“When our bodies are grounded in the present moment, we are quiet enough to become attentive to the uninterrupted symphony of praise that rises from every corner of creation. . . . We become available to the mixture of joy and sorrow we’re carrying . . . available to each other. We also become available to Another.”- Summer Joy Gross
“Lord, not you / It is I who am absent . . . / I stop / to think about you, and my mind / at once / like a minnow darts away.”- Denise Levertov, from her poem Flickering Mind
In Chapter 10 (“Holy in the Mundane”) of The Emmanuel Promise, Summer Joy Gross observes that in a season of heaviness, we need to guard joy. Because, in times of intense stress, we struggle in our relationships. Instead, we stay stuck in survival mode. Furthermore, our minds swoop into the future as we manufacture stories of fear. Hence, we find it an exercise in futility to be present to God.
Consequently, the first pathway to presence centers on grounding in our bodies and grounding in the present moment. In addition, to calculate the future on ruminate on the past blocks our ability to be present to those in front of us.
Above all, to bring our awareness to the Emmanuel requires a stillness. But that’s hard to maintain in our fast-paced life.
So, Summer adds, it’s quite easy to become consumed with ephemera. Those thousands of details that make up human life. In fact, a woodcut of the Holy Family by Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer included a mayfly. Ephemeroptera in Latin. Hence, Durer’s woodcut serves as a nod to the juxtaposition between God’s solidity and the brief nature of human life.
In conclusion, Summer shares a discovery:
“I’ve discovered the beauty of holding an open-ended question with God, not demanding an answer but inviting connection. . . . Relationships, even relationship with God, occurs in the present moment, but so often we are distracted elsewhere. Our senses root us in the here and now. Present moment awareness is the on-ramp to practicing the presence.”
Today’s question: What helps you become attentive to the uninterrupted symphony of praise? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Present moment awareness”