reflection we are being offered. Surrendering in times of trouble, difficulty and complication does not mean giving up, it means feeling yourself as a greater part of the whole and knowing there is an order that we have not yet allowed ourselves to feel part of.
Surrendering to the Divine plan, and getting ourselves out of the way makes sense.
…’the grace of knowing that we can choose to be equal in our battle with life, and in doing so, feel frustrated, let down and disconnected. Or, we can begin to connect to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person – waiting…Amazing grace.’ Absolutely amazing, God will never look back how we have been living but will welcome us knowing we are an equal part in the divine plan.
Love this point that life is something to be lived, loved, cherished and enjoyed, and not something to just get through. Life feels more expansive and easier when we’re not trying to get somewhere or get something from it, but instead we just commit to being there 100% and doing whatever is needed, no more and no less.
In the past I was always trying to get somewhere, and to make life better… the turn around was commitment, committing to life, ‘and doing whatever is needed, no more or no less’.
Beautiful Joel. The grace of God’s love is that which we are eternally held in anywhere we are, a beholding of truth that represents the equalness that we are and are here to reflect though the lives we live.
‘Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.’ and this is how we need to be with ourselves, knowing that we are already everything we simply need to allow ourselves to live all that we are, not to dull ourselves with food or any other distractions.
A beautiful journey you share with us Joel.
Hello Joel, I love what you have written about grace and your inability at first to recognize grace as grace itself, as the events that happened in your life did not feel like grace at all. This for me is now becoming my lived experience to finally recognize the glory of grace and the offering it has been offering me all along my way. Forever expanding my awareness of grace and how it is present in my life.
I liked what you shared about remembering your equality to those living amazing lives, and that grace is waiting patiently for us all to return to the truth in our own time. The fact that we are all equal and could not be anything less reflects the truth about God and what love is.
Looking back is a beautiful exercise since it allows us to see grace where we saw dis-grace.
Just the expression ‘battle with life’ says it all – grace brings an opportunity to surrender to the rhythm of life we live within.
Beautifully said Lucy – when we do surrender to the rhythm of love we indeed live life and move with the grace of God.
I love how you see the most difficult periods in your life as a period of grace, if we embrace challenging periods of our life as an opportunity to change something in our lives that might have been holding us back for a long time, rather than fight them or wish they weren’t happening, they can provide us with a whole new platform upon which to step forward on.
We are so loved. And there’s no condition attached to it. We are given space to come back to what we already are.
Thank you Joel for such an open-hearted, heart-felt personal sharing of your journey to the realisation and living of, “Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.” It is a blessing to have you in the world and what you share.
A lovely lady ‘Grace’ who stands so quietly reminding us of the space that is always around us. They must be related. And of course the other person who has always been there, waiting patiently no matter what we are doing to ourselves, is God. Waiting for an opportunity to reconnect the moment we look up from our little hurts and realise we are part of something so much bigger.
Yes, there is a real sense of non imposing that comes with grace. It simply shares what is there to be shared then offers space to adjust and decide if you are going to embrace it or not.
When I read your blog today Joel I really get a sense of the space in grace – the allowing and freedom for us to arrive at our realisation or evolutionary moment at our own pace when we are ready and humble enough to understand and accept what life is presenting to us.
Sometimes grace comes along to save us from ourselves.
I am in a period of grace at the moment where many things are being shown to me, in the past I would give myself a hard time when I come to see the error of my ways, but I am now learning to bring more understanding so that I can learn all that I need to from the experience presented to me.
Grace is offered constantly. It helps to recognise it as such, if not we may fight against something that is divinely granted. And a great loss when we do.
I appreciate the grace in reading this blog today, in being reminded that grace is ever unfolding and that those times when we feel rocked are in fact asking us to go deeper, to let go of ways of being that may no longer work for us and in fact that there’s a bigger picture we’re often not aware of until grace comes along and shows us. Grace breaks the comfortable arrogance we can easily slip into, grace forever shows us that love is not static, it’s a forever expanding thing.
I agree Monica, “there’s a bigger picture we’re often not aware of until grace comes along and shows us” When our lives are disrupted, we often don’t understand why. Only in the fullness of time do we get to see the all and with it comes understanding and wisdom.
I wonder how many moments of ‘grace’ we have all missed out on in our lives because we are simply in too much of a hurry to get somewhere or to do what we think is the next thing we need to do. And how wonderful it was for you to understand that moments that seemed far from grace-full in the first instant turned out to be full of grace, grace that offered a moment’s pause and reflection of what you had truly been offered.
Yes, I wonder how many situations we have reacted to or conversations we have stunted or jumped in on that could have gone somewhere very different… We can get a glimpse as we make space within our own lives and see what happens in that space around us… (spolier alert) magic.
Your words resonated deeply with me. Overly invested in a project riddled with problems, I tried to save it and met fierce resistance. Matters were taken out my hands when the project received notice to close with immediate effect for a catalogue of failures. Initial shock, replaced with understanding: I had been released from a toxic environment going nowhere. This was a moment of grace.
“Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” The essence of grace summed up in a single sentence. Beautiful Joel.
Ah grace, the space to be and feel without an ounce of judgement or harm. Held always in the knowing that we do know, there is nothing for us to learn or come to but to remember and let go of all the things that we have used to keep us on the outskirts of life and not within our inner heart.
Oh my… there is grace in everything if we allow ourselves to receive it…
So eloquent Joel, as always, ‘that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to.’ … the ultimate acceptance.
Who would have thought there would be grace in the most difficult of life’s circumstances? But from my experience, there is. I have always known, felt and been aware of the presence of God, and remember clearly stating that if the business I was running was not coming from God, then I didn’t want to be a part if it. This lead to that business ending and being given the grace to feel, understand and move forward in life. With grace much is offered and we are delicately held and given many an opportunity to follow what we know is true.
It’s a deeply touching reminder that Grace is there with an absolute knowing of each person, and that we have been given the space to come back to the truth in our own time and way.
I agree Joel as I reflect on when I was recovering from an illness and disease it certainly was a moment of grace, a stop in my life that got me asking questions and ponder on what life was truly about and my place in it. I also knew on some level that what I was experiencing through illness and disease I had to experience, it was a gift from God, what I didn’t know was that it was going to change my life immensely and turn me and my life upside down!
From an young age I’ve always loved the name Grace, just hearing that name makes me feel there is nothing to worry or care about, it just is – all taken care of.
Yes, there is a feeling of space with Grace! Nature is a wonderful reflection of that, the holding that we are within and if we surrender to its support it does not leave us.
