Morning Prayer 30/100. Here and now.
Here and now
Here and now — this place at this instant — is reality. Nothing else is. Here and now can be very hard to stay in.
What happened 5 minutes ago was reality then. The turkey and cheese sandwich I made then is still reality, sitting here on the desk beside my laptop. However, the act of making it is no more. The moment when I made it is gone forever. I can return to the kitchen, but if time and space are truly united, that place at that instant is gone forever, too.
I don’t mean for every one of these postings to be based on my morning run, but lately those 30 minutes or so have been idea-rich. This morning’s certainly was. About 100 yards out of the driveway, just picking up my slow-start rhythm, something made me think “everywhere.” Just the word “everywhere”. That took me to thoughts of “everywhere I’ve been” which is quite a few places. But I’ve friends and family dedicated travel, ready and willing to go anywhere. By travelling anywhere eventually they may be able to claim they’ve been everywhere.
Then as I looked up at the sunrise pink sky, in my mind’s eye I saw the word EVERYWHERE. And then I saw it this way: everywHERE. And then like this: every HERE.
Here and now is a phrase I often wrestle with. I wrestle because I love here and I love now. I love making the moment to look at sun’s waking up. I thrill to realizing that as I run my here changes one step to the next. I am excited by intellectually realizing that what just happened is gone forever. Forever. And that’s wrestling because I also love my ever-increasing store of memories from there and then. As well, I’m an anticipator extraordinaire who takes great joy from looking forward to whatever is to happen.
Mindfulness is essentially conscious awareness of the here and the now. It’s bringing the mind to the present time and the present place because this is the real moment. No other moment but this moment is real.
This morning I ran through the smell left by a skunk. Made me think of the skunk Alex and I spotted a couple of days ago. I wondered if it was the same skunk and immediately laughed. No, can’t be the same skunk (even if it is) and I am not exactly the same person who spotted the skunk day before yesterday. Here and now. Real time. Real place. Different skunk. Different me.
Good Friend God,
I love you right here, right now.
I receive and accept your love right now, right here.
The more completely I can BE in the moment,
aware of the place I am standing, the sky above me,
the air in my lungs right now
the more consciously alive my BEing is.
That lets me be alive in my awareness
that I am ONE with you and so with all that is.
There’s joy for me in remembering
and there’s excitement for me in anticipating.
And there’s blessing for me in knowing
that I remember and I expect from this precious moment
in this precious place.
Here and now.
Thank you, God. And so it is.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
08/27/2015
In: Commitment, Grounded, Happiness, Home, Oneness, Peace, Prayer · Tagged with: Divine Spirit, Energy, God, Grounding, Oneness, Peace, spiritual simplicity
Morning Prayer 29/100. Being grounded
Being grounded
Being grounded began early this morning.
I set out to run before sunrise. I was immediately conscious of the ground. The rhythm of my footfall sounding solidly against the asphalt. I was thankful to have firm ground to run on. To walk on, to stand on at other times, for that matter.
Crossing a side street, I was freshly aware of the knobbed ramp from sidewalk to street. The ramp serves wheelchairs, the knobs call one’s attention to the intersection. Communication with the ground.
I cut across the street and missed the ramp on the other side of the street. My more cautious step up onto the sidewalk reminded me of a couple of tumbles from previous runs. Another appreciation for the ground: it’s there, it doesn’t move, it waits (patiently) for me to land, it treats my knees and outstretched hands as gently as it can.
As all that rippled across my mind this morning, I recalled the Irish blessing that begins, May the road rise up to meet you. A road is of the ground. The ground over which we travel gives us means and ends: lets us create ways to get there then offers our destination with a welcoming glow.
By now I was sweating and absolutely loving being grounded by my moving connection with the ground underneath me. I turned a corner and ran into the rich aroma of fresh, dark mulch. Charcoal brown mounds surrounded trees and filled newly cleared shrub beds. For some, appreciating the powerful fragrance might take effort. Ground to ground. For me it was a reminder of ground serving ground.
I turned the last corner, starting the final mile towards home. The sun was directly ahead of me, just over the trees. Without looking, I knew it painted my shadow long and thin on the ground behind me. All the earthliness of being grounded now rose up, filled my heart and gave blessing to know that being truly grounded is with Spirit.
Sweet, Sweet Spirit
the ground you grant us to walk on
cannot compare
to the grounding you give our hearts
to know our creation from you,
to know our blessings as your child,
to know our security and prosperity
and spiritual perfection as your creation.
