A Space For Grace

“While we’re talking, envious time is fleeing.  Seize the day, put no trust in the future”.

-Horace

 

“Stop allowing your day to day life to be clouded by busy nothingness”.

-Steve Maraboli

 

I tend to think that time is like an endlessly flowing river.  Each of us is in the river for a relatively short period of time even if we reach our perception of old age.  When we are gone the river keeps flowing.  It takes some effort to stay afloat in the river but by and large the less we resist the easier the ride.  One needs to flow with life, not fight it.  Time and life are the same thing to me until I experience otherwise.  We should seize the day and live in the moment even though I know from personal experience this is not always as easy as it sounds.  Time occasionally slips through my fingers and once gone it cannot be recovered.  I saw a meme the other night that said, “I always knew I would get old but I never thought it would happen this fast”.  It gets your attention when you realize that some of your best memories are now fifty years old. 

 

One of the best ways to slow down your life is by avoiding unnecessary busyness.  Our culture runs us ragged.  I often reflect on how I thought my life would be much less busy at this stage.  However, it feels as busy as ever.  It seems like there is always somewhere to go or something to do.  I thought by this time of my life I would be sitting in the sun watching the grass grow.  When you are tempted to do something because you feel like you should, ask yourself, “Is this really necessary”?  It may be your own compulsive behavior making you think it is necessary.  Just because your mother did something doesn’t mean you have to do it too.  A friend of mine runs a retreat house in the country.  He advertises it as “a space for grace”.  People have many different understandings of the meaning of grace.  When I use to teach a religion class to teenagers back in the 80’s, I compared grace to “The Force”.  This was shortly after the Star Wars movies first appeared.  Think of grace as life.  Find time and space in your life for just being alive.  Let the chores wait.  Do something you love.  Read a book, listen to a symphony, write in a journal, etc.  A “space for grace” can be a space to breathe, use the “Force” and become a Jedi Knight.  My apologies to anyone who have never watched a Star Wars movie.