I loved how you described the many faces of Grace, what we perceive as ‘bad’ and what we perceive as ‘good’. If we didn’t have those perceptions then where would we be?……
I love the word Grace – just hearing it leaves a settlement in my body.
Grace appears in many guises – in contexts we might not think of as particularly gracious at all at the time. These moments, whether we perceive them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, seem to be offering us the potential for expansion.
Its beautiful to hear those difficult times in our lives redefined for what they truly are…. a stop that opens the opportunity for a different way.
“Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me”. Grace offers us the space to realise that the love and equalness of all is always within us.
The ‘specialness’ that you speak about Joel is actually very ‘normal’ and it is never the result of anything we do or achieve, that is why it’s so beautiful it is a connection to the grandness we truly are – a truth that many have forgotten.
“Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.” This is grace-full to read. No out comes just a Way of The Livingness.
Amazing grace is re-stepping our life (from within – the amazingness) to how life is to be in the quality you want and know it to be in the ‘grace’ of where you are at.. “but that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to.”
“but that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to.”. As I read these words once again I could feel my whole body drop into stillness, letting go of the tension I didn’t realise I was holding. Grace to me feels like the invisible foundation that is always with us, holding us and waiting for us to pause and to feel its endless embrace.
It is absolutely beautiful when you can detach from the emotions attached to an experience that shocked you and you can appreciate the grace it brought to your life. A dis-grace bringing about grace. Who may have thought?
It is beautiful to realise that through the struggles ,and the ups and downs of life, grace is there as our constant companion, it is often only in retrospect and as a consequence of our choices that we see the gift of grace that was offered to us at the time.
The comfort of only feeling equal to those in struggle is a big one for me. If I was to try put myself into someone’s shoes that is living a full life of love then it means I have to ask myself the question why I am not choosing to live this myself? This is a question I would rather avoid because it is easier to pedestal people than to admit that I am the same as them, the only thing that stands in my way is choices and a way of living that allows that fullness, love and grace to flourish.
I really feel how making and keeping something/someone ‘special’ is actually holding them out and away from my normal, ordinary every day, refusing to up my standard.
Today I spoke to someone how we fight a life that flows and is joyful and actually how this gives us a comfort to not step up to the life we know is true and make others who live this, like you’ve mentioned, special and out of reach for ourselves.
There is true equality in our amazingness, and by living it we are there to inspire others back to their true selves.
I am often humbled by experiences in life and sometimes this can feel hard to accept. But when I am able to accept it, without reacting to it, I find humbleness a space that offers the opportunity for deeper self-awareness. There is true innocence within us all that is far from naive but in my experience opens us up to this ‘specialness’ Joel refers to here. We just have to be willing to feel and dig a little deeper than we are perhaps accustomed to.
Thank you Joel, it was really beautiful reading your process of unfolding from relying on the outer world to finding everything within yourself. I enjoyed what you wrote about how we can deem another as special and that this can become our excuse to not live the same level of love and joy. “I also know that this ‘special’ is actually very normal, and not ‘special’ at all.” – doesn’t this line really highlight how normal struggling and misery is and how far we have all lived away from what’s truly amazing within us? Even when we see someone like Serge Benhayon living it we can choose to make that person “special” instead of realising love and joy is our true normal.
Very lovely Joel. The word Grace is so full of the true power of love – not just the word but the lived experience of it of course. I find it cleansing, like the waves on a beach, rendering the castles we have built in the sand back to nothing again – so we can know who we truly are.
I love this description of the word ‘grace’ – giving us the time and space to feel and learn what we need to, letting go of our battle with ourselves and the world. We are all equal, all have things that we need to deal with and challenges to overcome. It is how we respond to them that makes the difference in the quality we experience in our day to day life – do we make it a struggle, or a joy?
It’s a beautiful description Bryony and one that will support me to observe and allow others the space that they need as they too find their way back to themselves.
The Grace of re-connection. Of knowing oneself, once again, and dropping the fight with life and want for the world to bring it all TO us, rather than acknowledge and live from what we bring to it – when we know such Grace of which you speak Joel.
I am reminded of a quote from Serge Benhayon that I read daily (and have done for several years now): “All can be Divine because of you – And not you because of it.” ~ Serge Benhayon
Those periods of grace in our lives are very humbling. When we are brought to a moment that asks us to go deeper and reflect on something that no longer supports us. It can at times be very challenging but also very beautiful.
Joel I love the word grace, and when we have grace in our life we have stillness and understanding that keeps us steady.
I love the gentleness and delicateness that is present when I am moving and expressing God’s grace….
I can also feel the difference when I move without grace, it feels harder and rushed, and disconnected.
Grace is such a beautiful word. Before becoming a student of Universal Medicine it was a word used to say a prayer before lunch at school – that had little sense of its true definition. Your post gives a beautiful description of the word Joel. We can move with grace and feel the stillness of our expression. Gorgeous.
It’s true what you say Joel, that grace is always “ready and waiting” for us and comes with immense joy. There can never truly be loneliness in the world with this fact. And it is clear then, that the experience of loneliness is a result of humans resisting the call to grace.
A very beautiful expression of what grace is. To be honest I had never considered what grace really is. Someone mentioned it on a call this morning where we were discussing dignity. Two very beautiful words that have been hijacked and bastardised. Thank you Joel for returning the beauty and truth to one of those words – grace. I’m going to ponder on this further for sure.
No wonder ‘grace’ and ‘space’ rhyme – it’s like grace is the expression of space, reminding us to stop and consider that there is far more intelligence all around us than we care to feel or be aware of at times.
I think it’s beautiful how you say that the feeling of grace you were connecting too was actually something being remembered rather than an entirely new thing and how it built through the way that you were choosing to live.
I too have realised it was easier to recognise another as special, clearly making this choice to avoid responsibility for claiming and living the ‘specialness’ within me! Through inspiration I grow but that does not mean I drop the quality of equalness with another. The more I claim the specialness within me the more my confidence grows and I can hold an equalness within myself and with another.
I love the title of this blog as grace does indeed come in many faces and many little packages. One such package for me was when I got breast cancer and when first diagnosed I was so angry and baffled having always been healthy. But as I let go of the fight to hang onto an old way of living and accepted what lay before me, I created the space for grace to enter. I learned much about myself, and I changed much in my life and even though I was living alone at that time, there was so much support for me that I never for a minute felt alone. It was the first time I felt grace all around me and as such I began to trust in myself in the sense of being able to listen to my own wise counsel as I had a lot of decisions to make.
Thank you for your beautiful comment and for sharing so intimately the process of grace in your life. What a great line “But as I let go of the fight to hang onto an old way of living and accepted what lay before me, I created the space for grace to enter.” What a beautiful sense of surrender this communicates, and the way we can walk hand in hand with God when we let go.
