Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? – Mary Oliver
Your One Wild and Precious Life – The Time Series – Part 6
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7
Abraham Heschel, a Jewish Rabbi, and theologian said, “The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments.”
The ultimate goal of time is presence.
Busy and time poor, we run around, doing all the things, posting all the things, being all the things… and collapse in a heap at the end of the day. We work from dawn till dusk to make money to pay for things and stuff. And more things, and more stuff. Things aren’t bad in and of themselves, but when the accumulation of things rules us? When looking good on social media rules us? When material possessions and image rules us? Well, I would call that an idol of sorts.
For some of us who cry “I’m busy all the time,” I would suggest we stop and ask ourselves, “What with? What for? To what end?”
I used to believe that the “end justified the means.” Collateral damage was a sad reality, but one we couldn’t escape. So if building the kingdom cost me everything, the “end justified the means.” Besides isn’t that sacrifice and all that? But now, years and experiences later, and with that ever elusive ‘end’ nowhere in sight, I think it's rubbish.
I’ve come to understand that The MEANS is the END.
How you get there is just as important as getting there. In fact, how you do things creates the ‘end’ for you.
HereTime is ticking for all of us. We don’t know how long we have on this earth. We can’t make the clock speed up or slow down. Time moves along unapologetically, deaf to our cries for more of it.
So what do we do with our time? We work, we consume, we buy and we use. And we judge our lives and each other by the amount stuff that we have and the ladder’s we’ve climbed and the things that we own. And in the middle of all of that is family, love, friends, soccer on Saturdays, Church on Sundays, movie nights and coffees and holidays and late nights and early mornings and tragedies and happiness and shocks and surprises… all whizzing by us at an alarming rate.
The Hebrew word, “Hineini,” means “Here I am.” It’s not the kind of ‘here I am’ that you say when someone questions your whereabouts. It’s a statement of presence in the midst of transition, fear, change, and transformation. (I wrote a whole series about it).
It’s the word the Samuel responded with when God called him in the middle of the night. It's how Isaiah answered the call of the Lord: “Who can we send?” with, “Here I am, send me.” Hineini. I am here; I am awake, aware, and available to witness and participate in this moment.
It’s the word you use when you’re looking life in the face. Instead of going through the motions and filling up your time with distractions, you’re fully present in the moment.
I am fully present in my life.
I am fully present with my family.
I am fully present in my community.
I am fully present as a global citizen.
…to this pain.
…to my health.
…to my friends, conversations, sickness, sorrow, joy, peace.
Here I am.
The good times?
The bad times?
Injustice?
Mercy?
Reckoning?
Taking responsibility?
Forgiving and needing forgiveness?
Confusion and heartache?
Here I am.
There is a time for everything (Ecc 3:1), so embrace all of your “times.” No distractions. Just this moment. The clock keeps ticking; the world keeps spinning. And it will continue without your permission. So, how will you use your time? In the words of the Mary Oliver,
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?“
Go to Learn the Unforced Rhythms of Grace – The Time Series – Part 7
Written by Liz Milani
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