Magical Moments

So, last week I had the opportunity to attend a clergy women lunch.   I walked in and knew a few people so that was refreshing, and found some fellow Perkins students to talk with and some new clergy women that I am beginning to connect with.....anyway that was a very boring introduction to an amazing experience.

So, we sit down to eat and to my right is a student at Perkins, and to my left is a retired clergy (let's call her RC).

As we are talking RC ask both of us about our calling stories and how we got to where we are today.

The Perkins student shared that RC is part of the reason why she joined the current church she is at, and it was at this church that she found and listened to her calling.

Perkins' student,  "You don't know me but, you were preaching a beautiful sermon, and it was my 1st or 2nd Sunday at this church.  I did not know anyone.   I listened to your words and looked at the people and knew that this church was the place for me.  You were one of the reasons that I joined that church and this is where I found my calling."

RC, "That is what I needed to hear.  I have always felt that my service at that church was a low in my career.   It is moments like this that remind me that God is always at work.  Thank you so very much for sharing.  It was a true blessing to me."

Perspective:  You never know when you will be a positive influence to another person.  I love that, and it is also very overwhelming. Always remember, your words when they come out of your mouth you can never take them back.  Do you want the impact to be one that they remember as positive or negative way? Your words and actions influence others in ways that you will never know,well, until years later when you are retired and sitting at a luncheon and ask an innocent question......

When....if...later...

*A Day in the Life will continue tomorrow.....just felt like writing this today!***

So, this week I have found myself saying I can't wait until this.
It will get better after that.
If only this would happen, then that would be better.

Why do we do that so much?

Let me give you an example,  "Oh, next week will be so much better my New Testament paper will be completed and my teaching project will be turned in and presented.  I can't wait until next week."   Then I get to next week and say....

"Oh, this is a crazy week at work, several events to prepare for, and new bible study to write, oh, and I have a paper due on Friday.  I can't wait until next week."   Then it is next week and I say.....

Ok, you get the point.   I have found my self doing this way to much.  I wrote about focus a few weeks ago.   And I feel that I have been much better about focusing on the situation I am in.  For example, I turn off my phone when doing school work.  I stay off FB when in class (well most the time), I don't always answer an email/text the moment I get it.  I give my kids attention when they get home.  But, I am still not living life fully in the moment.  I am thinking that the moment will get better when.......

I am starting to wonder if you ever fully live into any moment?  Do you?  Can it happen? I have been reading several articles on the subject.  Here is one that I found very helpful!!


by Jay Dixit, the full article can be found here, "The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living into the Moment"

Here are the 6 steps:

1: To improve your performance, stop thinking about it (unselfconsciousness).

I've never felt comfortable on a dance floor. My movements feel awkward. I feel like people are judging me. I never know what to do with my arms. I want to let go, but I can't, because I know I look ridiculous.

"Loosen up, no one's watching you," people always say. "Everyone's too busy worrying about themselves." So how come they always make fun of my dancing the next day?

2: To avoid worrying about the future, focus on the present (savoring).

Why does living in the moment make people happier—not just at the moment they're tasting molten chocolate pooling on their tongue, but lastingly? Because most negative thoughts concern the past or the future. As Mark Twain said, "I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." The hallmark of depression and anxiety is catastrophizing—worrying about something that hasn't happened yet and might not happen at all. Worry, by its very nature, means thinking about the future—and if you hoist yourself into awareness of the present moment, worrying melts away.

3: If you want a future with your significant other, inhabit the present (breathe).

There's no better way to bring yourself into the present moment than to focus on your breathing. Because you're placing your awareness on what's happening right now, you propel yourself powerfully into the present moment. For many, focusing on the breath is the preferred method of orienting themselves to the now—not because the breath has some magical property, but because it's always there with you.

4: To make the most of time, lose track of it (flow).

Perhaps the most complete way of living in the moment is the state of total absorption psychologists call flow. Flow occurs when you're so engrossed in a task that you lose track of everything else around you. Flow embodies an apparent paradox: How can you be living in the moment if you're not even aware of the moment? The depth of engagement absorbs you powerfully, keeping attention so focused that distractions cannot penetrate. You focus so intensely on what you're doing that you're unaware of the passage of time. Hours can pass without you noticing.

Flow is an elusive state. As with romance or sleep, you can't just will yourself into it—all you can do is set the stage, creating the optimal conditions for it to occur.

5: If something is bothering you, move toward it rather than away from it (acceptance).

cceptance of an unpleasant state doesn't mean you don't have goals for the future. It just means you accept that certain things are beyond your control. The sadness, stress, pain, or anger is there whether you like it or not. Better to embrace the feeling as it is.

6: Know that you don't know (engagement).

We become mindless, Langer explains, because once we think we know something, we stop paying attention to it. We go about our morning commute in a haze because we've trod the same route a hundred times before. But if we see the world with fresh eyes, we realize almost everything is different each time—the pattern of light on the buildings, the faces of the people, even the sensations and feelings we experience along the way. Noticing imbues each moment with a new, fresh quality. Some people have termed this "beginner's mind."