‘We can begin to connect to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person – waiting.’ So true Joel, every moment is an opportunity to make a choice to live the love, beauty and wisdom we all truly are.
“Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.”
This is a great reminder Joel, to cherish, enjoy and honour whatever life presents to us each day and embrace it with all that we are, willing to learn our lessons and bring to the world what we came here for, which is first and foremost, to reflect love.
Grace allows us the space to feel what is there to be felt. I have for a few years now put into my daily routine of keeping a diary of my feelings, moods, bodily happenings and life situations. A reflective time I give to myself but Grace…now that word feels bigger, like taking a moment to feel everything, even that grandness within. I ask myself now, could I bring into my day a moment of grace? a moment to stop and feel how grand I really am…Thank you Joel.
‘Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived.’
Living life without being focused on a target or an end point allows each moment to be full rather than deprived and waiting for something that is already within.
Grace comes in many forms and often in a way we least expect or know at the time and at times we fight it… One of the most gorgeous side effects of Grace is ‘trust’.
I recently had a period of grace where I was leaving a workplace and in doing so it was an opportunity to reflect on what I brought to that workplace and the love I actually felt for my colleagues. I realised that I didn’t express this so openly with them all the time instead playing the game of more polite and proper workplace relations. However, in leaving I realised there was much love for me to express and going forward I want to do this more consistently instead of waiting for the bigger moments in life to do this.
It feels like everything is possible in grace. There is no emotion attached to this word. It feels open and free yet held at the same time. There is a woman who works in the same shop as myself and I love that she is called Grace, it seems every time someone mentions her name there is an expansion and an allowing and an invitation for us to express more fully if we feel to.
Amazing Grace indeed – just by saying the word Grace one can feel its beauty, stillness and Divinity.
Grace is the expansion of space inside and around me.
I loved how you have written this Joel, it speaks deep within me. How awesome is it to know that Grace is patiently waiting and allowing with no judgement.
It is great to appreciate that never are we are alone and always we are being blessed and supported along the way to bring more of us out, to grow, develop and to surrender to the Grace we deeply know.
“Then last year, I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within.” This sentence is so powerful. I have begun to feel this myself lately. Thank you for reminding me to appreciate who I really am.
I have just got to feel how making someone special is actually the other side of the jealousy coin. If someone is ‘special’ we do not have to look at the choices we are not making but they are, because we are putting them in a separate basket, and in that not appreciating the choices that they are making we are in a way dishonouring their commitment and dedication, which I feel is actually rather deliberate and spiteful.
I love this line Joel . . . “Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” . . . this sums grace up for me as grace always offers us the space to be ourselves
Thank you Joel, all I can feel in my body is appreciation for the amazing grace I have continually been offered. Beautiful.
Grace is always graceful but our fall from it is not.
‘…grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to.’ Every time I read about grace and its meaning it resonates deeply in myself, in my body and feel I may even allow to live this amazing grace that is so obviously there.
Although it can be difficult those moments where we are given a stop can also be very beautiful and like you say and amazing period of grace. I feel like I am currently in a stage of rebuilding myself and at times it can be challenging but it is also very humbling and a simplicity is coming back into my life which I very much enjoy.
Developing our relationship with the quality within us and to express it through our movements is the gateway to wonders of the universe and the grace of our own divinity.
Joel,
Your sharing has brought deep into my awareness just how truly loving is the Grace of God. For we are forever held with in it, it is always there with us as a choice, it never judges if we choose otherwise, but changes not, it holds us the same every day, until the day where grace is no longer our support alone, but becomes an integral way of living, that we then grace ourselves and all we meet with.
“……we can begin to connect to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person – waiting…Amazing grace.” Whether we put some people on pedestals or indeed feel superior to some – is the antithesis of grace. Treating each other as equals is so important – as we are all special.
It is awesome to be able to feel that we are equal to everyone else and also to treat everyone as equals. I have noticed how I used to put certain people on pedestals and allow myself to feel less but that, I realise, was a choice. The truth is we are all special, no one is more so than another, to understand, appreciate, and feel this truth cuts out comparison, judgement, and jealousy.
“I realized that it was easier to make them ‘special’ and at the same time give me a reason NOT to live the same joy every day…ouch, grace, ouch… grace.” Ouch indeed. By seeing another as better than us (or less than for that matter), it gives us an excuse for living less than we are and also an excuse to absolve ourselves of the responsibility to do this.
“Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through” – totally agree, and I am in deep appreciation for the fact that I am able to agree with this statement, as fighting, maneuvering and reacting to life used to be my way.
Grace gives us the space to reflect. This is so different to the hard analysis that we are often encouraged to partake in. Thank you Joel for bringing this greater understanding of Grace and how it plays out in our lives.
We have lived our lives with much competition and unequalness, thinking that we had to strive to achieve to become better than ourselves and better than others. It takes quite a shift to accept that all we are, our glorious, divine selves, is there deep within right from the first moment of us. We cannot strive to get grace ahead of anyone else. Grace is there as love is there, eternal, always.
It’s deeply empowering to know that the choice lies with us… to connect or not to connect, it is just up to us to choose it.
‘Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.’ The reflection we get from most of the people we see is that life is something to endure and I fall for this from time to time, but like you have shared, there is amazing grace and I come back and joy enters my body and life when I embrace being a student of my life.
I do appreciate those moments of grace- when life presents you something that makes you stop and access where everything is at and supports you to get perspective and re-evaluate the choices you are making and if these support you.
We may not always recognise moments of grace as they may be a challenging and confronting lesson. However in the long term picture one could say those moments were the best things that could have ever happened.
Totally Joel – the periods of grace that come when we simply stop fighting and accept the truth of who we are are sublime.
Grace allows us the space to discover the grace that we naturally are and to choose to express in every movement.
I love that grace is in the difficult times, that grace is loving me when I am arrogant, that grace is being true to myself, truly being me.
“Then last year, I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within.” This is a beautiful turning point in our lives once we come to understand that everything we ever need we already have within – a glorious reawakening.
The grace in our lives comes from within, even when we resist it, even when we don’t feel it. That we are deeper than we know, bigger than we know and more loving than we know is grace.
Your experience with the many faces of grace Joel is beautiful to read. I too am learning the power of grace in my own life, for me it is letting go of control and detaching myself from all these pictures I have held – this has been key to deepening all my relationships and allows for more understanding and appreciation.
Living from the deepest and truest part of yourself is something special.
What I am slowly learning about grace it that; “it leaves you time to feel what you need to”. It offers you a space to stop, observe and to feel into whether there is a different choice to be made, and all this from a loving foundation that holds you until you are ready to take that next step.
