By Marilyn Burrell, a Prayer Bench partner and Spiritual Guide.

I’m here.
Are you here?
I mean, are you REALLY here? Present with your whole self?

Or are you drawn to thinking about something that has already happened;
a conversation from yesterday, a meeting from last week,
or an event from your life that happened long ago;
reviewing and reliving it, remembering how great it was, or imagining how it could have been different.

Are you here?
Really here?

Or are you anticipating something that hasn’t happened yet;
what supper tonight might be, the trip that needs planning,
the sewing that is waiting, or the reports to be written.

It is so often our state of being that we find ourselves lingering over the past or dreaming of the future,
when this moment we are standing in, this time that we call “now, and all that it offers us is missed.

When we really think about it, all we have is this moment.
In this exact moment, something of our life is here to be lived, noticed, engaged.
And in a heartbeat, we are into the next moment.

Practicing mindfulness and presence help to bring us to the moment we are in, return our attention to the “now”, opening us to notice the life that this present moment offers.

A simple invitation to notice a particular colour during the day can heighten our awareness of staying present to the day.
A simple gesture like eating slowly or giving a compliment can return our attention to the “now.”

After all, our life is lived moment to moment.
And there is a gift in each one.
_____

Download your Lent Calendar and practice 40 Gestures Supporting Mindfulness and Presence. Each day offers a simple gesture calling us to be present to the Holy beyond us, within us, and among us.

Follow along on the Prayer Bench Facebook Page where I will post resources, quotes or pictures and where you can share your noticings, your prayers, and your poems or pictures.

DOWNLOAD: Lent calendar 2016