No Ordinary Moments

If you are a spiritual seeker like I am, you may find yourself at times compartmentalizing your time.

This is my spiritual time..
This is my work time
This is my (children, husband, wife, partner, family) time
This is my sleep time
This is my exercise time
etc etc

The temptation here is to deem some of your moments more important than other ones.

Example.

A few days ago I spent the day babysitting my new two month old grandchild. Being the doting grandmother that I am, I could not stand to put her down and do anything else.  Although I was loving it for the most part, that little voice inside of me kept taunting me:

You have two weddings to write.
You have a class to  prepare for
You have not meditated today.
You have not exercised today.
There is just not enough time to get all of these things done.

Here is temptation number one:

To deem the "spiritual" things we do more important than the "other" things.

What if we lived every moment completely aware that every moment was precious and extraordinary?

Yes, even those moments we spend washing the dishes. And taking out the trash. Even the ones we spend at work, or sleeping.

This is a profound statement:

There are no ordinary moments.

What if, just for today, you realized that every moment is sacred?

Instead of going to work on Monday morning, wishing it was the weekend, and essentially wishing away most of your week, why not try treasuring the time you are at work? Or washing the dishes? Or even sleeping?

I have begun each morning using my short drive to work to send love to each person I am to meet and interact with that day. Sometimes I send love to people who I will not necessarily interact with, such as the example in my previous blog about sending love to the President, or the neighbors, or anyone else who comes across my mind.

Yes I am completely aware that the moments I spend rocking my grandbaby are important. But somehow, somewhere, deep inside, there is that compulsion that I should be "doing" something. I should be more productive. I should be I should be

No I should be rocking my grandbaby.

Yes I think last year I may have posted a similar blog when taking my grandkids to the park. That old productivity demon seems to poke his head out at me frequently.


Who am I to believe that any one particular moment of my life is any less precious than any other moment? Is the moments I spend brushing my teeth less valuable than the ones I spend meditating?

Years ago I realized that every thought that went through my mind was a prayer.  Essentially, when I think a thought, no matter what it is, I am praying for something. If I am worrying about something or mad about something, I am basically praying for something that I don't necessarily want. However, I believe that our thoughts create our reality. If we change our perspective just a bit, believing that every moment is a precious gift, how differently might our lives become?

 Why not look at every moment in your life as a gift? The wonderful life changing moments, the extremely productive moments, the profound sacred connecting with Spirit moments, and the not so wonderful, perhaps mundane, every day, scrubbing the floor moments. All of them are precious. Take the time to thank each moment for the gift it offers you: one more breath of life, one more chance to experience life with all its ups and downs, challenges and triumphs, sunny days and rainy days.

Just wait. Soon you will be looking at life through different eyes. Eyes of wonder and amazement. The sky will look bluer. The grass will look greener. It will not be such a chore to wash the dishes anymore.

Just for today, stop whatever you are doing, and say: "this moment is important. It is not more or less important than any other moment when I might be doing something more or less exciting, productive, spiritual, etc. The moments I spend washing the windows, rocking grandchildren, taking out the trash, or communicating with loved ones of clients on the other side are all equally important. No one moment is more sacred than any other one moment.

So if you will excuse me, I think I hear my granddaughter fussing in the other room.