Breathing in Eternity
"Just being alive, it can really hurt
And these moments given are a gift from time" ~ Kate Bush, "Moments of Pleasure"
Today I listened to this song as I was driving to work. The sun was out, the scenery was beautiful, and the breeze blowing in my window was lovely. I realized that I have been rushing at a headlong pace for a year and half trying to finish my undergraduate degree - the quote that comes to mind is from Insomnia by Stephen King: "Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else."
Tomorrow is the baccalaureate mass and commencement ceremony for Ursuline College. Although I still have a few summer classes before I'm officially done, I am coming on a turning point. I also just completed my third year of Education for Ministry (EfM), so now I find myself with less to do in the evenings, less reading to complete, and I can't help but feel like... now what?
Maybe it's not about trying to fill in the time. Maybe I need to stop and think before I try to keep my mind constantly busy, being always on task, rushing through each thing so I can do something else. Lately I've been getting subtle reminders that there is more to life than completing tasks - which of course I knew, but I needed to have it hit me a little harder. Another nudge came last night when I read the following:
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
the treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
~ R.S. Thomas, "The Bright Field"
I have my plans, my dreams, things I want to accomplish. But for now, I think I'm going to relax and just bask in the beautiful spring time. I've earned a bit of rest at this point. Now is the time to be mindful of the beauty and take in those moments of pleasure that I've been given. God, grant me the ability to savor life instead of always rushing through it. I'll be back on task again soon enough. Let me have a chance to breathe you in.
If you're reading this, I have an assignment for you: take 5-10 minutes right now and just be. Just breathe. Just listen to what the Spirit has to say.
And these moments given are a gift from time" ~ Kate Bush, "Moments of Pleasure"
Today I listened to this song as I was driving to work. The sun was out, the scenery was beautiful, and the breeze blowing in my window was lovely. I realized that I have been rushing at a headlong pace for a year and half trying to finish my undergraduate degree - the quote that comes to mind is from Insomnia by Stephen King: "Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else."
Tomorrow is the baccalaureate mass and commencement ceremony for Ursuline College. Although I still have a few summer classes before I'm officially done, I am coming on a turning point. I also just completed my third year of Education for Ministry (EfM), so now I find myself with less to do in the evenings, less reading to complete, and I can't help but feel like... now what?
Maybe it's not about trying to fill in the time. Maybe I need to stop and think before I try to keep my mind constantly busy, being always on task, rushing through each thing so I can do something else. Lately I've been getting subtle reminders that there is more to life than completing tasks - which of course I knew, but I needed to have it hit me a little harder. Another nudge came last night when I read the following:
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
the treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
~ R.S. Thomas, "The Bright Field"
I have my plans, my dreams, things I want to accomplish. But for now, I think I'm going to relax and just bask in the beautiful spring time. I've earned a bit of rest at this point. Now is the time to be mindful of the beauty and take in those moments of pleasure that I've been given. God, grant me the ability to savor life instead of always rushing through it. I'll be back on task again soon enough. Let me have a chance to breathe you in.
If you're reading this, I have an assignment for you: take 5-10 minutes right now and just be. Just breathe. Just listen to what the Spirit has to say.
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