Recently, I was asked what I think it means to have grace. My answer was that grace and kindness are much the same. Both are gifts and there is no better gift than being kind. Having grace is a means to obtaining peace. The more I thought about it, the more it occurred to me that we don’t just have grace. Grace is a word full of action. We give grace. We grant grace. Grace, in my opinion, can be summed up in an acronym: Giving Respect Acceptance Compassion and Empathy. These are gifts we should generously be offering one another. Everyone deserves respect, acceptance, compassion, and empathy. Offering grace is a choice that becomes a way of living when practiced regularly. Acting with kindness is practicing grace, and practicing grace creates peace.
In order to be more graceful, give respect. To be more accepting set aside judgements towards one another. Recognizing that life is different for everyone is having compassion. Empathy comes into play when we can feel for another without having to live the experience of another. Letting go of control and allowing life to unfold as it will anyway, is having grace. As a giver or a receiver, grace can be had, given, granted, and experienced. Accepting people and situations as they are, is living gracefully. Try to apply grace and kindness as often as possible. When we get out of our own way, grace takes care of the rest. The more we fight against grace the more difficult life becomes.
Being kind and applying grace is an easy way to simplify life. Choosing to live gracefully allows you to sit back, relax, and let grace to work her magic. There is no better gift, to give or receive, than Grace.
