This Lived Moment

This morning as I was driving in to work, I stopped along a country road to take this picture of the sunrise. I love the sky and throughout the day it inspires me to remember God and feel thankful for the constant beauty that attends our experiences, whether we’re aware of it or not.

As I tapped the button on my phone to take the picture, I thought, “I want to capture this, but there is no real way to hold on to it.” How true that is. All the photos I take simply remind me of that beautiful scene, when in fact the scene itself is long gone and what I am holding on to is a memory. It’s possible–even likely–that when I hold on to a memory of beauty that is no longer here, I miss the very real beauty that is all around me precisely now.

Each moment God is present and available and blessing us in countless ways, recognized and unrecognized. When we awaken to the experience of this lived moment, we become more attuned to the reality of God’s actual presence. A couple of questions can help bring our minds and awareness to an experience of right now. In this 60 seconds, we can ask ourselves:

• What am I feeling in my body right now? Comfort or achiness? Hot or cold? Tightness or ease?
• What’s going on in my thoughts just now? Are my thoughts relaxed and easy, tight and planning, irritated and blaming, worried and anxious?
• How do I feel in my spirit just now? Do I feel grateful, safe, and supported? Disconnected and alone? Trying hard to measure up? Close to or far from God?

Our awareness of our own experience in this moment brings us back from the over-focus on the “out there” that happens in all our lives. And there’s so much to focus on out there! But our inward experience, our real and lived experience of precisely this moment, is where we meet God most intimately, if we are open to that.

At lunchtime today I’ll be sharing a presentation on mindfulness with our hospital staff. Here’s a video of the presentation, designed to be a simple experience in being present and open to this moment. If you’d like, you can view the presentation as a video here: https://youtu.be/GyL9DAehoHY

Blessings on all the precious, unrepeatable, and lived moments of your day!

Chaplain Katherine

Don’t Forget to Be Present

I was talking with a friend recently about a vacation he took to the beach.  On the first day he forgot to bring a book and was a little disappointed.  So, he decided to just sit and look at the water.  He spent the whole day just watching the waves come up on the shore and he said he never felt so relaxed and was glad he forgot his book. 

Just being present to the rhythm of nature is a gift to us.  When we feel the gentle breeze of today, the warm sunshine, listen to the splashing of a water fountain, or the sounds of birds chirping… stop and just be present to these gifts all around us and enjoy the peace they bring. 

When I stop and get in touch with the rhythm of nature around me, I feel so calm and centered, ready to enter more fully into the world around me.  I hope you do too. 

A prayer:  Lord, help me to pause and be present today to the beautiful world around me so I can then enter into this world more fully.  Amen. 

Chaplain Josh

I’ll Pray for You

“I’ll pray for you.”  Maybe you have heard those words or even said them to another.

Whatever the case, it is one thing to say and another to do. I recently heard those words come out of my mouth as an automatic response to someone’s suffering. As I heard myself say those words, I realized I didn’t have the heart behind them. So, I paused and prayed. 

The remark of concern became more than words, it became a prayer. The person’s suffering descended from my mind and into my heart as I spoke about their suffering to God. What a blessing that was.

It is such a precious gift prayer offers us, taking what we know, whatever we’re experiencing right now, and bringing it into the very center of our being and into the presence of God. 

Chaplain Josh

Light and Shadow

This morning I woke up early enough that the moon was shining in my window, covering the walls and carpet with a dappled pattern of moonlight and shadow. As I stretched and began to think of the day ahead, my mind quickly filled with to-do items and tasks I needed to complete and to plan. Suddenly I realized I had been swept away from a moment that could have been spent peacefully appreciating the beauty and quiet of a fresh new day, feeling thankful for a good night’s sleep, and looking forward to another day with God.

It occurred to me that God is in both the light and shadow, in the mindfulness and the forgetting, in the breathing in and breathing out, in the comfort and the pain we witness and experience each day. “Hello, God,” I said, letting myself love and enjoy the light and shadow on the wall.

And for a time, I rested there.

“This is the that day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118: 24 ESV

Chaplain Katherine

The Present

One author writes, “When our present situation tests and stretches us, we are tempted to idolize the past or romanticize the future. Yet the present is the only place in which we actually find ourselves or in which we are able to find God.” 

Our lives looked different before the pandemic than they do right now in the present. And we cannot possibly say with certainty what our lives will look like months from now.  But the present is where you are right now as you read these words. Take a moment and breathe in deeply. Be mindful of this present moment and the gift that it is. Say a word of thanks to the One who has given you this moment and this day. 

As Psalm 118:24 says,

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Chaplain Josh

Breathe.

When everything feels overwhelming, when anxiety runs high, when we’re feeling irritable with others and hyper-critical with ourselves, life is telling us something important: We need to take a breath. A deep breath is a simple and instant act of self-care that is available in every moment. A fresh breath, inhaled slowly, nourishes us and loosens the knots that get so tight inside. When we exhale slowly and fully, we can feel the tightness leaving our shoulders, our neck, our jaw.

There are many physiological reasons why deep breaths help us rest and reset our jangly emotions. The breath adds oxygen to our bloodstream and sends a signal to our nervous system that it’s okay to calm down now. Our bodies follow suit; we grow quieter inside, our thoughts slow, our emotions recede for another time.

Maybe today, when we feel tension creeping into our bodies and our thoughts beginning to accelerate, we can choose self-care instead of upset and remember to breathe.

Breath of Life
by Danna Faulds

I breathe in All That Is
Awareness expanding
to take everything in,
as if my heart beats
the world into being.
From the unnamed vastness beneath the mind,
I breathe my way to wholeness and healing
Inhalation. Exhalation.
Each breath a “yes,”
and a letting go, a journey, and a coming home.

Chaplain Katherine