Imagine if someone had something of value, something of enormous value. Imagine if this friend said, “I have to leave the country for a while. I need someone to take care of this thing of enormous value. It requires exquisite care right now. I’d trust you with my life, and this thing is that important to me. Would you please keep it while I’m away, and take exquisite care of it?”
Imagine that you love this friend dearly, and you decide to say “yes”. You decide to take the thing, and take exquisite care of it. And it’s as valuable as your beloved friend’s life.
Your friend gives you the thing, reminds you to “take exquisite care of it”, and then leaves on the journey.
Now what? What do you do next?
You sure as heck don’t throw it in a drawer and forget about it. You love your friend, and your friend said that this thing was as important as life itself.
What you do is you figure out what “taking exquisite care” for this thing is. Your love for your friend impels you to research the essential question: what is “taking exquisite care” for this thing?
You don’t shortchange the research. You are thorough. You write down what you find, you organize it, then you set up a system so that you do all the things that constitute “taking exquisite care.”
Then, you execute on that system. You do the things, all of the things, that constitute “taking exquisite care.” Without fail, you do these things, simply because you love your friend and you said to this beloved that you would.
You even run experiments. Research tells you that “taking exquisite care” varies from one thing to another, so you are not quite sure what it means for this particular thing. You try something out that is suggested by your research, and you collect the data as to whether it constitutes “taking exquisite care” of this particular thing. And you use the results of your research to refine your notion of “taking exquisite care”.
Your friend returns home, and you return the thing to your friend. There is much rejoicing and gratitude, because the thing has been cared for, and you showed with this exquisite care your love for your friend and your commitment to your word.
And, all of this happened because you loved your friend fiercely. Everything followed from that.
Let’s change the story. Let’s change the story by making three swaps.
First, we replace your friend with God, Goddess, Reality, Source, or whatever name you have for the All-That-Is. The I AM THAT of your cosmology/theology.
Second, we replace “the thing” with you. Your body, your emotions, your thoughts, your everything.
Third, instead of your friend going on a journey, it is you who goes on the journey.
Now how does it read? Let’s see. (I’ll use “the Goddess” for the I AM THAT because Reality increasingly has a feminine touch to her. Please feel free to substitute your ultimate principle for my word.)
Imagine if the Goddess had a human life, yours, something of enormous value. Imagine if the Goddess said, “You have to go on a journey for a while. I need someone to take care of your life, which is to me of enormous value. It requires exquisite care right now. I’d trust you with my life, and this being is that important to me. Would you please keep this life of yours while you are on your journey, and take exquisite care of it?”
Imagine that you love the Goddess dearly, and you decide to say “yes”. You decide to receive your life, and take exquisite care of it. And it’s as valuable as the Goddess’s life.
The Goddess gives you your life, reminds you to “take exquisite care of it”, and then sends you on the journey.
So NOW what do you do? Why wouldn’t it be the same as the first story?
Let’s see how it holds up with our new characters:
You sure as heck don’t throw yourself in a drawer and forget about you. You love the Goddess, and She said that You were as important as life itself.
What you do is you figure out what “taking exquisite care” for yourself is. Your love for the Goddess impels you to research the essential question: what is “taking exquisite care” for me, this life of mine?
You don’t shortchange the research. You are thorough. You write down what you find, you organize it, then you set up a system so that you do all the things that constitute “taking exquisite care.”
Then, you execute on that system. You do the things, all of the things, that constitute “taking exquisite care.” Without fail, you do these things, simply because you love the Goddess and you said to Her that you would.
You even run experiments. Research tells you that “taking exquisite care” varies from one life to another, so you are not quite sure what it means for this particular life, your life. You try something out that is suggested by your research, and you collect the data as to whether it constitutes “taking exquisite care” of this particular life known as you. And you use the results of your research to refine your notion of “taking exquisite care”.
You return from your journeys, and you return your life to the Goddess. There is much rejoicing and gratitude, because your life has been cared for, and you showed with this exquisite care your love for the Goddess and your commitment to your word.
And, all of this happened because you loved the Goddess fiercely. Everything followed from that.
Take exquisite care, my friend. Take exquisite care of this precious life of yours.