now
A chilling rain invades the new day. The steady breeze delivers the humid intruder and reminds us that the season of steady warmth has not yet descended. We could easily go to the place that laments what was or yearns to experience what we wish to come. Neither lamentations nor yearnings serve this day well. Here, right before us, is the presence of mind, the comfort of grace and the calmness of mercy that pervades this place called now. Too often we scurry past this place of present, dragging bags of past or kicking cans we believe are useful at some point to come. As we lay down our bags and leave the can un-kicked we are present to enjoy that fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) May your “now” be filled with good fruit!
The light of day glows dimly through the hovering clouds saturated with a cooling mist of rain. It hardly seems daylight though the clock tells otherwise. Everything seems to be still in the midst of the overcast soup. Experience speaks the language of recollection that cloudy days ultimately give way to sun lit skies that bathe the landscape in brightness. The memory of days illuminated gives food for the journey through today’s banquet. As one goes about the chores of this day, the presence of the hovering clouds and saturating cool mist is somehow lost in the midst of the work at hand. Diminished are the longings for what has been and the desire for what will be as the attention to what is becomes fully engaged. Whatever the challenge of the present, it is best met with the attention to “now” as memories and hopes are safely stored in the arsenal of perseverance. Discovering the richness of today gives substance to tomorrow’s reflections!