Grace allows us to be ourselves and allows others the space to be all that they are. Some of life’s lessons are hard and as you say Joel, grace allows us to fall from the arrogance and fall into ourselves.
Thank you Joel for sharing so honestly, I just love reading your blogs, these words touched me deeply “Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.”
Brilliant Joel! I can really relate to your description of learning to recognise and appreciate the grace in you and your life experiences. Grace is not a word I would have used or associated myself with a few years ago but I can say that now I do recognise and feel grace more within me and am blown away when I meet others who also claim their grace. What emanates is so beautiful and I can feel it surround me when I am in their presence and know that this is happening in reverse when I am connected and living in grace. Amazing grace says it all!
You make me realise Joel, that through grace life is offering me many opportunities to reconnect to a way of living I know already from the inside out but have walked away from. it is not about developing myself to have a better life, but instead by allowing the moments of grace to guide me to a way of being I already know and in that to rediscover the inner beauty within myself.
When you feel this quality, I can feel I stop needing things or others around me to be a certain way, I am more okay with myself and all others and there is much more understanding and allowing.
It is beautiful what you say Kristy and I can relate to that too, that when I am okay with myself I am also okay with the other and there is a great understanding and appreciation to all of life as I can see it all being part of the grace life actually is.
Joel I loved rereading your blog today. Grace is timeless, it offers us a moment to reflect, to celebrate joyfully, it waits for us to return. Grace is forever with us if we choose to connect to the gracefulness we hold within.
Thank you Joel, a beautiful blog full of grace.
Amazing grace indeed Joel, and that grace is there for us all.
A beautiful reminder that grace is always there for us,
I Love your honesty Joel. You consistently deliver deep insights in your writing which are totally inspiring . The true beauty of Grace is well expressed here, not always enjoyed or recognised in the moment, but the grace of the ‘stop’ moment they offer for deeper reflection is beyond measure and a true change is possible.
“Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.”
Grace simply allows you and all others the space and time to do and be all that you are when you are ready. It has such an elegance and an expansiveness to it that just feels divine. I don’t feel I have truly appreciated the actual quality and potential of grace until now, so it will be very interesting to see what unfolds as I bring more and more appreciation of grace to my everyday living…. Thankyou Joel, awesome blog.
What’s more….Grace truly is amazing….
Suse, grace is such a gift – it reminds me of the fact that I am not alone, I am always held and lovingly cared for, with the ultimate gift free will, which asks me to be the Son of God I am, but does not pressure me to do it now, but knows that I will – how much are we loved?
Like you Suse I am feeling that I have actually not allowed myself to feel what grace truly is and what it means to me. I am now beginning to feel the depth and the flow that grace naturally has when I allow me to be everything that I am; when I say yes to allowing myself to stop and acknowledge the real me; and when I am with me in every step that I take, steps that walked in grace that then ripple out to all those who follow.
Joel, I love how I find blogs that are just perfect to read just then and so it was with this gorgeous blog today. I’ve been feeling frustrated with myself about how I put some people on pedestals and find myself feeling less and acting un-naturally around them – basically I’m not myself and then I get annoyed with myself after! And your line ‘I realized that it was easier to make them ‘special’ and at the same time give me a reason NOT to live the same joy every day…ouch, grace, ouch… grace.’ sums if up perfectly ouch and grace there waiting patiently knowing I am that ‘special’ too, we all are, it’s just about living me as much as I can each and every day without limits or trying – I needed to be reminded of this today, so thank you. And yes finding this blog was grace of course!
Reading and feeling into Joel’s blog and your comment Monicag2, I have nothing to say anymore, it feels as grace is at play.
‘ouch grace, ouch…grace’ – haha!
Like love, grace can let us fall flat on our face (lovingly so) as I’ve heard Serge Benhayon say before. We may not see it or understand such falls at the time but grace and love never leave our side, yet we can turn our backs on them.
Oh so true, I can relate to this. I have at times turned my back on love and in that think it’s not there but and when I look through those eyes that’s all I see, however when I am genuinely open I see that it was there all along.
Love this blog Joel, I can really feel your angst as i’ve felt it too – these words melted me “Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” Exactly how it is, exactly how we need it to be, thank you for this great sharing.
You and me both shelleyjones44; I was totally melted by those grace-full words and as I read, the feeling of grace waiting patiently and lovingly for me to simply know and be me, was like an unconditional and all encompassing warm embrace.
Yeah I love the feeling you get with those words too. When we are in difficult times it can be easy to go into the fight or what do I need to do next, however, it is in these moments where we can really let go and stop and through this find our true way.
Grace, a beautyfull word. It describes that what is making us live life as we can, to be all of we are.
Joel I love this blog! Your insight that ‘Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived.’ is something I have realised after many years of seeking from the outside to make myself and my life better. The habit of seeing others who have ‘it’ as better, rather than simply acknowledging that they have re-developed a way of living from the inside, has taken a long time to wear down as it is puts total responsibility on me to consistently live in connection to my inside too. Taking responsibility is empowering because we are all equally equipped to the task of being ourselves, if we but allow it.
Hartanne60, I love what you’ve shared how seeing others ‘having it’ is really about us coming back to us and living our connection from the inside out, not out there chasing a connection – it’s about signal to come back in, to come home.
Beautiful said Monicag2, we are forever holding a quality inside of us that is even beyond grace. It is about us realizing that unless we have this connection, we are not having anything real or of true basis in life. As what would life be without actual connection to self, divinity, and humanity? We all know that answer to that one.. I must say that from living myself in illusion and loss of connection to myself, life is not so enjoyable at all if you put those ‘high/exciting moments’ aside. Which also at the end are not fulfilling at all. It comes back to – connection to love – is what we miss and always aim for. Yet it is our choice to really set us free and claim our love to be our right in life. But we have to choose this connection with ourselves first.
I agree Anne, we are in this constant motion of needing to get somewhere and in that forget the preciousness and beauty of each moment. Lovely to read this going into the start of a working week, to remember to appreciate each moment.
You are gorgeous Joel, I always appreciate the honesty with which you share.
Thank you for this explanation of grace – that it can be when the walls we have built for ourselves crash down, showing us that all we ever have is ourselves, bringing us time to feel what we truly need to. I love the phrase, ‘Ouch, grace, ouch…grace’ – a simple but great reminder that everything that happens to us is an opportunity to feel that grace which can, if we so choose, open up for us a greater awareness of ourselves and a joy in living.
