Life can sometimes move at a dizzying, frantic, frenzied pace. We see ourselves through the lens of accomplishment and achievements. We judge ourselves by things we can cross, check-off, and move from our "to-do" to our "to-done" list.
To slow down.
To breathe.
To be.
We are not taught or told such practices are not just good for us, such moments are needed and necessary. It is a lesson I learned (and keep re-learning) each day on my sabbatical. Some of the most meaningful moments happened serendipitous. Some of what my camera and I conspired to capture together in a single frame was not even on my radar before I found myself on that holy ground. In the coming weeks you will see and hear stories about sensing God on the beach ~ which is not usually a place I go to encounter the holy. Or sensing God on a crisp, chilly, rainy day in Alaska ~ when this Florida adopter was bundled up in multiple layers. Or encountering traces of grace when a butterfly landed for the blink of an eye as the photo above shows.
What all of this reminds me is to stay in the present moment. This is not easy. We get wrapped up in carrying the past with us. Like stones, we carry grudges or ruminate on what someone said or try to solve a problem someone just told us. We get concerned about the future. We come up with mathematical formulas to solve. Like, if this happens, then I will do that, and then I bet so-and-so will do that, and I will totally do this ~ and be the hero!
The present moment of a butterfly briefly landing before sailing off in the current of the winds cannot be observed fully when clouded by the past or future.
The present moment is full of traces of God's grace. Or to quote W.B. Yeats, "The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” Let these words guide us as we enter the season of preparing anew/afresh for Christ's birth.
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