#MonthOfMinistry Day 9
Presence – the still place where we experience being fully here, in the world, in the present moment, and remember that we’re all interconnected in a deep way. The place where, as John O’Donohue puts it, we “experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder”. There are many different routes into this sense of presence: through poetry, through music, through a walk in nature.
For me, this morning, I found presence through my meditation practice. I’m currently following Henry Shukman’s series of mediations on his app called The Way. This week he’s focusing on the Zen tradition of koan practice, and he was talking about the Zen monks on pilgrimage who have no fixed destination but “go where the wind takes them”. It’s about simply being, without striving towards goals. “No known destination, but ready to be carried, to let causes and conditions ripen, and unfurl and unfold.”
Of course there’s a paradox there: whilst we’re letting go of a goal we also have the goal to let go of striving. Today’s koan was “Not knowing is most intimate”, and maybe letting go of the need to have a rational answer to the paradox can lead us into presence.
For Presence
by John O’Donohue
Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.
Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.
Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.
Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.
Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.
May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.
May anxiety never linger about you.
May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.
Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.
Photo: Jane Lewis