This post will explore the vital importance of being fully present to the moments of our lives. I know that I have spoken of this in past posts but I want to share more of my thoughts around this subject. I know for me that there are times in my life where I am more fully present with my whole body, mind and heart. No surprise but being out in nature is where I find myself most fully alive and present to the moment. I am fully awake it seems to what nature is expressing to me. When that special moment arrives I will pause to take in the fullness of the moment and "rest" in the delicacy of it. I try to sustain that pause as long as I can.
Here a just a couple of "passing moments" that came to mind.
I was recently on a walk in a local forest on a cold, sunny day and came across a slice of sunlight that breaking through onto the trail. I had walked passed it but then retreated to stand and let the sunlight warm my face as I closed my eyes and basked in this"present moment". I could easily have just kept on walking and many times I have even though I may have wanted to go back and stand there in the sunlight. As I have gotten older, though, I am realizing that there are going to be fewer and fewer of this moments left and I want to savor as many as I can get.
The other special moment I wanted to share with you was on a hike to Gothic Basin, I could hear the sound of a waterfall just ahead but hidden from our view. Both my friend Brian and I were looking forward to seeing it when I heard these beautiful thrushes singing. Thrushes sing complex mellifluous songs that are a delight to the ears. A fun fact about thrushes is they have the special adaptation of two voice boxes that allow them to vocalize two notes independently allowing simultaneous melodies in their songs. I was enchanted by the what seemed like a "call and response" between a couple of the thrushes. I asked Brian to stop for a moment so I could record the sound of that moment. We both stood there and let the sound of the waterfall and the "call and response" of the thrushes wash over us. Oh, yes that was a sweet moment and one that I likely would have missed if I did not pause to take it in. To let my whole being reveal in that moment.
We need to pause more often to slow down when something catches our eye or ear instead of passing it by! It is in this pausing, the sustained pausing, we can move into contemplation, which is "sustained attentiveness that is infused with love. James Finley"
"We rush through our day kind of noticing everything in passing on our way to something else." James Finley
James Finley is right! Let's stop passing by these moments on our way to something else! He goes on to say when we do pause though and bring our sustained attentiveness to those passing moments, even if it is an ant passing by, we can glimpse the nearness of God in all things.
"What can be known about God is perfectly plain since God has made it plain. Ever since God created the world, God’s everlasting power and deity—however invisible—has been perfectly evident for the mind to see in the things that God has made." (Romans 1:19–20)
I love this quote for speaks so loudly to me, dare I saw I heard it in the "call and response"of the thrushes on the trail to Gothic Basin and I simply paused long enough for my mind, body and heart to take it in. In fact, I made this moment into a "Nature Meditation" that I created so I could listen to it over and over!
It seems the real challenge we face is "to stay awake" to the passing moments. I know that our cell phones do provide us many benefits but they are also often keeping us "asleep" to the passing moments. With our heads looking down at our phones, we can miss so much that lies right there in front of us. Oh, how hard it is to keep awake, alert, alive and conscious to the moment.
"Consciousness comes from a wholehearted surrender to the moment." Richard Rohr
Why is it so hard to do this "wholehearted surrender to the moment"? How often I might surrender some of my attention; a brief glance or just a half-hearted effort to listen and then move on to something else. But to be wholeheartedly surrendering to the moment, well, that does take practice! It is hard work indeed!
"We can find all that is necessary in the present moment" Jean-Pierre de Causade
It is "the duty of the present moment" that we give it our wholehearted surrender!
Grace and Love abound!
John
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