Inbox Inspiration: December 30, 2020: The Present Moment

 

INBOX INSPIRATIONS

December 30, 2020

 

The Present Moment     

 

Dear Friends,

This New Year’s Day may be different from any other in our experience.

Many of us are glad to see 2020 end.

It has been a difficult year, and I don’t have to spell that out.

So, I am thinking that maybe on this New Year’s more than on any other, we need to be with the present moment – just be with each day as it comes to us. 

Let’s cherish and relish the present moment.

How might we do that?

Obviously, this will vary for each of us, depending on our circumstances.

But for starters, let’s put ourselves into our work, whether it’s work around the house or working at our jobs. 

Let’s relate as best we can to those with whom we live or those whom we meet in a store or in our neighborhood.

Let’s reach out to someone every day with a phone call, email, or text.

Let’s walk or get some kind of exercise that is appropriate for us.

Let’s pray, in whatever way is best for us, but including a passage from the gospels.  

Let’s read something nourishing for our minds and our faith, and also something that is fun and that we enjoy.

Let’s listen to or watch programs that lift us up.

In other words, let’s intentionally put ourselves into each day.

Let’s be thankful for the day, for the present moment that God gives us, and make the most of it. 

The following spiritual wisdom sums it up pretty well for me:

“Be attentive to time and the way you spend it. 

Nothing is more precious.

This is evident when you recall that in one tiny moment heaven may be gained or lost.

God, the master of time, never gives the future.

He gives only the present, moment by moment.”  

 

Father Michael Schleupner

 

(Quotation above from: The Cloud of Unknowing. Author unknown. Spiritual guide on contemplative prayer probably from the late 14^th century.)