We are grounded in your love and by your love.
That fulfills our every need.
All else we seek to make us “better”
is our illusion.
Thank you, God, that we remember
from the hints and clues you offer
that our heart is grounded in your Truth.
And so it is. And so we thank you, God.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
08/25/2015
In: Affirmation, Beauty, Commitment, God, Gratitude, Grounded, Inner Peace, Joy, Life, Oneness, Peace, Prayer, Spirituality · Tagged with: Affirmations, Divine Spirit, God, Joy, Oneness, Peace, Prayer
Morning Prayer 28. Love
Love
Love gets loads of attention. It also gets short-shrift sometimes. Maybe that’s because we look and talk about love from so many different perspectives.
Saturday I drove to pick up my sister Robin from Marbridge, her assisted living home. Beautiful sunny, light traffic day. Easy breezy 30 mile drive from home to way south Austin. Earlier that morning I’d written in my Top Ten Thankful Tankful, “I am thankful I’ll visit Robin today.”
We drove to lunch at Chuy’s and Robin’s fave, the Elvis Presley Memorial Combo. A charming hostess seated us almost immediately. A friendly, eager-to-make-your-meal-enjoyable serving person took our order. The food arrived warm, attractive, and in short order.
And somewhere amid all of that, my good feelings that I have a sister and that I am able to spend frequent time with her dissolved. Don’t know when or why. I was just at once aware that I didn’t feel the love.
Certainly not Robin’s fault. She was digging into the cheese enchilada. She was answering my every question. She was as glad as she always is to enjoy a change of scenery, a spot of time away from The Villa at Marbridge. I was working hard to hide my sudden grumps.
By the time Robin had polished off the Elvis Combo and we’d shared a big slice of tres leches cake, I was feeling guilty at whatever selfishness sat on my shoulders. By now conversation gaps were longer, heavier.
We headed back to Robin’s home. I drove and she became quiet. She normally does on the return ride. I looked over and noticed her hands crossed calmly in her lap and her eyes turned down, almost closed.
She felt my gaze, looked up a me and said, “I love you.”
Loving Spirit,
the beautiful ways you let us know love
serve perfectly as evidence of your Love,
as testament that you are Love,
as assurance that we are made from the same Love.
The tenderness of loving one another
flows endlessly through our hearts.
The wonder of affirming love with
or words and deeds allows us to know
it with our minds.
The human power to let go of feeling love
is our decision, choice, and error.
Your Spirit gift that we know your Love
and translate it to love for one another
is your gift, presence, and grace.
For all the Love you give
and all the Love we are
that is the Love we share,
thank you, God.
And so it is. Amen.
Love and blessings,
08/24/2o15
Morning Prayer 27/100. Community
Community
A community run. Actually not, yet it almost seemed that way.
I passed at least a dozen morning walkers and their dogs. Everyone said, “Good morning!” and the dogs looked like they would have if they could.
Only a few minutes into my run, I approached an oncoming car, sitting dead still in the road. In a moment I saw he was waiting for two still white-spotted fawns to cross the street, very leisurely. As he eased his car back into motion, he waved. Not sure if it was at me or at the deer. Perhaps at all of us. So I waved back.
As their travels are start-stop-start-stop, the garbage collection crew I passed me several times. That happens almost every Friday and so our wave and “Hi! How are you!” is familiar. This morning my run shirt matched their bright yellow vests. The waves were bigger, the greetings louder.
Near the end of my run, I saw three walkers approaching, talking. At the same time we all saw the car midway between us begin to back out of its garage. The driver stopped and waved the walkers passed. They scurried. I slowed and asked, “You know your garbage can’s behind you?”
“Yes, I do. Thank you. I pulled back in and then out again to make sure I’d miss it.”
“Shall I move it for you?”
“No, I’ll get around it.” Pause. “I hope so.”
I said OK and ran on. I’d gone just a ways when I heard Plunk. Crunch. Scrape. As I turned to look, she smiled and shouted. “It’s OK. Just a little too close. Have a great day and thanks again!”
As she drove past, she waved. I waved back.
All in the start to a beautiful day.
Good Friend God,
I am blessed by my life’s surroundings.
I am graced by the Oneness of those around me.
I am thankful for the fullness and the love.
I celebrate these blessings in the life of everyone.
I cheer this grace filling every heart.
I magnify the gratitude with which we all receive your Good.
Thank you, God.
And so it is. Amen.
Love and blessings,
08/21/2015
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