Astrological Services | Blog | Astrology Articles | Horary Astrological Articles | Personal Growth Articles | Biography | SunnyCatŠ Astrology Bookstore


WHY, DEAR GOD, WHY?

by

Zane Maser

Over the weekend of June 5 when the Belmont Stakes (horse race) was run, I had a bittersweet chance to practice a crucial theme in the teachings of White Eagle:  there is no such thing as chance or an accident. Smarty Jones, a "smallish but improbably strong chestnut colt," captured the imagination and hearts of millions of Americans. A crowd of 120,000 fans showed up at the racetrack in New York State to cheer him on in the final, most grueling, one-mile race for the Triple Crown title. Poised and appearing confident, Smarty Jones was a 3-10 favorite. All eyes and hearts were set, including my own, to see him race into history as the 12th Triple Crown champion, thus ending the 26-year drought of several excellent horses that previously failed to attain this most-coveted title. As a horse that had survived a close encounter with death, we were all breathless, hearts pounding, as he turned for the home stretch well in the lead. Our champion was about to be coroneted after another great performance, but it was not to be for little Smarty Jones—or for his countless admirers.

Just before the race, and in jitters, I said my prayer to God. "Dear God, please help Smarty Jones to win the title he so deserves. We are all hoping he'll win. God's will be done." When the horse, Birdstone, crossed the finish line a length ahead of Smarty Jones, so many hearts across America sank in shock—stunned and speechless—as the tears began to flow over the unbelievable loss of our chestnut hero. How could this be? How could Smarty Jones possibly have lost? There's something very wrong here! It took me the rest of the weekend, as I moved through the stages of grief from denial to acceptance, to begin to get over my trauma and heartbreak at Smarty's loss. Nevertheless, he and his "Team Smarty" are no less endeared or loved, for his legendary story will continue to touch and inspire us all.

Smarty Jones, serving here as an example, had given me an excellent opportunity—a mirroring effect—to know myself more thoroughly. While I was groping in dense sadness, I turned to words from White Eagle for comfort and a clearer perspective. He always has a way of putting us in touch with the crux of the matter! He assures us that: "Nothing in life is the result of 'chance.'" Life is law. This law governs life, from the smallest detail to the greatest—to the Universe itself. So if chance appears to bring "luck" [or lack of luck for that matter!], remember it is the result of a law which you yourself have set in motion."

Perhaps, Smarty Jones' loss unconsciously triggered some of my own defeats in life, defeats I previously set in motion, only to forget that I had been the original cause or influence. These defeats sometimes stay with us as residue, much like unresolved grief, because we may feel that our defeat was unwarranted, when in fact we had gotten what we earned, nothing more and nothing less.

Sorting through my feelings, I began to realize that my prayer to God was not an unconditional "Thy will" but a subtle form of "I want." I very much had an attachment to the outcome that would make me happy. I was not praying for acceptance of any result but for my agenda, however worthy or honorable. Attachment or acceptance has enormously different outcomes in how we feel. One binds, the other frees. One equates to constant agitation, the other to profound peace. One breeds misery, while the other promotes ease. White Eagle goes on to say:  "For the freewill of man is largely concerned with his reactions to the conditions of his life. And as he feels about life and people and circumstances, so he becomes and draws to himself certain conditions." My acute suffering was a clear indication of my lack of faith, as well as feelings derived from clutching my own will. But when I truly allow God's will, without any bargaining attached, I set in motion the forces of wholeness and serenity, trusting the outcome to the highest good of all concerned.

