You are in the middle of the ocean – the Ocean of the Universe, beloveds – and every bit of jetsam and flotsam that is within sight, you seem to want to claim. You have the Ocean all around you, and yet you tend to accumulate whatever passes by, as if that supports you in the Ocean when it is, indeed, the Ocean Itself that supports you.

Whatever is bobbing by in the Ocean is meant for your enjoyment, but that is different from your having to have it, as if your life depended on it. What your life depends on, you already have.

It is not sink or swim in the universe. Swim and float, swim and float. Even while you swim, know you are floating. Your arms move, and yet it is the Tide of the Ocean that moves you along. There is no preventing it. Life is never to be held back. Enjoy the view, beloveds. You are in the right place.

Let not the cry of your life be Hurry, hurry. Beloveds, your life is not an emergency. Then why would you be in emergency mode, your heart aghast, your fists clenched? Why, sometimes it seems as if your life is spent in the emergency room itself or in the waiting room. Sometimes it seems that you are coming and going from one emergency to another.

Life is not disaster. It is a playing field. When all is said and done, what matters if you hit the home run or not? The crowd cheers, or the crowd groans, but what exigency is that? Gratification has to run deeper than that, or you are at the mercy of every passing thing. Be merciful to yourself, and let not your life be lived according to the acclaim or disavowal of the world.

Set claim to your own life. It is yours, after all. It is yours, and it is Mine. You live it on My behalf. I told you to work. I did not tell you to struggle. Your struggle pushes away an embrace from the Universe. The Universe wishes to laud you. Let life catch you. Don’t run away. You can be in the embrace of life yet not moored to it and be ready for the next. An embrace is an easy thing. It has no shackles. Don’t look for them. Don’t put any there.

You are free to welcome life just as much as you are free to disdain it. Given a choice, choose embrace. Eyes embrace. Hearts embrace. Love is applied, but love does not stop you. It does not put you on hold. Love everything in your path, and welcome what’s next, and welcome and welcome all that the day and the year hold and bestow upon you. Be awake, and be still. Speak up, and keep quiet. Engage yourself fully to this perfect day of life. It is perfectly what it is.

Be not afraid of life. Be a hero to it. You are the one to set the tone of the day. You are the one to succor the life of all those around you. You set the pace. If you must have a mood, make it a mood of welcome and approbation. Become yourself the blessing you long to receive.

This is your life, beloveds. Long may you live it, and make joy of it. You might as well, don’t you agree? When you are making soup, you use the ingredients you have. So it is with life. Here is yours. Here are the ingredients. Make your life today worthy of passing through it. Make it a celebration. Relish the soup.