Skip to main content

Go Into Peace


My yoga teachers reminded me this week of mindfulness and awareness. Yoga emphasizes the practice of living in the present. In modern society with its distractions and demands, it's easy to forfeit the present moment. We cram our mind and day with exhausting activity that leaves us feeling numb. Numbness dulls our senses and defends us from the now. But why do we live like that? Why are we willing to live like mindless puppets?

Hollyhocks bear large bright blossoms, but being so tall and spindly their stalks often topple to the side. I was trying to adjust my pink one, but unfortunately, I broke off the stem. So I decided to cut off the flowers and float them in one of my cut glass bowls. The blossoms looked even prettier in my dish and made my kitchen table cheery. A few minutes later, I noticed a couple of ants scrambling around the blossoms. I picked them off; but when I turned around again, I noticed that there were more. Hmm . . . where were they coming from? I looked real close at each blossom, and again thought that I had found them all. But not . . . because this time there seemed to be even more! That's when I realized that the ants had probably been living within the blossom pods and given their watery new environment, they were being driven out. All afternoon I went through the ritual of catching the escaping ants. I even put the dish outside for a break to see if I could get ALL the ants to leave. Finally, by the next day after leaving the dish out overnight, the ants had left. Now, I could safely enjoy the blossoms on my table without their hosts sharing in our meals.

I am not too different from those ants. I realized why we avoid living in the moment. The present is not our ideal; it's often difficult, painful, and falls so short of our expectations and "what if's". Like the ants that didn't relish a watery present, we scramble frantically, run around in circles, going thoughtlessly throughout our days, trying to keep from the reality that disappoints us. So how do I live in the present?

Perhaps the answer is in the simple phrase the Master gave the woman who had washed his feet. Jesus told her that her faith had saved her and was now to "go into peace." Jesus left us peace, His peace; not as the world gives but His peace. A peace in which we do not need to be troubled with what life dishes out, nor be frightened of all the things that do or don't work out. God's peace surpasses all comprehension and keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Or in other words it allows me to live mindfully, in the present moment.

Go into peace . . live this moment in peace, in rest of mind, thoughts, and actions. Go into peace . . . His peace.

"Peace is conceived of as a state which one entering is to go forward in, so as to realize, ever more and more, that rest and serenity of soul which follow pardon, and deepen finally into eternal rest."
(George R. Bliss, DD; 1884)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hummingbird Lessons

My eye caught a small round mound stuck upon a branch.  Looking closer, I found indeed it was the start of a hummingbird nest.  And yes, I now had the mother hummingbird buzzing around my head, reminding me that I was in her space.  I have been able to witness at least 3 other hummingbird families come to life, and I was always mesmerized by these "tiny vulnerabilities" becoming resilient birds in only a matter of five to six weeks.  The nest was right out my patio door, and I had the best view to watch them daily.  I was smiling. I had a hunch that babies would be coming soon, because our hummingbird feeder had been especially sucked dry only a few weeks earlier.  One day I found at least 4 hummingbirds at one time feeding, which is highly unusual because most times they come one at a time and don't seem to want to share the space.  If they would share, it was two only at a the bar and of course on opposite sides.  I was filling that feeder at le...
Post a Comment
Read more

Awe

  The thunder resounded with a loud clap! Certainly, it came as an afternoon surprise.  The expected rain seemed less than what was forecasted, but with the thunder came a bucket of heavy raindrops splashing against my kitchen window.  I wanted to take it all in, the fresh aroma of falling rain and the beauty of water drops hitting the leaves of my nasturtium and petunia hanging baskets.  Unfortunately, the rain cloud quickly fled, running away into the eastern sky.  But then the sun made its way onto the scene, and I was drawn to a thick band of rainbow colors shining up at me.  The western sky was magnificently orange, completely bound up tight with that solo color scheme.  I went outside to catch it all before it would disappear.  Creation again was causing me to pause in awe and wonder. . . Awe is that reverential wonder, that even includes fear and respect.  It is only a 3 letter word, but it takes bigger and grander words to define it....
Post a Comment
Read more

Complicated Relationship Living

Today is Mom's birthday.  If she were here,  we would be celebrating her 109th day of life.  I can't believe that it has already been 20 years since she said goodbye to earthly living.   I was much too young back then, at the age of 45, to lose my Mom.  You always long for at least one more conversation to ask the questions you didn't get a chance to do.  You often wished you would have had more talks, especially as you find yourself on a different side of life, other wise known as the senior years. As parents we always desire to keep our family ties together and close, but it doesn't always work out that way.  When our  parents were still living, and as they grew more elderly, they of course were the bond that brought my brothers and myself together.  As adult children, we each had a unique relationship to them, but I am realizing now, that we didn't necessarily have a tie with one another.  We were children of the nuclear family, ...
Post a Comment
Read more