In an environment tinged with anxiety we can find it difficult to stay in the present. We are anxious about elections, rising gas prices, the destruction of the environment, the lack of job security, aberrant weather patterns, not to mention all the personal stresses that leave us feeling like a weary hummingbird at an empty feeder. The undercurrent of angst that runs through our lives and our culture steals our joy, shaves off our hope, and leaves us feeling slightly sick and not knowing why.
A cure for this irritating inner static is not solving all the problems that leer so menacingly in our soul. The cure is bringing ourselves to an awareness of the realness of life that is before us this very moment. When we choose to shift channels, so to speak, the anxiety that holds us in its clenched fist must let us go. In that moment of freedom, we might notice the scent of freshly baked bread, or the cool touch of a granite tabletop, or the soft rainwater dropping rhythmically from sky to ground, or the warm air flowing through our nostrils, or the taste of an apple. Suddenly our heart is full again. We might even breathe a prayer of gratitude for the God who gives us life.
thanks for your insight --- i read your healing prayer every day -god bless you
Posted by: myk174 11/10/2008 6:02:01 PM
yes it's true that life is full of hardship and trials. As we grow older and older that is only the path that we are passing by. This is only temporary as long as we live there's always hope... gracias
Posted by: louie 10/7/2008 9:57:01 AM
Knowing that I need God and that I can't do it alone without Him is the mindset that I had to come to through my own awareness of my inabilities without Him guiding me...
Posted by: Anna 10/1/2008 9:47:01 AM
GOD is trying to tell us something. " BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD". But too many are still not listening. What's it gonna take. I''m praying for the whole world because what happens to the rest of world, effects us. PRAY MORE, LOVE MORE. For the sake of our children, and our children's children.
Posted by: Beatrice 9/25/2008 10:17:02 PM
On my drive to work this morning was the most beautiful sunrise - it was cherished and goes with me in my mind all day long. I am so grateful!
Posted by: Diana 9/25/2008 11:07:02 AM
It's the need to learn to live in the 'now. for when you are truly present in the now, the past or future does not exist and you are one with God. Being totally aware of what is around you and engaging in the tranquility of God's creation is all that is needed to be at peace.
Posted by: Danielle 9/25/2008 6:32:06 AM
It is good that we can recognize those feelings of anxiety when they come as what they are, feelings. Then I know to slow down, take longer, deeper breaths, pay attention and realize what I can and can't have positive effect on, recognize what my abilities and inabilities are. I'ts easier to let go then. I also learned to live day to day, sometimes moment to moment in stressful times, dealing with one thing at a time, realizing trying to tackle everything accomplishes nothing. Each person has differing limitations, and it is freeing to find one's own boundaries of what is possible. Then I'm not in such bondage to anxiety, worrying what to do. "What to do" gradually unfolds. It's not in solving the problem, but in how I find a way to live through it triumphantly(free).
Posted by: Laurie 9/24/2008 11:07:06 PM
And sometimes it is not just small stuff we are sweating. Sometimes life is simply hard. As a hospital chaplain, I am aware of this everyday with the patients and families -- and the staff -- that I have the privilege of serving. I am richly blessed! Currently, however, I am also caring for my disabled mother and her two dogs in my home while her husband has been hospitalized for the last four weeks -- with more weeks and possibly months to come. They are about to lose their home because of increasing taxes and healthcare debts and fixed incomes. And I have a husband who was injured in an explosion in Baghdad. Life is definitely very full! I remain grateful for the small (and large) kindnesses received in cooked meals from friends, daily walks, and the offer of a bath for my mom from a dear nurse.
Posted by: Stephanie 9/24/2008 1:37:01 PM
I am so anxious every day of these exact things that are mentioned in the first paragraph. I pray every day, but I still can't seem to feel God's presence & I wait for some positive news. Any thoughts?
Posted by: Lynne 9/24/2008 11:27:06 AM
I beleive The Lord wants us to SLOW DOWN, look at all the beauty around us and go to HIM, he's always there for us!
Posted by: Teresa 9/24/2008 10:27:06 AM
I take daily retreats to the garden. This is my special place where I putter with plants and often find myself in awe at the spectacle of life in my garden. These short retreats fortify me for another day of trivial distractions.I would say that it is indeed so therapeutic for us each to have our own daily place of retreat, be it a book, a canvas, a beach, or a garden.
Posted by: Kevin 7/29/2008 10:17:02 PM
This is something to copy and plaster on the fridge at home and send to every one you know...... Life is too short to sweat the small stuff......
Posted by: SusanneLynn 6/20/2008 7:58:12 PM
This piece woke me up, so to speak. Am so guilty of spending precious time being angry or anxious about all that is going on in the world; most generally things I have no control over anyway. Needed this reminder to let it all go and just , as the saying goes, 'take time to smell the coffee.'
Posted by: Misty 5/27/2008 6:57:03 AM
perfectly stated!
Posted by: cheri 5/19/2008 9:42:03 PM
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