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Stop! And Smell the Flowers
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Blessings to you!
The STOP sign above, is located on the road I take every day to and from Jazzercise. I noticed it last year, thinking "I want to take a picture of that to share in one of my Meta-Musings, to remind people to stop and enjoy the precious NOW moment." Last year, mind you!
This year I watched every day as the leaves, and then the stems and buds of the Brown Eyed Susans appeared. The flowers are neither as tall, nor as full as they were last year...but they are beautiful nonetheless. What an affirmation of the importance of being aware every moment of every day, and how quickly it passes.
In Unity we teach "Life is Consciousness." The definition of "consciousness" is: the sense of awareness; knowing.
It is easy to think, "Well, I'm walking around. My eyes are open. I'm thinking and speaking, so clearly I am conscious." Not actually! So often, burdened with too much to do with too little time, we go through our days on auto-pilot. It is scary when we think that we are driving cars, caring for others, cooking, etc. not fully aware.
Where are we when we are "consciously unconscious?" We may be in the past, re-hashing an argument, or longing for something that once was. We may be in the future, dreaming of some future good, or experiencing fear or anxiety of the unknown.
This is all well and good on occasion, but if we make it a habitual lifestyle we will one day discover that our life (or this life experience) has passed by, and our potential was not realized...our life was not lived to the fullest.
While the texting and technology we so often complain about are a part of the problem, they are certainly not the whole problem. Distracted living is the whole problem. We are living in a world of unlimited amazement and beauty. Even amidst negative experiences, the sun shines, stars twinkle, birds sing, and good happens. When we are distracted by our perceived "important stuff," we miss it all!
Consider the commandment to "keep holy the Sabbath." What if we really took time for a whole day each week to relax, reflect, and be fully conscious of the Now Moment; the essence of life itself, and renew our relationship with God? What if we took time each day to "check up on ourselves" to see how consciously we are living? What if we made it a point to stop and take in the beauty of the world around us; the magnificence of God's creation?
Our moment-to-moment thoughts are like bricks building the foundation of our lives. On a solid foundation, we can build a wonderful life. Think on these things.
Rev. Alicia Leslie
Spirit of Unity
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