Sunday, July 3, 2011

"When at Last I Took the Time..."



 "When at last I took the time to look into the heart of a flower, it opened up a whole new world; a world where every country walk would be an adventure, where every garden would become an enchanted one."  
~ Princess Grace of Monaco

"When at last I took the time..." 

Let me tell you about a lesson I'll never forget.  It was a Wednesday or Sunday night in the middle of Summer.  There weren't many teens in the youth group that evening, so we walked outside to a picnic table to talk and pass time... or so we thought.  As we found a seat, we were told to be quiet... and to close our eyes.  Someone mumbled something, and so we were told again... just be quiet and listen.  We started looking at each other... what was going on?  "Ahem...eyes closed..."  I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking ~ Is this really our lesson? What is this?   

After several minutes of silence, we were asked to say what we'd heard.  What?  No one talked... there was nothing to hear!  Our youth leader asked, "Didn't you hear the birds?  Kids singing inside?  Cars passing by on the road?  The sound of the breeze blowing through the trees?  Listen again."

Wow, okay... I was surprised I hadn't noticed those things.  Nothing was wrong with my hearing.  I just tuned everything out because I was too busy thinking.

I find myself, at the end of the day especially, contemplating that lesson all over again...  What did I really take the time to hear today?  What did I really take the time to see?  What didn't I... what did I miss?  Sometimes I get so caught up in my thoughts I miss what's right in front of me.  Sometimes it's best to be silent and live in the moment. 

So, this is what I've learned: Take time to really experience your life right now.  Don't get so caught up in thoughts and dreams that you miss what wonderful things you already have... at this moment.

When at last I took the time...
I'll leave it up to you to finish the rest.

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE this exercise...it forces you to actually "listen" to the sounds around you by allowing your sense of sound to rise to the top of your consciousness.

    ReplyDelete

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless.”

~ Mother Teresa