To Be
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 6:31 PM 
My thoughts wonder if it’s vacation? Lent? Something else? But, I have been experiencing a rather odd aversion to communing with my computer. My quiet time seems of utmost importance lately. I just want to be. Slow. Still. Present.
I returned home from vacation with a slight cold and it seems to slow me down even more. I find myself just wanting to close my eyes and be. No input. No output. A recent Lent reading* spoke of Jesus in the desert. I’d love to be in the desert for 40 days to just be, but what in the world does that even mean? Right now it feels like no details – no have to’s – just show up and be present to God. To be one with the world. Sit in the glow of the sun or feel raindrops on my face. Watch water trickle from the edge of the Creator’s fingers while matching the pace of gentle, falling rain. Pondering what it means to be.
"Be still and know I am God."
Be still and know I am.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.
*Luke 4:1-13
shilshole gull © lucy 2.20.10
Lent, Reflections on Life
Reader Comments (14)
We've been talking the last couple of days about just that subject of just being - to stare out at the ocean and just rest in the beauty of it all. We are truly fortunate to have these moments of just being in our lives. So I so agree with you. To just be is an amazing gift!
xoxo
I have on my iPod this beautiful hymn, Be Still & Know that I am God, by the Cathedral Singers. It is also one of my favorite lines in the Bible, a line that comes in many different places.
To be able to rest with each of these words is such a grace and blessing :-)
I can relate. It sounds like the warmth and beauty of Hawaii is now woven into your spirit. I'm picturing a golden sparkly strand braided with a hawaiian Lei, always within you.
Kayce, Welcome home. You are under the beautiful spell of aloha, a state of BE-ing like no other. BE well soon. Shalom, Laura
Lucy, What a theme this is amongst many of my favorite bloggers. May we "be" with God and with each other in whatever way is most loving for each of us. Sometimes my computer is a loving friend, sometimes it feels like a bit of a drug or addiction. May I learn to truly "be" with my computer as well. : )
Love....
Similarity among us amazes me.
As my monk mentor would say, somewhat tritely, go with the flow. Let the river take you, lucy. It won't always be exactly like this.
ss - so glad i got to share a bit of the M gift with you & CP!!! xoxoxo
claire - i imagine that is a lovely hymn. i think i have one of my own making that runs through my mind when i arrive at that still place.
ah, hmmbrd - i'm always warmed to hear and see you here! aloha, friend!
laura - we ate at a wonderful restaurant whose motto is "practice aloha." i believe you've described it better than anything i had imagined. thank you!!
rebecca - lovely sentiments from one i know relates. were the computer not linked to such an amazing community, i might be able to kick the addiction. alas, i will choose to strive for balance instead. peace.
jennifer - thanks so much for stopping by. i enjoyed my visit at your place earlier. similarities, indeed!
barbara - an apt comment for my year of water. blessings to you and the boys!
Welcome back. The stillness of being is often what we need, when we return home from a splendid vacation.
There must be something in the season...I've slowed down as well, focused on the 'important'. :)
Hi Lucy, where was the gull photographed? There aren't supposed to be gulls in Hawaii (they can't feed in the open sea, I think is the reason.) This one has sloughed everything except its perch on the rock!
thanks, tink. glad to see you.
hgf - slowing down indeed feels like the utmost of 'importance' for me right now. i can see i'm in good company :-)
kigen - he's a gull in my own back yard (almost). thanks for noticing. isn't he splendid?!??! "shilshole" is the name of the beach about a mile from my house in seattle.
This is the perfect time for us to pull away. We need this time, this introspection. Sometimes, we need to unlink ourselves from the world, and link ourselves back up to Source. It's all good.