Welcome

Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Presence


When you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence.
How can you love if you are not there?
                                             Thich Nhat Hanh
__________________________________________

I spend my day today
Wandering around my vast rural county

OK, OK
Don’t get excited
I only drive about 80 miles (round trip)

and all I did was talk to people
I wandered into hospital rooms
And into the living rooms of people
Mostly older and frail

Some of them close to prisoners in their homes
Due to infirmity
Or perhaps fear

Nothing profound was said
A few prayers were spoken

We talked about children and grandchildren
About aches and pains
About going home
Or leaving home

We talked about thing of no importance at all
And of things of utmost importance

But really the words were not the thing
It was simply presence
Simply being there

It is always humbling to see someone’s face light up
When you walk in the room
Very chastening when they are surprised,
because it has been so long since you have been there

but even then, it is clear that all is forgiven
as we talk
and sometimes, as we sit in silence

Being present
it is perhaps the greatest gift that can be given

for how can we love if we are not there

I can preach powerful sermons
I can play prophet
I can sing
And plan programs
I can do so much

But sometimes what is important is that I be…..
Present

Let’s be present for each other friends
Let us be there
Be there in silence
Be there with words of comfort
Be there with a helping hand
Be there with nothing at all

But let us be there
With all that we have and are
For that is the greatest gift we can possibly offer

No comments:

Post a Comment