Alpha and Omega

Recently, while preparing to start my day fresh, 10 minutes in the shower connected me with eternity and filled me with peace.

Lathering, with my eyes closed, the thought that 2020 is nearing its end crossed my mind. Then the phrase, "Alpha and Omega" floated in. I love this phrase. It means the beginning and the end, or the comprehensiveness of God. I’ve always seen this phrase as a beautiful fierce way of saying God’s got this!

Now, if the word God is not your preferred term, substitute whatever term you like. Let’s not spend time talking about names when the nature of this force is the point. Whatever name you use, we are talking about an intelligent force permeating and animating the universe – streaming through all that is seen and unseen, past, present and future, micro and macro. Wow!

As the steam in my shower rose, this became my thought: Comprehensiveness means there is no place where this intelligent universal force is not. It is even in the tiny particles that comprise this steam. It is present throughout my body, right now.

I began to think about my dog, my family, worries or feelings of uncertainty. Everything!

Right where you are in this moment, radiating in every direction of your life, no matter your circumstances, there is divine cosmic intelligence that surrounds, holds, and permeates all. The Alpha and Omega. Right where COVID-19 is. Right where death is. Right where thriving new life is. This intelligent force is right there.

For a moment, the strength and all-pervading nature of this comprehensiveness felt more present than the water on my body or soap in my hand. For a suspended amount of time, I melted under the warm water, feeling connected to something unseen. Then, a more common thought tried to form amidst my peace. But before a “why this or that" could land, another beautiful thought rose from the steam: When it comes to cosmic intelligence, there is much that I do not know, and likely, will never know.

Peace followed this thought, and I felt refreshed beyond any shower I have ever taken.

My next thoughts were of gratitude, as these words from last month’s blog also rose from the steam: The odds of being born a human being are 1 in 400 trillion.

These peace-instilling thoughts do not make me passive. They do not lead me to ignore or pretend that our human pains and difficulties do not exist. They allow me to be fully aware of this physical reality, while I also stretch to see beyond my human eyes and understanding.

A mystical riddle I learned from Michael Bernard Beckwith years ago captures my intention perfectly: I yearn to live life believing more in what I don’t see than what I do see. Then what I don’t see, I will see, and what I do see, I won’t see. With this as my focus, I just might catch sight of more than I can even imagine. I might experience a deeper meaning of Alpha and Omega.

In contemplating the comprehensiveness of God, in the midst of acknowledging the enormous devastation that has come with 2020, I have learned to breathe and sit with life as it is. I also actively aim to trust that an all-pervading intelligent force is present every step of the way. I make room to be at peace with what is beyond my ability to see, know, or understand.

May your heart be uplifted, and humanity be guided, now and forever, by the presence of the intelligent force that permeates all things.

Tina Lifford plays Aunt Vi on the critically acclaimed television show, Queen Sugar. The Little Book of Big Lies: A Journey Into Inner Fitness is her first book; released by Harper Collins, November 2019, and is full of the kind of internal “actions” that will transform your thinking and your life. You can also join her at a workout in her Inner Fitness Studio to practice strengthening your wellbeing and making it actionable in your day to day life.