So, in the course of sorting, I sent out another little plea to God asking for help to understand why Smarty Jones had lost the race. This is the answer that came:  "There isn't a reason. You'll have to trust God…. Just before the race, and in jitters, I said my prayer to God. "Dear God, please help Smarty Jones to win the title he so deserves. We are all hoping he'll win. God's will be done." When the horse, Birdstone, crossed the finish line a length ahead of Smarty Jones, so many hearts across America sank in shock—stunned and speechless—as the tears began to flow over the unbelievable loss of our chestnut hero. How could this be? How could Smarty Jones possibly have lost? There's something very wrong here! It took me the rest of the weekend, as I moved through the stages of grief from denial to acceptance, to begin to get over my trauma and heartbreak at Smarty's loss. Nevertheless, he and his 'Team Smarty' are no less endeared or loved, for his legendary story will continue to touch and inspire us all.

Smarty Jones, serving here as an example, had given me an excellent opportunity—a mirroring effect—to know myself more thoroughly. While I was groping in dense sadness, I turned to words from White Eagle for comfort and a clearer perspective. He always has a way of putting us in touch with the crux of the matter! He assures us that: "Nothing in life is the result of 'chance.'" Life is law. This law governs life, from the smallest detail to the greatest—to the Universe itself. So if chance appears to bring "luck" [or lack of luck for that matter!], remember it is the result of a law which you yourself have set in motion."

Perhaps, Smarty Jones' loss unconsciously triggered some of my own defeats in life, defeats I previously set in motion, only to forget that I had been the original cause or influence. These defeats sometimes stay with us as residue, much like unresolved grief, because we may feel that our defeat was unwarranted, when in fact we had gotten what we earned, nothing more and nothing less.

Sorting through my feelings, I began to realize that my prayer to God was not an unconditional "Thy will" but a subtle form of "I want." I very much had an attachment to the outcome that would make me happy. I was not praying for acceptance of any result but for my agenda, however worthy or honorable. Attachment or acceptance has enormously different outcomes in how we feel. One binds, the other frees. One equates to constant agitation, the other to profound peace. One breeds misery, while the other promotes ease. White Eagle goes on to say:  "For the free will of man is largely concerned with his reactions to the conditions of his life. And as he feels about life and people and circumstances, so he becomes and draws to himself certain conditions." My acute suffering was a clear indication of my lack of faith, as well as feelings derived from clutching my own will. But when I truly allow God's will, without any bargaining attached, I set in motion the forces of wholeness and serenity, trusting the outcome to the highest good of all concerned.

So, in the course of sorting, I sent out another little plea to God asking for help to understand why Smarty Jones had lost the race. This is the answer that came:  "There isn't a reason. You'll have to trust God … until further notice." Most of us like a clear-cut reason in order to close loose ends. We want to understand why this or that happened. We want an answer we can neatly tuck into a little box so we are comfortable and can manage the uncertainties with a greater certainty, or so we think. Our comfort and security often does not extend to the spaciousness of an open end, to not knowing why. This is not surprising since past studies indicate many people have a low tolerance for ambiguity. Marilyn Ferguson, in her pioneering book "Aquarian Conspiracy," put it nicely:  "Uncertainty is the necessary companion of all explorers."

Many of us lose touch with the cycles of life in which equal but opposite states coexist. A sure chance of winning is a state whose opposite is always present, even if in the background. When winning predominates, as it had in Smarty Jones' previous eight races, losing is the probability waiting to assert itself. We all have our own goals, hopes, and aspirations, but sometimes these have to be surrendered in order for the magic of a new beginning to arise. The time of releasing one state often precedes a larger, unknown circumstance yet to unfold. Thus, White Eagle counsels us to work with the smallest detail in the present moment. If we keep our eyes straight ahead on the one race we are presently in—whether a seemingly small job or a larger, more public task—putting ourselves into accord with the Law, we draw to ourselves the fulfillment of our heart's dreams. It is not whether we are winning or losing, because that is not what life is about, but rather the quality of what we are creating that will one day manifest itself in earned rewards and happiness. For each of us has the power, in our own way and in our own capacity, to create the circumstances through which we one day step into the winner's circle of our own Triple Crown!


©

© Zane Maser 2004.

Protected by Copyscape Web Copyright Protection