Reflections from Assisi

What if peace and kindness would be possible in our lives? And if so, how could we get there?

I'm now in Assisi, the city of Saint Francis, Saint Clare, and other saints, and this is a very nice city in Italy, very well kept with beautiful architecture.

Here is where you will find the remains of Saint Francis and of other saints. I have resonated with Saint Francis since the beginning, since I discovered him in this life. And Saint Francis embraced something which seems like a very difficult path, the path of poverty and giving up material belongings, of humbleness and becoming completely void (or free) of everything that keeps us into the material (which is not new if you look at how other saints have lived) but he did that with happiness and joy. That path was embraced by Saint Francis and also by his followers and by Saint Clare, who is also buried here in Assisi.

From my perspective, both Saint Francis and Saint Clare have found their specific path to God or the divine and they embodied that path in such a way that, through their presence, they made this path more tangible for each of us. This way, we can still connect with the divine here or by remembering them.

Following on their footsteps here, I found this blessing in Saint Clare's monastery in Assisi, which says: 

“Our Lord bless you and keep you.

May He show His face to you and be merciful to you.

May He turn his face to you and give peace to you.

The Lord be with you always. And now may you always be with him.”

Very simple words, yet very much to the point, transmitting to us that our lives remain guided by the divine and that they remain lived in relation to the flow of life and in connection with consciousness. This is happening whether we want to be aware of it or not.

But the moment that we realise and receive that this is happening, a whole universe opens in front of us. We may, like the blessing says, actually get to see the face of the divine in our lives. Or at least we open up to the miraculous. Once we choose to connect with it we may turn to it whenever we have different problems or questions or we need to resource ourselves, creating our own personal relationship with the divine. And also in that stream of consciousness, in that immense love that keeps us alive, we can experience kindness. We can experience mercy. In that letting go and in knowing that we are cared for, that we are loved, that we are connected with everything, with our lives, with the universe, we can integrate that everything is fine and we can live our lives in a peaceful way.

And another thing that I've recognised in this blessing is that we can choose to live our lives in this energy. We can choose to live our lives in this connection. 

Through this, we may realise we are cared for and that we are important, that we are precious, each and everyone, in our own way, in the eyes of consciousness, that we are not here randomly and without purpose. We can always choose to be guided by consciousness (or however you want to call it, the divine, the Source, the Creator) and through being present to grace, peace, kindness. By letting grace, peace and kindness live inside us, by letting them become part of ourselves and turning to them our thoughts and intentions, we can let them shine in our lives and eventually in the universe.

I feel grateful for having been reminded again of all of this through the words of this blessing. And I could also feel behind these powerful words how we should really look at what is keeping us from becoming more and more these energies of peace, grace, kindness. Asking ourselves questions, empowering ourselves to go deep into the blockages, being willing to receive what we discover and opening up to these processes with curiosity are some avenues. Going on this path allows us to come closer to love (whether it’s for ourselves or others), to connectedness, to the authenticity and simplicity of things, to a different kind of strength, power, solidity and essence in our lives, eventually bringing out the best versions of ourselves.