BLESSINGS surround us always...but one of the gifts this COVID time has given us is the opportunity to NOTICE more of them. A different schedule has provided time to be more aware of God-moments we otherwise might have missed!
Our worship services have often incorporated “candle time” for going inward to commune with the Divine within ourselves. Many folks have expressed appreciation for these prayerful moments of quieting our minds and bringing peace to our souls.
Our Buddhist friends call this “mindfulness”... be-ing deeply in the present moment and learning to touch the peace and joy which are already there. Christians might say that we are touching the God-energy that lies within us, through the Holy Spirit... We all need to make time to reflect and refresh — and to remind ourselves to look at life through God-lenses...
One of my favorite ways to meditate is to absorb a poem or a quote or a Psalm or piece of Scripture. Sometimes music can help create a meditation space. I invite you to click here — let the sound calm you... And as you do, reflect mindfully on this wonderful excerpt of a letter written in 1513 by Fra Giovanni Giocondo:
“No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today.
TAKE HEAVEN !
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instance.
TAKE PEACE !
The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.
TAKE JOY !
Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty...
You will find that earth but cloaks your heaven.
Courage to claim it, that is all... “
Amen.