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Page Update:
Saturday, February 28th, 2004
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Vigil
Click for larger view
David Berry, 2004
Acrylic on Masonite, 32" x 48"
The vigil is the essence of our surrender, obedience and service to God. It is the vigil that transcends our thoughts and actions beyond our own, and it is the vigil that transforms our false ego into the “real ego” that is not governed by the accumulations of the mind. It is the vigil, the awareness of God, that is the Astitva of the God within.
In our everyday logical world an act of vigilance is not considered a tangible thing. To the casual observer vigilance is often an act of waiting, of seemingly doing nothing. Yet, the sentry at post keeps watch for the unexpected future, not what is absent in the present. Vigilance is a state of guarded preparedness that is thoughtful and premeditated. It is based on lessons learned through past experience, but it is a form of focus on the potential of the future. Vigilance is not an act that is spontaneous or automatic. It is not the same when we are on high alert with fear, ready to fight or flee. Vigilance is something that is done without specific expectation. It is the single most important act that allows us to not worry and be happy, for with vigilance we are prepared and never so preoccupied with the trappings of ego-life that we forget the universe around us.
The Beyond the Beyond state of God is described as a shadow. This is not because it is someplace hidden from us; it is because we are, as individuals, unable to see that it is all around us and within us. The physical universe is a tangible manifestation of that hidden world, yet the trap of ego prevents us from perceiving beyond the limits of our own mind. Thus, all we can do to realize God is to keep vigil to catch glimpses of the light.
In seeing beyond our ego we keep a vigil for the reality of God, and it is our love of God that keeps us at our post. When we keep our minds focused on God, then we are keeping a vigil. Each moment of the day we seek to see evidence of God in action and the character of God in things. Often we must look hard and long to see God in the least obvious places. The judgment of the world and ourselves is necessarily compromised as we pierce through the distinctions of good and evil, beautiful and ugly in order to see God in all things.
We look elsewhere to see God, yet the one place God can be found in full form, within our own hearts, is the most hidden place of all.
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