Advent Series #11
The sound of the chimes outside my door tells me that a breeze is blowing. There are clouds in the sky, and I look forward to the possibility of rain in the coming week. How funny that I am preparing to write about living in the moment, and I find myself contemplating the weather next week. How easy it is to slip out of mindfulness! Bringing myself back to the present, I pray and know that by Divine Birthright, the Radiant Health and Wholeness of Spirit is moving through each of you today and every day; and the Peace of God fills you to overflowing as you move Gracefully through this, the 11th day of Advent.
I begin with an anecdote from the book Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh:
When the Buddha was asked, “Sir, what do you and your monks practice?” he replied, “We sit, we walk, and we eat.” The questioner continued, “But sir, everyone sits, walks, and eats.” And the Buddha told him, “When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.”
Mindfulness…presence…attention…this is yet another gift that waiting has to offer. In this season of Advent, as we are called to patiently wait for whatever is being birthed in our lives, and in our world, we are invited to consciously place our faith in God’s Infinite Wisdom, Divine Order, and Inherent Goodness. And we are drawn into a state of mindful awareness. Author Holly W. Whitcomb, in her book Seven Spiritual Gifts of Waiting, says this: “Waiting teaches us to dwell fully where we are. When we can’t control our circumstances and we can’t predict the future, we have the opportunity to live in the present.” I would have to say that this is exactly where we are as a human family, as local and global communities. We have no control over our circumstances, with the exception of our own personal thoughts, words, and actions. It feels as though things are changing so quickly and so drastically that, more than ever, we have no way of knowing what the future will bring.
(Note to reader: While we seem to be feeling the lack of control more fully right now, let us always remember that we never have control over most of our outer circumstances, and we never know what the future will bring. It is simply getting more and more difficult to pretend…the illusion of control is being dissolved…and we don’t like it one little bit.)
This being said, there are a number of benefits that come from fully inhabiting our awareness, from abiding in the moment. When I am truly attending to what is before me, worry falls away. Whatever has been, and whatever may lie ahead, are always just past or future-focused thought forms, and so they not part of my real time experience. Since there is nothing about worry that uplifts or encourages me (I have heard it called ‘praying for what we don’t want’) I can rejoice in the opportunity to be fully present, free of worry, peacefully, patiently, and faithfully engaging in the present.
Another gift that mindfulness has to offer is the experience and acknowledgment of enough. When I am actively participating in the now moment, whatever is happening…whatever I’m doing, whatever I have…is enough. I cannot pay attention to what is happening over there if I am fully engaging in right here. There is literally no awareness, much less concern, over anything else. What a fantastic gift! We are born into a society that breeds dissatisfaction, that surrounds us with messages of discontent: ‘Once you have this’, or ‘once you do that…then it’ll be enough’. Only enough never comes. What a true blessing it is to have this time of complete sufficiency, the opportunity to know and truly experience the sacred experience of taking the next breath, and the next. It is by Grace that I have the time to recognize and realize that who I am, where I am, and what I’m doing…right now, in this moment…is enough. What a gift to feel the peace and contentment of simply being.
In closing, I trust that as you walk gently through the remainder of your day, you are at Peace. My prayer is that Patience, Faith, and Presence become your natural response to Life…and that you know in your heart of hearts that, truly, all is well.
Know that today and always, I am here to support you.
Know that today and always, you are stronger and wiser than you know.
May we each live from our Radiant Light…be well…stay in touch…know our unity…and thrive!
And…may we know the Absolute Beauty and Wonder of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day, as Infinite Intelligence continues to pour Its blessings upon our world.
