When the Buddha was asked,
“Sir, what do you and your monks practice?” he replied, “We sit, we walk, we eat.”
The questioner continued, “But sir, everyone sits, walks and eats,”
and the Buddha told him, “
When we sit we know we are sitting, when we walk, we know we are walking, when we eat, we know we are eating.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Lving Buddha, Living Christ
Waiting
Holly W. Whitcomb, in her book Seven Spiritual Gifts of Waiting, begins this way: “I hate waiting just about as much as anything in this world. I will not eat in a restaurant if I have to stand and wait. I will not even approach a freeway entrance if there is any possibility I will have to sit in traffic…. I obviously could use a good dose of Advent.”
The season of Advent, more than any other time of the church year, invites us to embrace the spiritual discipline of waiting. The season of Advent will not be rushed. The Advent carols must be sung, the Advent candles must be lighted week by week, and the doors of the Advent Calendar must be opened day by day. Christmas will finally come when all the expectant Scriptures have been read and when the baby has finally has been born.
One of Rev Whitcomb’s seven spiritual gifts of waiting is living in the present. We talked about living in the present often as we read and discussed The Centered Life last year. We will continue to discuss it as we read about Sabbath Keeping this year.
So, how are you doing? As we enter this Advent season, will you be living in the present? Or will you be running on autopilot? Whitcomb suggests “most of us live like God is on vacation and we are in charge, as if the planet’s daily spinning depended on our relentless productivity, on our holding up our end of the bargain. The truth is, we function much better when we are able to turn our endless work over to God.”
When Whticomb’s mother became ill, she tried to be all things to all people. She wasn’t sleeping well, wasn’t exercising, and was thinking of all of the things not getting done. She had to admit to her own powerlessness, to relinquish her worry and to trust in God. She was able to say, “It is enough. This is all that is possible.” She allowed herself to walk each morning, to relax a bit in the evening and she slept better.
Spiritual Practice: Say the words, “It is enough.” How does that make you feel? Where might you incorporate the practice of saying “It is enough” each week of Advent?
I must draw attention to the fact that Rev Whitcomb found adding some exercise to her day very beneficial (I am the Parish Nurse after all). As we enter the season of Advent, this season of waiting, this season of living in the present, please continue to care for yourself, body, mind and spirit through exercise.
Check out this link for “small steps” you can take to be more successful in living well: https://www.elcabop.org/LiveWell/SmallSteps.aspx