The kids have baseball, lacrosse and wrestling practice and then there are the games, scouts, music lessons, the yard needs to be mowed, I have to go grocery shopping, I have to pick this one up from here and take that one there, I have to stress myself out and overload my schedule until I either have a heart attack or a nervous breakdown.Does this sound familiar to you? I hear it all the time from my friends and family and I know my schedule tends to fill up pretty quickly these days even without kids of my own (but I do pull nephew duty once in I while so I figure that counts). Now we all know that the world won’t end if we don’t finish the house work or if someone misses a practice but we certainly tend to act like it will. We can all get caught up in the have to dos, you know; I have to do this or I have to do that. If all people can say at the end of my life is, she was a wreck of a person but her calendar was full and her house sure was clean, I think I’ll have done something wrong. It’s not the tasks we complete on our “to do” lists that count in the end it’s the moments in between. So while you’re carting children all over the place and doing the yard work and yes, even when you’re sitting in the pew on Sunday morning I want you to be aware of the moments. Those small moments when time slows down and you think “ah this is what it’s all about”. These are the moments that connect you with God and the Universe. It may take some practice especially if you’re totally immersed in the running around part of your life but once you start doing it you will notice the moments everywhere.
These are some moments I’ve noticed recently: Sitting in the darkened church on Maundy Thursday watching Florence Studt our oldest member at 93 and the rest of the ladies who do alter care help strip the alter while James sings. Listening to the Festival Peal on Easter morning. Walking out my back door and discovering two swans on the creek enjoying a Saturday morning swim. Raking the back yard as the spring breeze blows and the dogs play (yes, you can even have a moment while doing yard work if you know how) Sitting in the meditation garden at church on Sunday with friends, soaking up the sunshine on a spring morning and watching my dog Dharma roll around in the dirt and grass having a moment of her own (dogs know about moments).
Now go have some moments of your own and by all means share them, especially with someone who doesn’t notice them which of course isn’t you any more.
“Time stands still best in
moments that look suspiciously
like ordinary life."
-Brian Andreas
