Whether or not you’re religious, the Christian concept of grace is interesting.
In Christianity, grace is God’s gift of unconditional love, given to all.
The idea is that this grace can be compared to something like a parent’s love.
A parent gives his/her child love, not because the child earned it, but rather because something about the kid’s existence is a gift, in and of itself.
That’s powerful.
And that’s how Christians see grace in the world.
They say that something…God…the universe…the source…something…gives that grace to you.
I say that grace shouldn’t be something limited to religion. I see it as a force in the world, present to all not bound to any religion or type of god.
Here’s why…
Think about it.
Everything had to align perfectly for you to be here in this world.
The circumstances had to be exactly as they were for you to exist. Not one thing, or two things, but every single thing had to be exactly as they were.
I think that when we look at our own existences, an aspect of unconditional love should flow from us.
We should recognize the complete gift we are to this world.
We exist as potential — we are each someone who has something to add to the world, the way it moves, and the way it progresses.
There’s no way to not participate. You are a participant. I am a participant.
You can’t not impact the progression of the world, and because that’s just how it is, accepting it makes life much more easy than rejecting it.
Learn to see
I think that’s the heart of learning to give yourself grace — recognize what about a child makes you extend unconditional love to them, and learn to see that in yourself.
Is it potential? Is it life/spirit?
I think it’s something deeply rooted. Something so deep, no one would ever be able to change it or mess it up. There’s just something there that makes each child special, unique, worthy, good…
You also have that in you.
The unconditional love you could accept, that recognition of what lies deeper, of what you can’t mess up or take away, of what makes you worthy of this life…that is grace.
That is what you have to extend to yourself because life is not perfect. It’s messy, and you make mistakes.
Grace is Important
I think the Christian concept of grace is important for everyone, not just Christians to recognize in their lives.
It allows you to move forward because you retain a deep awareness that can’t be fractured or influenced by the ebbs-and-flows of your day-to-day.