Sabbath revisited - Becoming awake to the moment

Still thinking about Sabbath, rest, summer. It's changing shape a bit though. It has to. Change is always happening isn't it? I was thinking about some of the responses to my first post. So many of my friends and family are in the midst of raising precious young kids. A sacred space for certain. Sleeping in and endless hours of reading and movie-watching aren't exactly in surplus during those seasons are they? But does that mean there isn't Sabbath? Of course not. Of course not. Sabbath can come in so many different ways and I think it's there for us in each season of life. It must be. So how do we tune into it? I think for me, it's simply being present. Awake in the moment. This is so much harder than we think. So much of my life has been spent worrying over what is to come. Ruminating about this or that. Anxiety killing the present moment. Much of my life has been with physical struggles - this has also strangled my present moment. Wishing for a new body, a new way for my body to work. Much of my life has been spent worrying over what others are thinking - did I do something? what should I have done? etc, etc. Ugh. Lots of worrying moments. So this Sabbath time is slowly teaching me that something else is available. Being present. Flourish where you are. I'm amazed at how it helps diminish my anxiety. And for someone who struggles with that, this is huge. That old saying - "Stop and smell the roses" - it really does have a lot of truth to it. Taking a walk with Jonathan on his last day of summer yesterday. We stopped. We enjoying flowers. We smelled them. We felt some that were thick and buttery soft. We gently held a poppy the size of a grapefruit. We remarked on the swelling bud of a flower yet to bloom. What color will it be? We smelled the massive peonies all around our town, amazed at their soft pink glow. Stunning flowers everywhere. These things help me stop. Enjoy. Be. Not each day will have unstructured time to do this. But we can still be present. Take a deep breath. Stop and really listen to the person sharing with you, instead of thinking about what you will say next. (oy, that's a big one, right?). Enjoy that bite of chocolate. Really. And enjoy resting when you do sit down to your favorite show, rather than thinking about what you have to do next. Enjoy reading this tiny book with your 3-year-old and just sitting on the floor hanging out. So many moments in each day. Sit in them. Be in them. So, here's to trying to live in the present. Let's try this together.