Yeah it takes a humbleness to see those moments when things come crashing down as a period of grace. I can feel the times in my life when this has happened and you are left raw and exposed but it is also amazing as you are able to let go of things that don’t support you and move forward more aware and also more sensitive to others.
Thank you for sharing so openly here Joel. I recognised myself in much of what you shared, especially the insatiable thirst for knowledge and the ‘one thing’ that would make it all ‘click’. To be honest I can feel I am still caught in this way of thinking at times. It is an offering of true grace to be reminded that harmony can be only be restored through the culmination of what we do each moment.
‘we can begin to connect to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person – waiting’ – so very true Joel, that ‘specialness’ I used to feel had to be a result of something I did or earned. It is powerful to know it is within us all equally ready to access anytime we chose it.
Thank you Joel I can relate to making life about achievements and I now recognise how patiently ‘Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.’ Recognising how grace has always been there in my life and choosing to reconnect to this feeling has been awe-inspiring and I feel truly blessed.
It is so often in the difficult times that we learn so much, because that difficulty is most often self inflicted and while uncomfortable offers great learning, thus there is grace in that difficult period that in time we can look back and appreciate for what it offers.
Grace is allowing yourself and others to make the choices they will make and still know that at the vote everyone is amazing we just choose to live that amazingness to greater or lesser extebts. This means loving yourself and others for who they are and not needing people to get anywhere or be any different.
A revealing blog that shows us so much and encourages us to recognise what Grace Looks and feels like. As so many have said we are all equal and therefore all filled with the Grace of God as we journey home. Thank you Joel for sharing so much with us all.
Joel I really connected with these words ‘not something I was learning, but something I was remembering’. When I am with grace it feels amazing and it feels like the true me. So yes, it’s a reconnection back to me – a remembering.
Thank you for sharing this powerful realisation that – ‘Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.’ It is also empowering when we realise that it is only ourselves that can make the choices every day to connect to our joy within. And it is with the constant blessings of grace, that allows us to discover that our love within is always there waiting to be lived.
That connection you talk about Joel is within us all if we so choose and it is definitely worth it
Truly Amazing Grace. “the ‘it’ I had been looking for all these years was actually in me, and started with the choice to be me”. When I accepted the truth of the fact that what I had been unconsciously and consciously seeking was already there within me and all I had to do was re-connect to who I already am I felt the grace of choosing step by step to feel the equal love of God within me and all of us.
This blog made me feel a little uncomfortable at moments, as I could feel I choose the battle and trying to alway better myself. Instead of allowing and choosing grace that is always there to be chose which would make my life flow so much more. I feel I could go into resistance and frustration that I did not choose it but I can feel I can also choose to allow, let go and be in grace. Thank you Joel.
this is it Joel “It was not a single achievement, habit or reward, but came from the culmination of what I do each moment.” And not even what we do but the quality in which we do it. I have for a long time not understood what Grace really is and am not fully sure as yet but I can feel the quality of my choices when I surrender in all that is all ready there within means allow myself to feel I am in the body of God, always. It is only in the searching outside, the trying and striving that I lose this connection and I forget about Grace.
Amazing Grace indeed Joel! As I was reading your blog what came to mind was a beautiful rosebud slowly, slowly and ever so gracefully, opening and unfurling its petals to reveal its inner beauty in full bloom for anyone around to see.
Lovely Joel to see how you let go of the arrogance of being sure you had all the answers. Letting go of this is a necessary step before we can see that Truth is not something we learn but something we remember and it is equally within all of us. It’s also a big step (especially for a man) to see that ‘Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived’. We are so conditioned to produce results to get recognition that it is hard to break this habit until it is replaced with something far more real –‘connect[ion] to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person’.
Grace for me is in the stillness and the understanding I can connect to when I am open to to the universe being more than what I see immediately in front of me, honouring what I feel and being aware of the ‘big picture’ feels as though it accepts grace within my life. Grace is always there as you say ‘patiently’ and gently present, saying yes to its presence is deeply supportive to feeling a stillness within my life.
A beautiful reminder of the true power and beauty of grace that knows exactly what you need even when you seemingly don’t… that is happy to provide moments that allow false walls you have built around yourself to crash down, or stand by and around you lovingly, holding you gently but allowing you the space to feel that everything you have ever searched for has been with you all along.
I loved your understanding of ‘Grace’ in your life – it has brought a broader understanding and awareness of ‘Grace’ in my own. Thank you Joel
Grace is a movement that never stops inside of me. Sometimes my body is too hard to reflect this movement outwardly and I find the techniques, that Serge Benhayon presents in his Universal Medicine Workshops, to be of biggest support. For me they really prepare the body to express the grace that is found within.
I like this Joel. I too struggled with feeling frustrated and upset with life away from a Universal Medicine course for a while, but it all changed when I started to live me everyday and not settle for anything less than absolute joy and the life I would truly want. I still get frustrated and upset etc, but feel that generally those emotions don’t take a hold on me for as long anymore
“Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through” – awesome realisation, Joel. Something for me to remember. Thank you for sharing.
Beautiful article Joel. I love how you describe grace as something you were connecting to and remembering: “it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within. It was not a single achievement, habit or reward, but came from the culmination of what I do each moment.” Very awesome!
I agree Rachel – very awesome indeed.
Wonderful blog Joel, and a beautiful reminder that grace is always there for us, “..but that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to..”
The beauty of what you have written brought tears to my eyes Joel as it deeply resonated with me, reflecting the truth that we all have something special to offer and grace allows us the time to feel this for ourselves.
What a beautiful blog Joel – it gave me the possibility to stop to find out where I had my graceful moments . . . wunderbar and so healing.
How sweet, the sound. I like the way you talked about grace Joel. Opened me up to what grace might be.
My favourite line.. “but that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to”.. Grace really does hold us and let us come to Truth in our own time and space. So beautiful the way you have expressed this Joel. Thank you!
I love what you highlighted here Joshua and that warm feeling of free will and yet no matter what we choose, in every step Grace is always there to offer us a moment of evolution.
Amazing what you share about grace, love it: “I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within. It was not a single achievement, habit or reward, but came from the culmination of what I do each moment.” Very awesome!
“…I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within. It was not a single achievement, habit or reward, but came from the culmination of what I do each moment.” I loved reading these words to describe grace, Joel, you have described it so beautifully – the patience and wisdom, and the way grace allows us to realise we are equal to those who inspire us, that we are all special, it is the new normal.
Thank-you Joel for this reminder “Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through”.
‘I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within.’ – beautiful Joel. And it is so true that with this connection to our stillness within we naturally express who we are, as we all have an equally exquisite ‘specialness’ within waiting to be lived. A gorgeous reflection – thank you.
