Linger Longer

A while ago I took this full-day Mindfulness Based Meditation class. It was challenging and amazing all at the same time. There is a ton I took from it, but there is one thing I remember which soars above the rest.

5 minutes.

I was told the art of meditation is to do it 5 minutes longer than I think I could. For some people they don't think they can do it at all, so 5 minutes is the starting point. For others it can be done for a while, so they simply increase their time by 5 minutes. It's uncanny what happens in those 5 minutes. Usually the most profound moments of clarity and realization happen in those 5 minutes.

Since before this meditation class I have had this saying with my church and in my life, linger longer. You know those moments in life you don't want to stop? Those moments in life where it feels like something bigger is going on? Well it's actually not these moments I am talking about because at these times we do usually linger longer. What I am talking about is the mundane moments, those moments where nothing seems to be happening. In those moments, linger longer. I have found in those moments waiting an extra 5 minutes has given me things I never thought possible.

Today, as you go about your today, stay in a space for another 5 minutes longer than you would. Take some deep breaths in those moments. Don't be so quick to rush off to the next thing because there is something in those 5 minutes which could change your life. It's happened to me more than I can recount.

Life As Mystery

I think I'm becoming a mystic. There I said it out loud. It's not a bad thing AT ALL, but I had to say it for the truth to sink in.

With that truth said, life is a mystery.

Take a step. Seriously, stand up and take a step. Did you know what was going to happen when you took this step? 'Of course' some may say, but I'm at a point now where my answer is no - I didn't know what was going to happen when I took the step. We have ideas, lots of them. Some ideas are small and some are big. All of these ideas have impact and all of them have purpose. Ideas are formulated by putting time and energy it to making it happen; putting the shovel to the ground as some may say. During the process of formulation unexpected things happen. The idea has morphed into something else, it got derailed, sidetracked, it happened to just be a thought and it's over, it is now way bigger than first thought.

Throughout life we all take steps. Some steps seem mundane like walking to the toilet and others seem purposeful like walking into a new job. These steps, each step, has a purpose and meaning. Each new step takes us into a space we have never been before. I need to say it again for myself. Each new step takes us into a space we have never been before. If we have never been to the space we are now putting our foot into, isn't this mysterious? This is exciting.

I love looking at life like this because I think I am in control, but I am really out of control. Every time I remember this mysterious life I am remembering I have put my life in the control of the One who has created me. It is out of my control, yet in full control. Sure, I choose when to walk, where to go, but in my journeys do I choose who I encounter? Do I choose my surroundings? Do I choose the people I see, the smiles I give, the energy I put out there?

When I consider life as a mystery it humbles me. The world is much, much bigger than my small little world. This does not mean my small world is unimportant, but it means it fits into a much larger picture. As I consider what a mystery life is I see new ways my life fits into the greater picture.

Today as I step, I step into mystery; I step into 'Radical Amazement' (Abraham Joshua Heschel).

We Are All Just Trying to Figure it Out

Life.

It's difficult sometimes.
It's joyous sometimes.
It's good.
It's challenging.
It's rewarding.
It's fun.
It's a surprise.

There is nothing guaranteed in life. All we know is what we are doing and what we hope to do, but anything can change in an instant. Life is a constant journey of trying to figure it out. As a parent it's most noticeable with kids. Any honest parent will tell you they have no idea what they are doing. They may have ideas, understandings, plans, but at the end of it they have no idea. Beyond parenting it exists too. University students who may have a plan, but deep down most, if not all, seem to struggle with the question, 'what am I going to do after university?'

It's universal.

Here's what I am reminding myself of today. I am just trying to figure out life and so is everyone else I meet. No one has it fully together and we are all being challenged by something. Let's join together and try to figure it out with each other instead of apart from each other. In this we can find love, hope, joy, life, and the realization we are not alone.

Admit today you don't really know what you are doing and you are just trying to figure it out. Join me and enter into a space of mystery and surprise.

Life as mystery coming tomorrow.