Presence

Be in the moment.
Be present.
Live Love here and now.

 

I'm working on it.

 

It's interesting how our culture, our western way of thinking, pushes us to dwell on just about anything but the current moment. We're taught to set goals and strive to reach them. Then we focus so much on the arrival point in the future, that once we're there, never having lived in the moment, we have no idea how to enjoy the point of arrival. We aren't taught to be content, but to live for the future. We say, I'll be so happy when I get that degree, when I meet that perfect someone, when I save enough for a new car/house/vacation, when my kids are this old or that old, when I can finally afford to travel, when I finally have time to do this or that....

Do we live for the future so much that we miss living?
Is there any wonder we find it hard to hear God speak to us when we're hardly ever present in the moment?

On a daily level, I struggle with things like this all the time...

• I miss the joy of tucking my kids in at night, when I'm just thinking about the alone-time Leon and I will have after they are all asleep.
• I miss the message in the sermon, when I'm making my afternoon to-do list, or planning lunch in my head while I sit in the pew.
• I miss the beautiful cloud formations and the sweet face of the kid at the busstop, when I'm driving home zoned-out, creating a plan of action for the next task.
• I miss a gift a person has for me, because I'm not really listening or paying attention to what she or he has to say or offer. 

How do we live present in the moment, AND still plan for the future, learn from the past, and make it through the busy suburban life?

I don't yet fully know, but here are a few ideas I'm holding on to, for now:

 

• Being content with who I am, what I have, and where I am. In doing that, I let go of the past and the future, and can rest fully - with freedom - in the present to enjoy life and allow Love to flow freely through me.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be g

iven to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow

will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:33-34

• Breathing deeply and feeling the God-given life within my body. When I do that, I connect with my soul, the essense of who I am, and it brings security in something/One greater than I.
• Having an awareness of my breath, my thoughts, my self, and of others, the Holy Spirit, the world around me. That "tuning in," so to speak, allows the quiet whispers of the Divine to direct me.

But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. 

 Job 32:8

• Seeking silence whenever I can - in the shower in the morning, when I'm alone in the car, meditating on His Word and in His Presence. Silence is a wonderful gift - new to this busy, extroverted, talkative me. I am so grateful God led me to seek silence in 2012 as a "New Year's Resolution" kind of challenge. It has been the catalyst to wonderful deepening communion with God. 

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalms 46:10

I have been much more peaceful and less anxious since I've been on this particular part of my journey. And because of that I feel like love has flowed more freely through me. Feel free to join me. Let's make this world a more loving place. :)

 

Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.

John 13:34-35