Because it’s Sunday and I am a Christian I felt it was a good thing to put some soul stuff out there to you. Tomorrow, I have something very fun for a post but TODAY…you have to read and just let it sink into your spiritual pores.
This comes from a book I’m reading about contemplative prayer, Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr.
Thus far, it’s my favorite quote and one that reminds me why I am even reading the book. The focus here is to stay “present” in each moment. Try it today as you go about your life…it’s harder than it seems but rewarding, I promise:
”The present moment has no competition; it is not judged in comparison to any other. It has never happened before and will not happen again.”
So when a child pulls on your leg for attention turn and look into his eyes and be fully present. See his face, every freckle, every feature…hear his words without thinking ahead to what’s for dinner or what tomorrow holds. Take this moment and be FULLY present to it.
metaphor
from the Latin. metaphora, 
pinkbeefs said,
November 18, 2007 at 10:29 am
Hmmm, mrs. I see what you’re saying. The first thing that popped into my head was from Ecclesiastes, “There is nothing new under the sun,” and a quote I can’t remember whom to credit, “The only thing that we know for sure is man doesn’t learn from history.” I was fully present at the gym earlier this morning, though. It’s hard not to be present when your heart rate gets so high that you can barely breathe. I would love to go downstairs and look at the lovely teen-aged “Beefy, Jr.’s” brown eyes and give her a big hug, but she is at that stage of life where she just says, “Don’t TOUCH me!” rof, lol Enjoy your Sunday!
Ah then, you’ll have to have your present moment while she’s not looking!
Mrs M
pinkbeefs said,
November 18, 2007 at 11:20 am
mrs., I realized several minutes after pushing “Submit Comment” that my brain didn’t quite fully engage while writing the above, and so I hope you are able to infer what I was trying to say. If not, let’s just skip over those thoughts, because I simply can’t muster the initiative to try to fix them. I’ll try again tomorrow!
No worries, beefy…I get ya
Mrs M
pinkbeefs said,
November 18, 2007 at 11:24 am
Re the tag: “this present moment,” reminded me of this song: http://youtube.com/watch?v=7xFLWqwPEu0
Bonus! There’s a pretty picture on there that I might be able to pass off as actually having some kind of a deep artistic bent and/or knowledge. And, if not, I’m not in all that much deeper than when I started 2 comments ago, so I’m just gonna go away and do some laundry and stuff. lol
Be fully present for the laundry…let me know what that feels like…lol
Mrs M
Angie said,
November 18, 2007 at 12:15 pm
It is indeed a bloody shame that we usually have to ‘mature’ to realize the wisdom of this and of course practice being in the moment versus yesterday, in a minute, tomorrow or way down the road into a future that we don’t have a guarantee to be there. All we know is who holds the future. I do Like the quote you shared and I need to memorize it and do it. Thanks for good thoughts.
I think that when I am 80 I will be very good at this…that’s my goal, 80…
Mrs M
Angie said,
November 18, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Thanks for sharing PB. loved the video. That was popular when I was popular’ lol!
Seriously, always liked the Drifters.
Ditto PB!
Mrs M
HH said,
November 18, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Mrs. M, it reminds me of an earlier topic and where I said “you can’t revive the yesterdays and wish for them back because when you do this you wish away your tomorrows and don’t live today.” It is all about living in the moment. I think sometimes we forget and we miss so many things. Life is a series of moments strung together by faith. You have to have faith that you are doing the right thing, faith that you will grow emotionally, faith that people understand you, faith that you understand them, faith in forgiveness and faith that you have touched others by living in the moment.
PUR said,
November 18, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Staying fully present is also great advice for nurturing a happy, healthy, long lasting marriage. Life’s daily grind has a way of creeping into distraction. Yet it is the sum collection of moments together that make “very happily married” possible.
pinkbeefs said,
November 18, 2007 at 11:27 pm
By jove, I think I’ve got it! mrs., this is DEEP. You’re gonna love this!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KCfOoPCdq1E
P.S. I did become one with the laundry . . . still trying to get the Tide out of my hair. . .
CircleReader said,
November 19, 2007 at 9:59 am
Mrs. M, I just looked at your links and wanted to share with you that I had the opportunity to see Father Keating last Monday at the UW. He was part of a panel discussion on contemplation and education. The other two speakers came from the Buddhist perspective. One of the speakers hooked electrodes up to the Dali Lamma to study his brain waves during meditation.
Anyway Father Keating was very engaging. He truly showed the difference between the tow traditions while honoring the contemplation of the Buddhist. He was asked to lead a prayer at the end of the evening. In a town were the Dali Lamma is like a saint, that was quite an honor. Father Keating’s centering exercise and close with The Lord’s Prayer was awesome. The five minutes was truly needed by this busy soul. Can’t wait to read some of his books.
Sharing the journey with you
Very cool, Circle Reader! I checked out your site, it is rockin
Mrs M