Being Present

Why is showing up, moment to moment, so hard? My mind swoops and dives forward and backwards in time. I miss the smell of the air, the spring buds, the silliness of my puppy... I was reminded of this by 2 people this week. My friend Beryl Singleton Bissell commented on last week's quote and question:

"To allow oneself to be carried away
by a multitude of conflicting concerns,
to surrender to too many demands,
to commit oneself to too many projects,
to want to help everyone in everything,
is to succumb to the violence of our times."

~Thomas Merton

How am I succumbing to the violence of our times?

Beryl wrote back: "I find myself succumbing to this violence each time I forget to be fully present to whatever it is I am doing. Instead I rush through things to get to what should be an “attitude” but instead has become a “place.” (you can read more of her reflection on her blog: http://findingtimeforgod.blogspot.com/2010/03/violence-of-daily.html)

And then, in another conversation about self-care, a friend said she relishes the small slice of time she takes each morning before her young children wake.

What would this week be like if I were a little more present? Relishing the moments?