Being in the Now... Sunday, January 20

Every morning we have a staff meeting at 8:30am.  It’s marked by bagels and peanut butter, “camoflauged” coffee, a low down of the day’s scheduled and it’s started off with a short 5 minute devotional.  I agreed to lead two devotionals and the other day I did my second. 

My devotional – Being in the Now

“If I could just get through this class, just get through this lesson, just get through this lunch…” What teacher hasn’t mumbled something along this line?! I too am totally guilty of this.  Coaching my floor hockey is what my whole day revolves around but in focusing solely on it, I’m really missing out in so much outside of it.  I’m missing out on the now – all the great opportunities, the little moments and the chances to really enjoy what I’m doing beyond the daily hockey game. 

I read a book awhile back, “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.  The basic concept behind this book is simple – nothing exists outside of this present moment, the Now.  The only power I have to create anything is here – in the present, the Now. 

“Nothing ever happened in the past, it happened in the now.  Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now.” (pg 41)

“Where ever you are, be there totally.  If you find yourself here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally.” (pg 68)

Ironically, we insist our students give us their undivided attention and yet the attention of us, their teachers, is so divided and so often not really present.  The children are totally here, they’re excited about camp and all its’ activities, so we owe it to them to be likewise, as much as possible.   We’re here to set an example to them so let’s give them our focus and be here for them, really here, not just in body. Let’s be in the Now, if not for us but for the children.  

“Life is now.  There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be.” (pg. 41)

I gave this mini devotional just the other day but today I really pondered what I had talked about.  I lead a soccer relay game today for all one hundred some students so I took some pictures.  I took the above shot.  It’s of one of my homeroom boys who is just such a great kid.  He’s the top in the class and is a favourite among many of his peers.  I had snapped this picture as he ran up to tell me something.  And just with my simple camera phone and no photoshopping, the picture captured exactly what I had talked about in my devotional – being in the Now. 

And as I looked at this picture, I envied him. 

Running full speed at me, sporting a big grin and his eyes closed, he was completely happy and loving the moment.  The fact that he had lost some much-earned stickers earlier that day and had tripped on his way to lunch couldn’t be more further away from his thoughts than in that moment.  He was 100% in the Now.