vi. Signs and Wonders - Marmalade & Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Mid-14c from mind + -ful. From Old English gemynd meaning ‘memory or thought’, of ancient Germanic origin.

Tonight it is raining

filling the soft green hollow

of my garden

with a band of showers

there is no enchantment

deeper than this moment

of elemental rain

that is as old as rain

as ancient as showers

that have fallen in this same place

for a kind of forever

world without end

but fall tonight

for the very first time.

Jeff Guess

Reflection:

'I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It's amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges.' D.H. Lawrence

It is of vital importance that we live as fully as we can in the moment. Someone has said: The past is history. The future is a mystery. The only time we really have is now - just this moment. Living in the moment takes practice because we are used to being distracted. And we should make a special effort to consciously practice being totally immersed in what we are doing for some time every day. Living in the moment is all about living like there's no tomorrow. It takes practice but in the end, will lead to a fuller life. To do this we must realize beauty in every moment, and in everyday activities. Taking notice of the world around us and focussing on whatever we are doing. Abraham Maslow has said ‘The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.’ And as the Buddha reminds us: Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Prayer:

A life lived well, moment to moment, aware, alert, not postponed, becomes a prayerful life; and prayer by and by turns into meditation. Then you don′t even pray, because the words disturb. Then your prayer becomes silent. When prayer is silent it is meditation. So to understand that existence is beautiful, sacred, that existence is a benediction, a blessing, you will have to live a different type of life, a life which is not one of postponement. This is the meaning of living moment to moment. From Lao Tzu′s Tao Te Ching.

Reading: St Matthew 6: 25-34

'Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.' NKJV

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