Amazing indeed Joel. To be touched by something that is already within….this is amazing. The patience of grace is something I not yet quite come to grips with. I am more familiar with foot tapping, watch gazing, human impatience, that wonders what took you so long. Grace does none of this, it simply welcomes you home to the essence of who you already are with a seat before a steady fire.
Love to read this Joel this morning and I love the title; the many faces of grace…. as I have discovered in my most difficult times, grace was always there as soon as I accepted and surrendered where I was at ( as opposed to fighting and resisting), and also found so much support available.
Amazing grace indeed Joel. I love how you have shared that it is something inside you that you are remembering, and not gained or obtained from anything outside of ourselves.
Waiting around for that connection that comes from within us, to come from someone, something or a situation outside of us is the battle I have experienced for far too long. To some degree that stubbornness remains but what reading this blog and the along side experience has reminded me, is that it doesn’t matter what our situations may be or what another person does, says or acts like towards or around you, we can still feel the love that we are deep down. That comes from our choice which we have available to us in every moment. Thank you Joel.
Your words on grace here resonated with me Joel Levin. It can come calling in many forms, some we don’t expect but always leading us to stop all the incessant doing in life and connect to that stillness within us all that never goes away, but just gets smothered in the struggle with life. Perhaps grace is the doorway to the joy and ease that we naturally are and could live every day?
This is a beautiful way to describe grace, and the effect it has on our life if we allow it, as it allows us constantly…
Laura, this word ‘allow’ resonated with me and I see how often I have not allowed space for grace and how allowing grace is even of that.
Thank you for your honesty Sandra which I can really relate to ‘I see how often I have not allowed space for grace and how allowing grace is even of that.’
Thanks Joel. This is amazing. Grace does come in many ways, even though sometimes we may not think they are grace, they help us to evolve because it gets us to see a choice that we are making that is not so wise in the long run, and can stop us from making a choice that we will really regret. I moved to Melbourne when I was 17, and a good friend who I moved down with was certain that he didn’t want to live with me and wouldn’t let me move into his place. I was devastated as I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself. But it turned out to be total grace because about one week later I decided that moving to Melbourne was not the right choice for the time, and moved back home shortly after. If I had moved in and stayed in Melbourne I don’t know where I would be now, but I can imagine life would have been a lot different if I didn’t honour my inner hearts feelings and move back home.
That is a beautiful sharing harryjwhite. It is about honouring our inner hearts feelings.
Thank you Joel for the revelation that I can easily put people on a pedestal and thus consider myself as being lesser, when the truth is, it’s my choices that create the separation and disconnection to not feeling equal.
I can relate to that Andrew, I have found how hard we can make it to be in true equality, my personal choice was feeling lesser but at times I would just swing to the other side and feel better. It is all part of our protection.
Joel I am learning more about grace everyday. Allowing myself the grace to be gentle with myself when I feel I don’t get things right and the grace to allow people to be where they are at personally in their own lives. Thank you for sharing your experience of grace as it has supported me to feel the ongoing importance of allowing grace to be part of my daily life.
That feels gorgeous Sharon.
Thank you Joel. I was very touched by the grace in your article.
I agree Alison Pearson that this blog is grace in itself, in that it has caused me to stop and connect to, and appreciate my own quality of being.
gorgeous Joel. I am more and more becoming aware of where I still allow for struggle as I have come to an understanding that any form of battling or struggling is of our own creation. Yet in surrendering we find..amazing grace
Yes indeed Carolien, becoming more aware of when and where we struggle is definitely the key to setting ourselves free.
Amazing grace indeed Joel, thank you for touching so directly that most inner feeling inside of me I know to be true. There is so much here you have shared, my words have been replaced with the deepest appreciation.
Another great read from you Joel. Yes I have come to the awareness of how I compare myself and situations with others. That they are better than or lucky I am not that bad. It leaves me short and lonely some how. Something to contemplate deeply. Thank you.
I love what you shared about putting Serge Benhayon or anyone else living a life full of love on a pedestal. And in this way give yourself the idea that you can’t live this way. This is something I do very much recognize. But when I come back and feel myself, there is no need to put anyone on a pedestal, I can feel I have the same potential to live this love everyday.
“I also know that this ‘special’ is actually very normal, and not ‘special’ at all.” Coming to know that the love, joy, delicateness, tenderness, stillness and harmony that I know and feel in my body is actually normal has been truly life changing, There are still times I struggle with accepting that I am all of these things for living in a way where they were seemingly unattainable goals to be achieved by doing something was my normal for such a long time. But I now know that all of these qualities are naturally within me, there is nothing to do. It’s about accepting BEING rather than doing.
I so do love reading your blogs Joel!!!
This time this line really stood out for me as a big and tender reminder: “Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.” I see a lot of people in retail on a daily basis and I get to see that this is how most are living life: making it about achieving and getting through the day or the week or the month. The most common comment I hear from people on a daily basis is ‘Ah, I’ve finished work so I’m better now’ OR ‘2 more hours to go till clock off time…’. This happens to us when we get caught in the thought that we have to get through the day. This happens to us when we loose an interest in the people around us, when we lose an appreciation of ourselves and those around us, appreciation for who we are and what we are here for. And it is an awful space to be in. But thankfully we are here now to reflect differently to those around us and show that it does not have to be this way – that we are given the grace to feel, and move on.
Joel, I am so glad that I was drawn to read this blog today. It is a timely reminder about the times of grace in my life, opportunities that I now see offered me the space and time to feel what was true for me, or not. I have just been through a few months of physical issues, which at times challenged me, but from reading your wise words I can now feel the huge amount of grace that this period has offered me. As a result of these issues I have made so many self loving changes to the way I have been living. And as you say; “that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to.” – and it has.
Hi Ingrid, I read your comment felt how true it is, Joel’s blog allows us the space to consider the things which grace brings to us. A true gift which we can choose to accept or ignore.
What a beautiful article Joel – I was searching in every little nook and cranny for the answers to my not living me in my fullness. So when I read what you shared “when you realise that the “it” I had been looking for all these years was actually in me”. It was at this point in my life too, I realised that grace had called at my door.
Me too Marion! It was only when I too realised that the answers to me not having a joyful life were within and not outside, that I was offered the opportunity to finally take responsibility for my life and my choices. I have realised that grace is never not at my door, but that all I need to do is open the door and let it in.
Thank you for this article Joel that has given me time and space to consider moments of grace in my own life.
Yes, me too. On reflection my whole life has been a period of grace. I can appreciate nothing was incidental even though times I tried to make it so just so I could avoid seeing how much love I am/we are held in. The times things didn’t go according to my plan and I thought I wasn’t loved were times I was so loved. Yes, amazing grace.
