In the Moment

The virus of distraction is cured by the art of subtraction. ~Ann Voskamp

I had to read the quote above several times.  I have been what I thought was "distracted" lately.  I have had my thoughts elsewhere and have had to really focus the last couple of weeks just to get my daily activities done in a sufficient manner.  But I realized after reading this quote a few times that I wasn't really distracted - I was just overwhelmed.

As I began to take out variables that would crop up in my mind.... the what ifs and the if onlys - I began to see a little more clearly.  When something mind blowing happens that you never expected, its normal to have your mind flood with  all kinds of scenarios and situations that may or may not be reality.  This is what causes the real distraction.  I think its normal for that to happen especially when the event defies all logic.

However, if you can just step outside your overactive mind for just a bit and see just what is before you - in that moment - without looking back or too far forward - that is when you see exactly what God wants you to see.  It's in those moments - when all the other worldly stuff is blocked out  - that you begin to see the gift of His goodness.  You see just what He has been wanting for you.  If you can just be present - in that moment and that moment only - life becomes clear, confusion fades and your heart is free to sing and dream and imagine.  

It sounds magical, doesn't it?  It is, in a way - magical and mystical.  However it is also one of the only places that an individual can be real.  In the moment is when you take away the regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow.  It's where a person can be pure again - unadulterated by the stresses of our daily routine, unscathed by our sins, and unmarred by our dysfunctional relationships.  It is where we are simply who we are, who we need to be and who we once were all at the same time.

The only thing better is to share this with someone else.  Be present.  Be real.  Be in the moment with that other person while they are in the moment with you.  It's also one of the greatest gifts you can give or get.  I can't think of anything more valuable.  It is true, unconditional acceptance at a certain space in time - for that moment and hopefully more to come.

So I battle distraction from time to time - who doesn't?  It's all in knowing when to take away the past or future concerns that nag us and just be present and grateful and calm.  Perhaps we can't live entirely in this realm, but we can visit and it's those times that we visit that we become renewed and refreshed and all the more thankful for what our lives are instead of worrying about what they are not.  It's where the foundation for contentment begins and the angst of uncertainty is abolished.  To have found this place is above my greatest blessing and beyond my wildest dream.  It is where I see God smile.