Inspirations after binge watching the series, Superstore on Netflix.
I was bit put off by the plastic realities of the show on the first episode, but then the second episode sounded quite funny with its dark humor, and I was hooked on to it from the third episode on.
The dark humor is plenty out there to balance out the grim realities of the common people and their day to day engagements. One needs minimum stamina to survive this dark humor, else it can get depressing. But, as I keep watching the episodes, one thing stands out, that is something implied, and glad that I am able to hold on to it, after which watching is both fun and meditating both.
The magic ingredient implied in this serial (and many other successful ones) is the angle of “grace”. Life usually sucks for one and all, but in spite of all that, life counts as meaningful and gaming, only if we learn to swim in the axis of grace.
There is lot going on out there, both within and around, to dislodge us from the axis of grace and get us lost. It can be the pressure of survival, money issues, health issues, mental issues, relational issues, lack of purpose, lack of motivation and what not.
But the savior in any one’s life is the grace. Grace sounds mystery. But it can be demystified. Its science can be understood. The art of its cultivation can be mastered. It can be engineered in one’s life.
When a media production deals with reality with entertainment, fun, humor etc. it is just fine to watch, but it becomes great when it hints grace for the viewer. I am glad, I am constantly reminded of it watching through it. It is the axis of grace than the entertainment which keeps me glued to it.
Especially when I ask the question, what will it take to produce a program like this, it helps to disintegrate it into a set of characters, plot, situations, relations, a sense of purpose and direction, dialog, props, message, impact etc. etc. Then comes the question as to what holds all these together to be effective, answer again is the axis of grace. Programs like these find balance among the chaotic setting through the axis of grace , the hues of which are diverse, in motion, but at the end succeed to hint the same in the viewer.
The viewer is then left with the question as to where am I with the axis of grace. How much of that is natural to me, how much of that needs to be put up by me, out of habit or samskara or faith or what not.
When one takes the question of grace seriously, one becomes quickly aware that the grace is the magic of life. Grace makes us divine, grace makes everything divine. It is possible to infuse grace into anything and turn it into magic of life. Grace is the short cut to turn any shitty life into an endless divine game.
What is the source of grace? It is natural to us. Though there is traces of grace in our body and mind, we can easily lose grip on it through these realms. But, it is very hard to ignore the spring of grace in the realms of heart and spirit. More we learn to leverage heart and spirit, both within and around, we get to play with grace better, our confidence to master it only grows. Grace then gradually transcends to our mind and body too, in spite of the wear and tear we experience in mind and body due to aging.
You may be wondering, what the hell is this grace. It is the very life energy. Grace is something not to look for beyond self, though it is out there everywhere. Grace is something not to purchase and own. Grace is something we are all made of, we simply need to find within ourselves, and invoke it at our wish, especially when we badly need it.
Living without grace is hell. So, if your life is one hell, grace is the magic that turns it into heaven.
Grace is easy. We just need to know it, look for it within and around, hold on to it, learn to tap it and leverage it.
So, the most important gift of life is grace .Most important blessing in life is to learn to leverage it.
When I am aligned with the axis of grace, I am God like, though I remain an idiot, incomplete, full of limitations. Most important pilgrimage of life is the search for grace, that too within, and it is not hard to find and hold on to, once we set our mind to it.
Usually, one or many protagonists are laced with higher grace than the rest. But, a better serial brings the moments of grace across many characters in the midst of their limitations, suffering, struggle and associated rationalization.
Many a time, the serial itself, starting off with the entertainment agenda, gets caught with the characters it has devised, which mature and therefore the serial too matures with the help of axis of grace. Then a serial can reach a point where it still has lot of story to tell, but no more room to grow the grace axis. At that point, the serial maker may call it quits. This is not the case for the struggling serials, they simply get lost and get called off from the air.
Home work for you? How is your life going? What all about your life, you can keep bitching and moaning? Believe me, life is full of stuff to bitch and moan for all. But, it is not about life in general, it is all about how you are living through it, grace is the magic you need to turn your life into a divine comedy or game, you deserve it, like everyone else.
Look yourself separate from your bitchy life, but in the very center of it. Can you find an axis of perfection within you in spite of limited you and surroundings. If you find it, and I hope, you will find it, it is the axis of grace, where you have a sense of grip, joy, fulfilment, hope, possibilities, benevolence, creativity and energy. That makes you feel perfect and that is God like. Learn to find yourself more often in that state until that becomes the default state of your living. When that happens, once a while you may fall from it, but you know how to get up quickly and get back to it.
May your life be filled with divine. May you learn to cultivate grace and leverage it to make your life divine. Remember to catch yourself bitching and moaning in your life as an alarm bell to return to the axis of grace, quietly and then to celebrate the magic of life very loud and never ending, till the end.
Namasthe!
