Ever tried squeezing a wet bar of soap? You do not get what you try so to hold. That is what the present moment is like. If you grab it and try to force something you loose it. If you let it sit in your hand for a moment and then gently put your hand around it, you benefit from a renewing power.
I'm working this week with the subject of "time." I am one of those people, if I am not careful, will see the present moment as simply a crack between the past and the future. I miss the present moment because I'm squeezing it with ruminating on the past or worrying and thus trying to control the future. In so doing I miss the present.
"Hymn of Promise," offers these words:
In our end is our beginning, in our time infinity
In our doubt there is believing, in our life eternity
In our death a resurrection, at the last a victory
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see "
The most ancient form of prayer is the "breath" prayer because it begins and ends with watching one's breath. There is no magic here. In order to "watch" your breath you have to be in the present moment. Ancient spirituality states clearly that God can only be truly present to us in the present. God cannot be found in the reliving of the past or in the worry about the future. To be present to oneself is the beginning point where God can make contact with us.
It is no accident that the word for "spirit" in the Bible is the same word for "breath" and "wind." So...may we not squeeze the present moment so much this day that we miss the chance to take some very deep breaths and thus live life instead of simply passing through life.
Bless you,
jody jseymour@davidsonumc.org
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