"Be Still and know that I am God"

"Be Still and know that I am God"  Psalm 46:10

Why is it so hard to quiet our minds and be?  Are there people other than me that try to be present, but when the day takes off, and life begins, can become completely attached to circumstances.  There are days when I feel like a kite flying high above the beach, dipping, climbing, twirling.  All while on the outside, looking calm or maybe at worst restless. 

" How we relate moment by moment to what is happening on the spot is all there really is.  We give up all hope of fruition and in the the process we just keep learning what it means to appreciate being right here."  Pema Chodron

Reading that this is the moment in time, right now, that we have.  Reading that my work here is to be present to that is liberating, while at the same time frustrates me.  Of course, this is the very process that lives in my head always. ' Breath and take in the liberation,' comes the voice in my head.  Why can it be so hard to hold onto the moment? 

Holding on to a kite on a windy day at the beach takes strength, concentration, flexibility and being grounded.  Sometimes it can feel like wrestling with the wind.  Holding on for dear life.  We learn ways to play with the string that impacts the flight, we learn tricks about how to move and play with the wind, but at the end of the day, the wind knows best.  Ahh, could this be the Holy Spirit? 

When I am present I find myself walking by lilies in the rain and must stop and pay attention to the beauty.  The colors and the abundance of blossoms and buds remind me of all the blessings we have.  I imagine God creating lilies and being so excited about how beautiful they were, that God couldn't stop painting them.  When I am present I am not worrying about what I haven't done, or what needs to be done, I am payng attention to what God has put in front of me in that moment. 

Pena Chodrom is an American Buddhist nun.  She has written many books, but the one I am reading now is called, Taking the Leap, Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears."  One of the things that I am reminded of as I work with this book is the reality that when we are on a spiritual path, God is never finished with us.  There are many days when I would guess we could stop and look at our lives and marvel at what we are able to do , what we have learned, who we are.  And yet, how often are we aware of all the things that get in out way of continuing to grow and learn.  How often do we fall back to a comfortable, old pattern.  How often does the critical voice drown any of that out?

"It comes from continually strengthening habits of grasping and aversion and distancing ourselves.  In particular in comes from our internal conversations-our judgements, embellishments, and labels about what's happening." 

We live in a world where we are told all the time that something outside ourselves will make us better.  Or if not better, will numb the pain or anxiety of the moment.  Maybe we just don't know how to be?  Maybe we have been taught that 'being' has no value, maybe someone said you were supposed to be productive, and after all just 'being' is not productive.  We live in a world that encourages us to strengthen those habits of grasping outside ourselves to keep a distance from that quiet place inside. 

When I am fighting with the string and the kite is dancing above me, I feel like the kite is the present moment.  I feel like the kite can rejoice in the rise and fall of the wind, can use the construction of itself to fly in a special way.  God has created us each in a special and sacred way.  We are each called to rise and fall, we are called to ride the wind in our special way. 

Today, the rain is falling, the grass and flowers are giving thanks for the long awaited drink.  Today, I am present to this moment.  Moving fast and being distracted are so easy, but with the knowledge that there can be breaks from that we can step back, take a deep breath and just be. 

"Instead of getting better and better at avoiding, we can learn to accept the present moment as if we had invited it, and work with it instead of against it, making it our ally rather than our enemy." 

What is your passion?

On this beautiful summer day I am so aware of all that I have to be thankful for.  Recently, without even thinking about it, I have began my prayers thanking God for food, clothing and shelter.  Prayer is such a wonderful, magical thing.  When we stop and pause, close our eyes and open our hearts and minds to God, it is then that we are able to hear and speak those words we most need to hear. 

St. John's has just begun a month of paying particular attention to the Millennium Development Goals.  It is great timing for me as the Rector to do this because it allows me to look at the Gospel through the lens in yet another way.  But as a woman who has lived in the United States all my life, it is a wonderful way to reflect on how privileged I have and continue to be. 

I will post some links that can give you some information as well as some of the wonderful ways that people around the world are reaching out to help, "the least of these." 

What goal do you relate to most?  What is your passion?  Find one, what can you do?