The day started with noticing that my freshly printed boarding was for a different flight that I thought I was on, followed by leaving my cell phone on the shuttle bus. Add in a crowded train because two cars were “dark” (no lights, no AC). A cancelled flight, weather delays, you name it — sitting in the Newark airport for 7 1/2 hours, then flying 2 hours to Atlanta, having the slip from Park & Ride that said Lot A, but the car was in Lot C, and a 2 hour drive home translates into many opportunities to Practice the Presence of God.
I’ve been reading Ekhart Tolle’s New Earth lately. I was working on it in the airport. And so, I decided to “practice.” How many times did I pause, step back and focus on “Am I still breathing?” Add in the repetition of “This too shall pass” augmented with remembering Julian of Norwich’s declaration of “All shall be well. All manner of things shall be well.” A good day all in all.
It’s much easier to survive such a day if you can rest in the present moment. Learning to accept what is, right now and not try to drown that sucker seems the better way through.
As I write this, I think of Jesus’ words in Luke 11:
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“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’
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But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
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Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”
It seems that if all you do is turn that devil out by ignoring it, or placating it or ignoring it, it will come back with reinforcements. It seems that spirit is looking for rest. So, instead of driving it out, put it to rest. Embrace it, shine the light on it, transform it. Let it rest — or rather, put it to rest. That way, you can be done with it.
And so, as each problem reared its ugly little head yesterday, I found that it was best to just go ahead and put it to rest. Look at it – observe it, refuse to give it power, tuck it in, put it to bed. Put it down.
Now – I wonder if I can remember that today…