10.14.2009

I'm Still Here

Over the past two weeks I took an unplanned break from blogging... it's just the way life worked out. And given some ongoing family situations, it may be necessary again. But right now, I am here! And right now, more than ever, I am focusing on the present moment.

I recently read a section in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way on "attention" that really got mine. She writes about standing knee-deep in the flow of life and paying close attention. Then she takes it further, reminding us it's what we put our attention on that counts. She paraphrases letters from her grandmother:

"Yes, Dad's cough is getting worse, we have lost the house, there is no money and no work, but the tiger lilies are blooming, that lizard has found that spot of sun, the roses are holding despite the heat."

Cameron says her grandmother had figured it out that: "the quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention."

This woke me up, made me yearn for delight in my everyday moments. So now, I am paying attention, deepening my capacity for delight.

Yes, my dad's still struggling in the hospital, there's water standing in my daughter's closet, money is tight; but a whisper of hazelnut steam rises off my favorite coffee mug, a beam of morning light peeks through the window lighting up a single sunflower, the birds outside are singing a song of freedom...

Blogging is such a lovely way to capture - and share - moments of delight. I'm happy to be back.

3 comments:

Rose said...

Happy to see you back.

Mindfulness is always my greatest challenge.

Wishing you peace in the present moment.

Kangaroo said...

WOW. This post really resonates with me today. Thank you, as usual.

SwedeLife said...

I love this. I was intimidated by the 'perfect moment' blogs when I first started blogging, but realized this is a great vehicle for mindfulness. Having your mind open to those 'blogtastic' moments. And knowing some bloggers that I do, I know the perfect picture on a blog is just a simple moment captured amidst the mess and chaos of a crazy day in a messy house with crabby people... But then suddenly you notice the light is just right, and that the kids are dressed cute, or that your special mugs looks just right against the backdrop, and I see these moments that deserve to be noticed. And in the life increases. And soon more such perfect moments follow. I think presence stretches our capacity for joy.