Grace Under Fire
April 22, 2018 | A Pondering
Grace; Noun. “Simple elegance or refinement in movement. 2. The influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate and strengthen them (a. virtue coming from God).”
They say pain in life is inevitable.
Yamamoto Tsunetomo ponders in Hagakure, “There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you will still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything.”
In reference to Tsunetomo, if we are resolved from the beginning that pain is a temporary experiential part of life, perhaps we are less inclined to suffer due to resisting it. Resolve allows us to shift HOW we create space for pain when it arrives at our doorstep, so that it may be allowed to move, transform and heal. In other words, Resolve is the gateway through pain. Suffering is found in its resistance.
They say courage is Grace under fire.
Sometimes emotional pain can feel like being caught in a pressure cooker. I often think of Grace under fire as the ability to be present with pain in such moments — beginning first and foremost with our permission. To feel it and allow the wave of pain to find it shore.
But Grace under fire for me, is also about faith. Faith that I am never alone, and if the fire of pain gets so great, I can hand it over to faith, that if I do not have the strength to stand, faith will carry me until I can. It’s takes resolve, strength and courage to be present with pain. But there is also peace knowing that faith, also like a moving current, will usher me through the storm.
So for me, Grace under fire is as much about the emotional resolve to be fluid with the dynamics of life, as it is about divine strength and support. This allows us to keep and maintain an open heart despite the perils in life.