Yes I agree. We all have them and need to appreciate them all! They are what build us and grow wisdom and discernment within our lives.
Thank you Joel for an inspiring blog. As long as we are not allowing ourselves to be who we truly can be we will think of certain people as special and put them on a pedestal. But once we have experienced grace we realise it is within all of us and very ordinary in a beautiful sense.
The true meaning of the saying ‘amazing Grace’. Thank you Joel Levin for breaking it down to us in a very real way.
I can reflect on the many moments in which I felt grace in my life Joel, inspired by your writing.
A near death from asthma was a shocking one at age 20. This crisis moment made it clear that I needed to change but I had on sense of how back then.
My mother’s passing was another. At this time I felt held in grace as though warm arms were around me.
Meeting Serge was nothing other than the purest grace, and it has changed my life in such a way that I will never be the same again. I have not held this grace consistently in the way I live my life. I have wobbled and made mistakes in my process of returning to the everything that is inside me. Every time I regain my footing and dust myself off, grace is there waiting for me, ready with its warm embrace.
As you so eloquently stated “that’s the thing about grace, it leaves you time to feel what you need to.”
These moments are everywhere for all of us all of the time. What is so beautiful about your blog is that you have shown that they are not always pretty, or what we would necessarily like…but they are always true.
“I have wobbled and made mistakes in my process of returning to the everything that is inside me. Every time I regain my footing and dust myself off, grace is there waiting for me, ready with its warm embrace.” So beautifully put Rachel, this is my experience also.
Amazing grace indeed Joel. I found this blog very powerful. I was particularly drawn to your words ‘I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within.’. You have given me a lot to just sit back and reflect on. Thank you.
Thank you Joel. Another beautiful blog about your unfolding connection to that which is inside you. I appreciate your ability to express in this way as it serves to remind me of, and allow me to connect to, that which is equally within me. With love and appreciation.
Joel, just reading this article was a moment of grace. A moment to deeply appreciate all the ways we are touched by an amazing grace.
Beautiful Joel. A stand out line for me was grace ‘gives you time to feel what you need to’ – it felt very soulful and true. Amazing grace indeed, I loved reading about your awakening to the specialness within you, within all of us.
It’s funny that we value or think others are more, imagine if we really treated other selves in the same regard.
Wow, I really loved reading this article Joel, ‘I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within.’, this is very beautiful and a great reminder for me that I have all of the answers within and do need to look outside of myself.
Hi Joel, I recognise a lot of what you have written and I also kept myself in my own little prison looking for something outside myself to save me. And I agree with life is not about achieving but about living.
These ‘steps’ that have been described in this post about grace and accepting it as something that comes from within, felt familiar for me. Stages of seeking it outside and placing others on a pedestal and being on the see-saw of ‘better than’ / ‘less than’. It is great to read and be reminded that there has been a melting away back to a powerful truth within me that as a work in progress, life is changing from being about what I can get, to what I can offer.
What a divine blog I have stumbled upon this morning Joel ! I, too, had many moments of grace in my life usually following a difficult time and with each moment of grace comes a revelation that I can take with me to the following stage in my life. Quite amazing. As I feel into it, I equal moments of grace with moments of connection with Soul.
Thank you Joel in all you shared.. It helped me realise how many moments of grace I continuously have through life.
Another amazing expression Joel, Thank you!! I Never realised before how prolific you are as writer!
What really got me deeply was your realisation that the feeling of grace you were connecting to was not something you were learning, but something you were remembering. I stop there. I was there too. I know exactly what are you talking about. Those moments of connecting deeply are really special because we feel truth with every cell in our body.
This is pure gold Joel Levin and what a moment of Grace you offer us whilst reading your story. I too have had so many similar experiences as you share in this amazing post and what really sticks out is the bit where you say ‘life was not something to be achieved but something to be lived’. That is so true and only living life can bring the quality of grace in our everyday moments.
I also had Serge Benhayon on a pedestal and recently I had a big realisation and it actually came from an audio presentation by Serge Benhayon. A real aha moment which is of course a moment of pure grace.
This is my understanding – I am not Serge Benhayon and I don’t need to aspire or look up to him. He has made choices and he is where he is because of his choices. I am where I am at because of my choices. However, in essence we are the same, Equally. All I need to do is align to the same source that he chooses to align to and that is the constellation and if I keep making choices to be the real me and honour what I feel then I cannot feel more or less than anyone. It makes sense and I am now choosing to live this way.
I, too Bina, have put Serge Benhayon on a pedestal. The pedestal is going down as years go by and I am a work in progress !….. The moment when I will see him as my complete equal in every way will be a huge moment of Grace !
Hi Joel, I love how you describe grace and how you opened me to feeling and understanding its presence. At the start of your blog I had the feeling grace was like a wrecking ball that swept into your life to knock down what was built that was not true, to allow you to consider rebuilding your life again from a true place from within yourself. Thankyou for opening me to many new understandings about grace, especially the feeling that it’s standing with me, in its wisdom, holding my hand.
Thank you Noel. I like how you have been so honest in the fact that we can all live with equality, even with those who we have placed very high above us.
Amazing grace – and an amazingly honest article. Thank you for sharing how separating people can be harming – and that we are all equal, but it is just our expressions that differ.
Yes, being open to what life brings, will enrich your life. I have always marvelled and respected at how complex but also simple our natural world is. Every thing happens for a reason and everything is interrelated. Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine has helped me understand that God and Mother Earth is always supporting me to be more me. I just need to open to receiving that gift and bringing that “me” to humanity.
Your blogs are always so beautifully expressed Joel and this is equally so. What I felt when I read ‘Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived’ was a moment of well yes of course but how often do I still get caught up in the achieving! Thanks for the reminder.
Such a beautifull expression of grace, thank you Joel, your articles are a joy to read. I love this line …’I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering:’…
Thank you, Joel. As always I love what you write and find your writings so uplifting. Two things I particularly find inspiring in this piece are, “Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.” and ” I realized that I was treating him (Serge) differently to others, and that this difference was coming from me, not him.” because in both of these areas I feel, I am only beginning to fully appreciate in my life. What you have written I find very confirming and know it is inspiring for others as it is for me.
Thank you Joel, I could feel the grace that you speak of as I read your article and as I write my reply.
I can really relate to what you’ve said here Joel about there being a specialness that lives within every person equally so. And how this specialness is actually very normal and natural to us.
Grace is such a beautiful word, it is not used nearly enough these days, when I hear the word I automatically want to stop. It is as if the word brings everything together into a moment and waits. Sometimes those moments don’t feel like grace, they feel more like a struggle or battle but I have learnt that is only me resisting the love that Grace is gracefully showing me. “Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” A great line Joel.
