A Wish for 2023 Tanabata

My husband and I went out for lunch today. In the way back I asked him if he has any wish for Tanabata this year (tomorrow is July 7th). He said he wish "to be a beautiful man" :)) He is joking because the Tanabata's wish of my daughter this year is "to be a beautiful girl". By the way, the wish of my son is to become a soccer player.

He asked me in return if I have one. Some seconds to think, and my answer is "to be closer to God", I said seriously. 

- Can you be more specific? How closer will it be? 

I wonder if he needs an answer for exactly how many meters (or km) should it be between me and God?

 Even if he didn't ask, I tried to make my wish more specific for me as well, otherwise I wouldn't be able to know if the wish came true or not at the end of the year.

- Less fear and more faith.

That is the best I could figure out about the wish "be closer to God".

A thought crossed my mind. "Why don't you meditate or do some spiritual practices (as you read a lot in your books), instead of only wasting time thinking about being closer to God?". Is this that He is talking to me?

***

Less fear. What fear? Fear when I'm in water (I'm in a swimming class every Saturday). Fear when I'm in the air (my longtime fear of flights). Both cases, I fear because I cannot control what around me. More accurate, I cannot control myself (my body and my mind). But is there a time that I can control everything?

Let's look at this more deeply. What is the root cause of this fear? That is the fear of death. Fear of losing this body (though I know intellectually it is illusion, but from my heart I cannot accept it yet). The more I resist, the more I want to control and survive on my own, the more I suffer. So I wish I have more faith. A faith that can help me to be able to relax (in water and in the air) and to have enough brevity to leave the rest to God's hand. 

"My strength will support you. So don't worry. Leave the rest to me." - I repeat in my mind. That is my favorite quote from A Course in Miracles.

Faith in Life. Faith in the Divine. Faith in God. Faith in the Universe. Please help me grow my faith, I'm so weak and I need your help.

***

But the wish "Less fear and more faith" is still too vague to get a fair assessment at the end of the year. So I decided to put it like this for this year's Tanabata:

Please help me know what I should do in this year. Please guide me to my way. Please use me to make your miracles happen.

Dear God, please!

2023.7.6

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Today is Tanabata. I tried something funny and got impressed by the outcome. Here is what I got. Could you guess what I did? :D

Another version of "A Wish for 2023 Tanabata"

My husband and I went out for lunch today. On the way back, I asked him if he had any wishes for Tanabata this year (tomorrow is July 7th). He jokingly said his wish was 'to be a beautiful man' :)) He was joking because my daughter's wish for Tanabata this year is 'to be a beautiful girl'. By the way, my son's wish is to become a soccer player.

He asked me in return if I had one. After a few seconds of thinking, I answered seriously, 'to be closer to God'.

He then asked for more specifics, wondering how close it should be. Should it be measured in meters or kilometers, he jokingly wondered?

Even though he didn't ask, I felt compelled to make my wish more specific for myself as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to determine if the wish had come true or not by the end of the year.

So, I replied, 'Less fear and more faith.' That was the best I could articulate about my wish to 'be closer to God'.

As I pondered this, a thought crossed my mind, 'Why don't you engage in meditation or spiritual practices, as you often read about in your books, instead of merely wasting time contemplating being closer to God?' Could this be the message that God is trying to convey to me?

Less fear. But what fear am I referring to? The fear I experience when I'm in the water during my swimming class every Saturday, and the fear that has long haunted me during flights. In both cases, it stems from the fact that I feel a lack of control over my surroundings. To be more precise, it's the feeling of being unable to control my own body and mind. However, is there ever a time when I can control everything?

Let's delve deeper into this. What is the root cause of this fear? It is the fear of death, the fear of losing this physical body (even though I intellectually understand it to be an illusion, I haven't fully accepted it in my heart yet). The more I resist, the stronger my desire to control and ensure my own survival becomes, and the more I suffer. Therefore, my wish is to have more faith—a faith that can help me relax and find peace, both in the water and in the air, and to have the courage to surrender the rest to the hands of God.

"My strength will support you. So don't worry. Leave the rest to me." This quote from A Course in Miracles resonates in my mind and holds a special place in my heart.

I seek faith in Life, faith in the Divine, faith in God, and faith in the Universe. I humbly ask for your assistance in nurturing and strengthening my faith, as I currently feel weak and in need of your guidance.

Please grant me clarity on what steps I should take this year. Guide me along my path and utilize me as an instrument to manifest your miracles.

Dear God, I humbly request your assistance.