I remember the years when my mind was 110 percent occupied with what I had to do and, as a single mom with three children, I always had a lot to do. Life tends to use us up this way, so if we’re going to experience something deeper, it has to be an on-purpose effort. The thing is, our souls, or higher selves (whatever we call the linked-in, mysterious part of ourselves) are steadily broadcasting in the background, occasionally whispering or maybe even nudging us this way or that, but these still, small voices are easily buried in our pretending and rushing. I can’t even count the number of times I noticed something before I left for school and work and then later that day needed it. One second of noticing wasn’t enough, because I generally was not a listening state-of-mind.

So, it’s not that the Higher Power isn’t there for us in even the most day-to-day of ways; it’s that we’re not listening to the Higher Power. This does make me wonder if the earthquakes and floods and hurricanes and tornadoes aren’t somehow a reflection of our preoccupation with the physical world that revolves around us and our stuff—that even nature, somehow, is imitating our focus. “Wake up! It’s not about you and your stuff! There’s so much more, a wholeness. Look deeper!”

The desire to connect with something beyond what we can see with our eyes exists in all of us, even those who know this and reject it. No matter how we’ve messed up or how messed up we are as individuals, the Force (as in, “May the Force be with you”) is our fundamental nature and the fundamental nature of the Force is Love. When I forget, when I am able to notice I’ve forgotten, I take some slow, deep breaths, settle back into my center and say, “Here I am, Lord. What’s next?”