Resonance with Divinity: Emerging our better selves in Easter PRAYERS

By Anupama Vaidya with Sunita Fernandes.      

Easter has always held a special place in our heart, symbolising hope, renewal and new beginnings through reflection and renewal. It holds deep emotional and spiritual significance, serving as a source of strength to navigate life’s challenges with resilience and faith in the promise of redemption.

This sentiment became even more poignant as the pandemic swept across the globe, disrupting lives and separating loved ones. During this challenging time, my daughter Ishita found herself stranded in Leeds, far from home. Despite the distance, Easter brought unexpected joy as she shared stories of the enchanting scene from her kitchen window. There, she marvelled at the sight of large, playful bunnies frolicking about, seemingly straight out of a storybook. Their lively presence added a touch of magic to the lonely days of lockdown. As Ishita recounted these moments, I couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth and gratitude, knowing that even in the midst of uncertainty, Easter brought us closer together, reminding us of the beauty and resilience found in the simplest of joys.

The hopping bunnies with the blossoming of spring around Easter brings with it the vibrant promise of new life, following the bleakness of the cold, dark winter season. It's truly a blessing to witness nature at its most resplendent, as the solstice gently ushers in longer, brighter days. This awe-inspiring seasonal shift serves as a poignant reminder that change, while often challenging, is an inherent part of every living being's journey. As we journey from darkness into light, this transition calls for significant preparation, patience, and above all, hope.

As we welcome the enchanting season of Spring, and in our own ways celebrate this season, these 40 days leading to Easter, the Lenten journey, hold profound significance. Serving as a solemn reminder of our mortality, over the past few years, with Sunita’s integral presence in my life, has taken on even deeper meaning in my life. Commencing on Ash Wednesday, it has been a great pleasure to be with her spending moments to understand the period from Lent to Easter. Expressing my gratitude to Sunita for filling me in with perspectives and engaging my reflections. This Easter, dedicating a few moments to embark on a meaningful exploration of our inner selves, transitioning from the tangible to the profound. Our engaging contemplation and ponderings this season have thrown to us several reflective questions to challenge ourselves, exploring the profound significance Easter with its Prayers brings for each one of us.

Persistence & Perseverance.

1. Do you maintain your resolve and stand firm in the face adversity, challenges, or obstacles?

2. Are you lured by fleeting or temporary comforts (such as hunger and temptation), causing you to lose sight of your larger aspirations?

3. Do you demonstrate strength to persevere your commitments? Do you follow through the last mile and travel the extra mile, pushing beyond your limits to achieve what you aspire to?

4. Are you actions, habits and behaviours are congruent with size and scope of your aspirations?

5. When faced with setbacks, or when pursuing your goals, do you reassess your approach and adapt as needed, or do you persist with the same strategies regardless of the outcomes?

6. Can you identify the lessons learned from past challenges and use them to fuel your determination and perseverance in current endeavours?

Resilience & Reflections.

7. How do you bounce back from setbacks with resilience?

8. Where do you find the inner fortitude to overcome adversities?

9. In your days are filled with countless routines, commitments and challenges that consumes most of the time and attention, amidst this life’s busyness, do you take moments to pause and reflect on your inner self and being?

10. Do you prioritise your goals to avoid distractions, optimize your time, focus on how to improvise things?

11. Are you dedicated to evolving into the best version of yourself?

12. Can you identify patterns or recurring themes in your experiences, and do you reflect on how they shape your perspective and actions moving forward?

Assurance & Appreciation.

13. A cornerstone of resilience, what gives you the confidence that behind every challenge lies a hopeful outcome?

14. How do you find comfort and confidence to deal with the setbacks or challenges? From where do you draw the strength that assures you of brighter days ahead, even in the darkest of times?

15. Have you expressed gratitude and appreciation for your life and being?

16. Have you taken the time to appreciate your existence sincerely?

Yielding & humilitY.

17. Are you willing to surrender yourself and your personal agendas; and open yourself to receive divine  guidance, wisdom & direction?

18. Do you trust in a greater plan beyond your own and demonstrate the humility, trust and faith in this divine plan?

19. Can you humbly acknowledge your limitations, and recognise that true strength stems from aligning our hearts and minds with the divine purpose?

20. Are you able to release the burdens of the past, the worries of the present and fear of the future, and find solace and contentment in surrendering to the divine love and wisdom even amidst life’s most challenging circumstances?

21. Are willing to recognize who you really are, with your strengths and flaws, without any judgement and strive to improvise through continuous learning & growth?

22. Are you able to recognise your own mistakes and flaws and forgive yourself? Are you humble to acknowledge you have a lot to yet learn?

Endurance & Empathy.

23. Are you strengthening your endurance and your mind’s ability to withstand challenges, stress and adversity?

24. How are you fortifying your inner strength to help you regulate your emotions to tide over the difficult situations with clarity and composure?

25. How are you unlearning and relearning, adapting and reinventing yourself to handle the pressure with a sense of inner calm and confidence in facing life’s challenges with resilience, discipline and determination?

26. Are you attuned to the emotions and experiences of those around you? How do you cultivate empathy and understanding others and their dilemmas, challenges and emotions while maintaining self-awareness and understanding your own feelings?

27. How do you prioritise self-care and compassion for yourself amidst your efforts to empathise with and support others?

Restoration & Renewal.

28. Do you find yourself clinging to past grievances & grudges or are you able to let go of them to embrace renewal, rejuvenation and restoration? 

29. Are you giving time to heal and care for yourself?

30. What actions do you take to nurture and restore yourself mentally, emotionally and spiritually? 

31. Are you prepared to experience and welcome your revitalised and renewed self?

32. Have you identified your habits, behaviours or environment that drain your energy or contribute to feelings of depletion, and what steps are you taking to remove or mitigate these factors in order to foster restoration and renewal?

33. How do you ensure that your journey towards restoration and renewal is sustainable and on-going rather than a temporary fix?

Strength & Self-Control.

34. Does your inner strength empower your mental fortitude, emotional resilience and spiritual vitality to withstand adversity & face challenges with courage & grace?

35. Are you cultivating a positive mindset and adaptability to cope with stress, setbacks as well as in your perseverance in your pursuit of goals and aspirations?

36. Are you in tune with your emotions and spiritual strength, connecting with your higher purpose?

37. How are you empowering yourself to experience the Gift of Life with grace?

38. Are you in love with your self and those whose lives you touch?

39. Are you giving the strength to others as you rejuvenate yours?

40. What will it take to exercise self-control in your actions and decisions as your build your strength and commitment?

 

40 days, 40 reflections later, our journey has led us to see Easter through the lens of  

“PRAYERS”

Persistence, Resilience, Assurance, Yielding, Endurance, Restoration and Strength 

complemented by

Perseverance, Reflections, Appreciation, humilitY, Empathy, Renewal and Self-Control.

For both of us and our daughters, these “PRAYERS” in Easter have been the guiding force that carried us through the life’s trials and tribulations and will continue to do so. Easter, therefore, continues to remain a deeply soulful period as we prepare for the upcoming year, realigning and rejuvenating with hope, faith and strength.

As Lent culminates with the Paschal Triduum (from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday), this journey from suffering and darkness to Resurrection of Jesus, guides us toward the light of hope. It serves as a reminder that despite challenges, hope always awaits, ready to shed the burdens of negativity and lead us to new beginnings. Through introspection and renewal, we emerge our better selves filled with wisdom, strength and resilience.

On this blessed occasion, we extend heartfelt gratitude and joyous wishes for a peaceful & meaningful Easter to you and your near & dear ones!!!

Yours Truly, 

Anupama and Sunita.