Now! The future is now!
How many times have you been caught up in making plans for the future? I know I do it all the time. I am always thinking about tomorrow, the weekend, summer holidays, next year, etc. etc. Either that or, these days especially, I spend time remembering the past, what happened when, and yesterday a surprising realization came to me. The future doesn’t arrive. It sneaks up on me. What I was waiting for is already here and I hardly noticed it’s arrival.
There has, for years, been lots of talk about mindfulness, “Be mindful”, the gurus tell us. I don’t know about you but I find mindfulness hard. I mean, … slowing down… breathing … noticing … all those things take concentration and, well, being mindful. In a fast paced, instant gratification world, mindfulness is a challenge. I have realized my default is to be either melancholy about the past or concerned about the future. But there we are, the future is quietly unfolding and what I thought would be tomorrow is already today before I know it.
Here at BUC we had a congregational conversation on Sunday to think about who we are and what we value, and how we could do better. It was both a looking back and looking forward event. It was history and future all rolled into one three-hour conversation among 50 friends. Future planning is important but also intangible and a bit of a guessing game. Nonetheless, by the end of the afternoon there was a great energy in the room. The stories told were meaningful, heartfelt and important. Bits and pieces of lives shared as we remembered who we were and as we joined hands to go forward into who we will be.
Today is the last day of February. The days are getting longer. The sun is getting warmer. The season is turning and the world feels different partly because the future is sneaking up on us. It is not down a road somewhere or in the page of the calendar it is here now!
