Waiting in the Present . . .

What is the present?  The present is the gift of being Now.
We can have glimpses of being present at random moments: when we feel awe for life; when we find ourselves quietly enjoying nature, when we are brought to stillness by beauty, art, music, dance or even at times of great loss. At times such as these, we find that our minds are “still” enough to allow our bodies to connect to the present, without interference, judgment or fear.  In the present – there is a simple joy of being.  Faithful waiting teaches us to dwell fully where we are. When we can’t control our circumstances and we can’t predict the future, we have the opportunity to live in the present.

1. Living in the present calls us to “Be here - Now.”
To be here now invites us to enjoy the moment.  This challenge asks us to live intentionally in the present, to focus on what is happening now. It invites us to pay attention to learn from our current circumstances.  It invites us to forget about our waiting, to willingly be distracted by the present.       
                             
2.Living in the present invites us to relinquish worry.
The contrasts to being present are living in the past and living in the future.  We do the former when we hold on to regrets.  We constantly review things that have already happened, trying to explain them in terms of our own or some else’s actions.  This thinking can often lead to guilt or blaming. We live in the future when we make assumptions or fantasize about what could happen and then become attached to those expected outcomes.  This tendency usually results in disappointment.  We we are consumed with positive expectations or negative projections, we are not living in the moment.  When we find ourselves constantly reacting to our experiences in one of these way, when we want to be otherwise and elsewhere, it is time to be present. Faithful waiting presents us with a unique opportunity to shift gears from useless worry about the future to engagement in the present. What is good for us right now?  What can I be at peace with today? Living in the present invites us to make the spiritual leap of trusting in God, believing that God is always is near.       
                                                                                             
3. Living in the present allows us to say, “It is enough.”
Sometimes life pulls us into the space of “too muching.” We are too much wanting to be in control or thinking that we can do something without the help of another.   Sometimes life gets in the way of our routines and schedules and we find that we have to wait.   And so we have to let go of wanting to achievement, or get something done, or trying to understand, - and find that the present moment . . . is just enough.   We then are invited to let go of anxiety, worry, stress, blame or judgment and just BE in that time – for it is enough.  

4. Living in the present teaches us to be faithful in small things.
--Eckhart Tolle:
“Are you a habitual ‘waiter’?  How much of your life do you spend waiting?  What I call ‘small-scale waiting” is waiting in line at the post office, in a traffic jam, at the airport, or waiting for someone to arrive, to finish work, and so on.  ‘Large-scale waiting’ is waiting for the next vacation, for a better job, for the children to grow up, for a truly meaningful relationship, for success, to make money, to be important, to become enlightened .  It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.”

So if we would reflect on the large scale waitings in our lives. . . what would they be?    A vacation, a retreat, a chance to go to a special opportunity to be with a friend, for the world to be at peace.  And if we would reflect on the small scale waitings and how we are invited to be faithful in them, what would they look like? What would be small waitings that may happen within our homes? Maybe  to wait for faithfulness to be present to just today, because tomorrow is blurry clear.Maybe it is being faithful to living in acceptance, or joy or gratitude. Maybe it is living with forgiveness or compassion or trust.To be faithful in the small things is being faithful to the present moment, being patient with yourself and others, it is living with trusting God in the Now – in this small moment and we find it to be enough.