Beautifully shared Alison, thankyou.
Thank you for sharing Joel, I especially love how you say: ‘Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through’. Like you, most of my life I have tried to strive for more, get reward and recognition from outside of myself neglecting my very being, the one which can bring me the most contentment and Joy. The more I have and am cherising and nurturing myself the more I allow the contentment and Joy in life to come out, and the less I search for it outside and from others.
Joel, grace as you clearly show here is multi-layered, and I love how you’ve described it and your journey with it. It really does give us all the time we need to see and lovingly awaits while we fight it without any judgement whatsoever. As I read your piece I felt held by grace and recognised that I’m being presented with another stage of my own grace which is asking me to trust my own expression, my own experience – to live and speak from what is truly felt in my own body, to allow that to come out more. Thank you Joel
How much of my life I have chosen the road to frustration? Now I am more aware of how I have chosen that, for example of wanting people to be a certain way, or for things to be different to how they are. Now, I feel more my specialness and can ” connect to the specialness that lives equally within every person – waiting.” This road feels far more lovely and full of grace.
Grace is not something we do, it is something we are.
The fact that we can choose to be all of us in our every moment and feel that joy, or battle life and focus on ‘getting by’ is what really stuck with me while reading this blog.
“Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived.”
The grace of our every moment being something we can choose is inspiring and very self-empowering.
Joel your blog has given me a deeper understanding of Grace, I feel it … thank you.
The word Grace just stops me in my tracks – it is perfect stillness, beauty, timeless simplicity, magic of God all rolled into one word.
Beautiful words: “Then last year, I realised that this feeling of grace I was connecting to was not something I was learning, but something I was remembering: it was not something that touches me from the outside, but something that touches me from within. It was not a single achievement, habit or reward, but came from the culmination of what I do each moment.” Us, in each moment – yes.
And your expression is another amazing grace, a grace that we have the opportunity to experience too. ♥
Dear Joel I have read this post again and again. You have inspired me to take another look at the events in my life that have devastated me (at the time) and to trace the presence of Grace in and at all those events. I really want to thank you from my heart for writing this and for being such a beautiful honest man.
Thank you Joel, for showing me that the many things that have happened in my life, are moments of Grace. Your blog has allowed me to see that there is no such thing as good or bad, only moments of Grace and this feels so much lighter and easier than if something is good or bad. I love your line “By then I had re-built some arrogance in feeling I had sorted life out again”. This is what we can so easily fall into the trap of doing. We get a stop, a moment of Grace and we ignore it, over-ride it and go back to into our old ways. I can sooo relate to the arrogance that comes with this way of being.
A timely and inspiring blog filled with Grace. Thank you Joel.
Thank you Joel. “Grace stood by and watched lovingly, not asking me to be anything, or do anything more than be me.” That is so beautiful.
Yes, absolutely. There are so many times in my life when I see ways in people that I do not like and get so tense because I feel I have to change them, so I then loose my grace at that moment. Reading that sentence is very evocative of the attitude of grace: accepting, allowing and understanding, letting people be and keeping my connection. Grace is always there.
Julia, Annie, you’re right. I find it so easy to ‘want people to get it’, often its because I have made a condition that the world around me needs to be a certian way BEFORE, I will be be…crazy… its an approach that hurts everyone.
This post is grace, thank you Joel, for your your grace it emanates.
Thanks Joel for the reminder to connect to the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person – waiting…
I was able to truly connect with ‘Grace’ through your post – thank you.
You have grace-fully hit the nail on the head here, Joel! This piece touched me deeply.
“Life was not something to be achieved, but something to be lived. It was something to be cherished, enjoyed and honoured rather than something to get through.”
This is still something I struggle with, and it is lovely to read and feel the honest expression of your struggle, and how you have come through, with grace. As every cloud has a silver lining, so too in every situation that we find difficult or challenging, grace is there, waiting for us, with love.
I too love that sentence Anne and I am now enjoying ‘living’ life rather than managing my way through it. Thanks Joel for such an awesome blog. Grace. The word itself holds magic.
Amazing grace indeed Joel, wow – what a poet with words you are!
To recapitulate: “As I look back, however, it was truly a period of grace, when the walls I had built crashed down – and all I had was myself” – strongly resonates with me, deep inside, and brings tears to my eyes. After all, we have all had moments in life where our world comes crashing down and its sooo tempting and sooo seemingly easy to look outside and seek to find cause for it there, without…without seeking our unwise investments, unwise relationships, especially the dishonesty with self.
Yet, Grace is there. Feeling the love on the inside and committing to expanding it so that one day it will no longer be clamped down by the hard, cold choices we make to ‘get through’ life, but that it may shine as pure and true as we knew when we were children.
And “not only is grace ready and waiting, but…it comes with a sense of joy”: truly fantastic!
‘Amazing grace – the ‘specialness’ that lives equally within every person – waiting to be reconnected to’ – so beautifully put, Joel. I too have found grace truly blesses our lives when we are open to feeling its presence.
Amazing Grace indeed Joel. Thank you for sharing in the beautiful way you do. Lovingly and with clarity.
Thank you Joel for broadening my understanding of what grace is. Your personal story brought to mind moments and periods of grace in my own life that I had chosen to ignore…yet all I have to do is be open to what surrounds me.
Thank you Joel. Your writing always touches my heart because it comes from yours.
Great piece Joel. I have recently experienced a period of grace within my extended family. We all spent a few days together recently, coming together for a funeral and I felt anxiousness, sadness, joy and love during this time. A moment in time when we all came together and I chose to be equal to all of my family members, regardless of what I had experienced with them in the past. I let go of held hurts, ideals and beliefs and perceptions that I had about family. The grace for me was that I got to see them for who they truly are and I was able to stand lovingly with them without fear or self doubt getting in the way.
This is beautiful Sally…I love how it starts and ends with how we are with the world..
Such deep wisdom Joel thank you.
Thank you Joel and sallyscott2012, that grace is mighty and powerful, but also humble and loving of everyone.
Thanks Joel. You have touched on some very important topics. The words ‘battle with life’ hit the spot for me particularly because I can feel I have engaged in this battle, resisting at times what life brings to me and the further complications this choice can cause. But underneath that I can feel how I have battled with myself, in reaction to life, resisting the innate feelings I have felt in response. The little moments when a feeling just says loud and clear ‘something is not right here’ or ‘this needs to be addressed or expressed’.
You very beautifully offer another way simply through sharing what you have come to.
Written with grace, and the beauty and special-ness that is inside of you Joel. Thank you.