From Hart to Hearts
A Message from Rev Linda Hart for the Month of February
How present are you to your days?
I thought I did pretty well at it, but then this month I took on the challenge of writing a ‘small stone’ every day. It’s a mindfulness practice offered by the couple who run the Writing Our Way Home website. The task is simple, really. Just notice something in the day and write it down. There’s no need to make it poetry or write some lengthy reflection. Just write down something you see in the day or a moment that strikes you.
It has the effect of slowing you down to really see what is there in your life. (Right now as I write this, I see that it is nearly 4.30 and it is still light out, and feel gratitude for the tilting of the northern hemisphere back toward the sun.)
In the introduction to the practice, Fiona reminded us not to just write about what is lovely and sweet, but to pay attention to all the moments that come. Don’t forget to recognise the grief, pain and loss that you experience, she said.
I spent the first few days of the month mentioning to myself that I was noticing something:
‘Look,’ I’d think, ‘there are birds on the river!’
A few seconds later, ‘Look, I’m noticing the birds on the river!’
A few seconds later, ‘Look, there are trees next to the river!’
And that would be followed by yet another recognition that I was noticing something, and so on and so on. It was exhausting.
By the end of the month, I find that I do notice more. I look out on the day as I arise peering through curtains to the garden and try to see the morning as it unfolds. When something catches my eye – like the smile on a face or the way the dawn makes frost on a car look – I pause for a breath to see it more clearly and note what it is. I notice a pain or some sadness and breathe and acknowledge it fully.
A few years ago my daughter Claire chastised me for noticing a fish jumping in the river, claiming that it wasn’t so big a deal. But noticing the days as they pass do have the effect of giving you more life, more of your life.
So try it just for today. See what happens when you write down some small moment, and then write one down again. Once you get past noticing that you are noticing what you are noticing, you may well find that you are more present to your days, too.
Linda
PS Would you like to give it a go with a few friends? Let me know if you’re willing and we can organise a week or two to try this practise together online or face to face. Let me know and I’ll arrange it!
Prayer for February
We are wanderers -- coming and going.
We are temporary dwellers in this fair place --
in hills and valleys,
in uplands and lowlands,
in towns and cities,
in nations and continents,
on this small ball.
We come and we go and others will come and go after we
have gone, as others came and went before us.
Each moment of our coming and going is precious.
Each day holds all the promises,
all the possibilities.
What we ask is that we may discern what is important --
and have the strength to pursue it.
What we ask is the wisdom to see the wholeness --
and to have the patience and perseverance to move
toward it.
What we ask is that we may walk the earth gently
and to touch those we meet with
the blessing of respect and
the liberation of love,
knowing that thereby we shall enjoy respect and
be liberated by love.
Amen and amen.
~ Gordon B McKeeman