December 25th, 2025

 On this Christmas I am so Gratefully filled with Blessing ~ Grace and the Transformational Power of Love. 

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You 

While I'm Not Religious, I would be less than I am if I couldn't Recognize the Truths, from the Heart of Any Religion or Practice. 

Bill Wilson 

Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, viewed grace as God's freely given help, transforming suffering into spiritual progress and enabling emotional sobriety through humility, acceptance, and selfless service (Twelfth Step), emphasizing that grace isn't earned but received by surrendering demands and focusing on loving and helping others, a journey of continuous growth and change, not perfection. 

Carl Jung 

Carl Jung viewed grace not just as external divine favor, but as an internal, transformative experience arising from confronting one's shadow, sin, and unconscious, leading to individuation, wholeness, and a deeper connection with the divine within; he saw neurosis or "falling" as a necessary catalyst for this grace, prompting humility and spiritual growth, while acknowledging that ultimate spiritual realities, like faith, are gifts beyond pure reason or effort, often arriving miraculously. 

Dalai Lama 

The Dalai Lama speaks of grace not as divine favor, but as finding peace and beauty in every moment—good or bad—through compassion, kindness, and gratitude, seeing interconnectedness, and letting go of negativity to realize the vast, peaceful space within, making our lives meaningful and bringing happiness to others. He emphasizes extending grace to others through understanding and forgiveness, seeing them as fellow humans wanting happiness, and finding the "grace" of a precious human life. 

Biblical Grace 

Biblically, grace is

unmerited favor, love, and kindness extended freely to undeserving people, offering salvation, forgiveness, and empowerment to live righteously through Jesus Christ, a free gift not earned by works but received by faith. It's God's benevolent impulse to bless sinners, providing what they don't deserve (salvation) and withholding what they do deserve (punishment).

And Sufi

At Rahman [The Compassionate] is like the ocean of infinite kindness and beauty. Ar-Rahman is the tide, overflowing in its mercy, all-embracing in its nature. It is the gate through which all the Divine Names flow.”

– from Divine Names: The 99 Healing Names of the One Love.   by Rosina-Fawzia al Rawi

We all need to be reminded of our connection with Allah’s Compassion from time to time. Compassion is the Divine container in which we live, the cosmic soup in which we swim.

The earth might not always feel like a compassionate place, but as a whole, the earth and all of its inhabitants exist within a Divine Ocean which is too big for us to see. We are completely contained and embraced in its love.