Enjoying the Moment
It’s neat and tidy in my household: Autumn birthdays and Halloween all wrap up by the end of Oct. 31. All that’s left is the candy. The kids have been waking up early every morning to lay out their treasures … and trade them.
It’s like they have forgotten that they can eat the treats. We ration the eating of treats. But bargaining has become the treat. They are really enjoying the process.
I think some treats have had four owners already.
Keep that childlike feeling in mind, because now that it’s November, we begin my favorite season: Thanksgiving-Advent-Christmas-Solstice-New-Year’s-etc.
That’s what it feels like, anyway. We love the holidays and try to keep the celebration going a solid two months.
I understand that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But as my kids are with candy trading, so my family is with the extended holiday season.
Trying to soak in the enjoyments–Christmas music, Christmas lights, delicious scents from the oven, playing games, visiting with loved ones–has given me a perspective on time:
Moments pass as soon as they happen. So as much as I anticipate what may happen, as much as I remember what has already happened, all I have to work with is the current moment.
Then the next.
And the next.
Stretching in the Moment
The great philosopher St. Augustine wrote of an exercise to illustrate this: You could pronounce a phrase and count its syllables. But you could only take that measurement by recalling the syllables in your mind. After all, you can’t measure two syllables at the same time: “Both have made their sound, and flown away, and passed by, and exist no more. So what now exists for me to measure?”
He gave us this straightforward sentence that is worth marveling over for a lifetime:
Time is nothing other than tension, and I would be very surprised if it is not tension of consciousness itself.
Augustine’s “Confessions”
“Tension” comes from the Latin for “stretching.” Time, then, is the stretching between memories and anticipation. We have connection to the past and the future–and we live in the stretching between.
How to Stretch
“Mark, what in God’s name does this have to do with work?” you ask. I invite you to stretch today.
That upset customer? Instead of worrying about what to say next, pay attention in that stretched moment, aware of the tension, but focused on what you can learn from the customer right then. (Attention, by the way, means “stretching.”)
That crucial work project you have to complete today? Instead of letting it take up headspace when you are supposed to be with your colleagues and employees, stretch toward the people who need your help and coaching now, and dedicate time to the project later. (Intention, by the way, means just that: “stretching toward.”)
The family members you are trying to get out the door so you can get to work? The kids you are trying to put to bed so you can finish the project? You will not get these moments back. Invest in these souls while you can. There will always be more work.
I’m preaching to myself on all of this. And preaching is an apt way to close this meditation. The New Testament book of Hebrews echoes all of this concept when it quotes the Old Testament: “Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. …” In the tension of the moment, pay attention to God.
Your Presence Is the Present
If I wish somebody a happy birthday online, I always make a joke if I’ll see them later in the day: My presence will be their present.
But it’s really true, isn’t it? Somebody giving us their time and, well, attention? Both Old and New Testaments record that God wants our attention–and wants us to give it to parents, children, spouses, neighbors. …
My kids know they will get to eat candy later. But they’re enjoying it already–enjoying it right now, in the moment.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons Christ said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
We’re getting close to Advent, a season of remembering Christ’s birth and anticipating his return. But we’ll live Advent in the present. If we dare to stretch.
I don’t know if the Advent season or my kids’ candy trading resonates with you more. But I know today will be richer for you if you can live in the moment. Happy stretching.