UMC20220326 Stop and smell the roses

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UMC20220326 - Stop and smell the roses¶

Dom (my wife) has been working hard in our garden over the last year. The work she has done is quite beautiful and shows how much of an impact one person can have if they do a little bit of daily work over a long period of time. Just the other day her roses were in glorious full bloom and it reminded me of the saying that every now and then we should “stop and smell the roses”.

I have never met anyone who disagrees with this phrase. We all agree that life is richer when we savor the moment. Yet most of us fall quite quickly into the “too busy” or “hectic week” or “work is piling up” modes of living. And when this happens we normally feel disconnected from God and disconnected from purpose. Is it inevitable that this always happens? Is there a time when we have figured out how to live a centered life always? 

In centering meditation one focuses on the breath and breathing and each time the mind wanders you gently bring your attention back to the breath. Centering prayer embodies the Psalm “be still and know that I am God”. The point is not to be able to sit in a whole session without any thoughts (that is impossible) but that each time our mind wanders we treat it as an opportunity to return to the presence of God in our breath. Similarly in life, I think that it is impossible to live the “perfect” life at all times but each time we recognize that we have entered into busyness we take the opportunity to gently return to God. Recognizing and returning to God is more important than feeling guilty for being busy.

What can you do this afternoon to center yourself? To slow down and “smell the roses”? 

Love,

Cliff