I watched this youtube clip about mindfulness:
and I wondered why Buddhism gets all the credit for the "living in the moment" philosophy. For me, it's very much part of the Christian message too, but one I often don't pay attention to. It's what I imagine Jesus to be like - living in the moment. And many hermits, monks, and nuns have writings that indicate this importance as well.
But I'd like to believe that it's attainable right here. Right now. Not just on a quiet spiritual retreat or secluded monastery, but in the thick of a full life - of lists and laundry and household chores and deadlines and showing love to others and caring for self.
How many times does Jesus say, "Don't be afraid"? So many. He must have known our tendency toward worry, toward fear, toward thinking ahead of ourselves, or thinking behind and re-hashing the past. I love these words:
"DO NOT WORRY about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these." Matthew 6:25-29
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| cardinal in our backyard last week |
How about you? Do you need reminders to just "be"? How do you practice mindfulness/expanding the moment?
I need daily reminders of this as well. I am so NOT good at this. I find it very hard to keep my mind from racing from one thing to the next and I know that I am missing out on things that are happening right now, because I'm so concerned about what is coming up next. When I do remember, I find it is most often outdoors, especially in spring, when I stop and look to find what bird is singing what beautiful song, or how green the trees are looking and how good the clean air smells.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne
PS Love the photo. Cardinals are one of my favourite birds and they always cheer me up!
Me too, Suzanne. Worrying about the past/future is something I'm really good at.
ReplyDeleteSince this post, I've watched a robin, gold finch, and an oriole in our backyard. And two bunnies playing. And pondered how they don't look stressed at all. :)