Being Present

A surprising thing happened to me over the past summer.  I started doing some yard work early one morning because it was supposed to be a hot day.  I had several stumps that needed to be dug out.  It was extremely demanding work, and my focus was on getting it done as quickly as I could.  I got my pick axe and shovel and began the grueling task. 

After successfully digging out five stumps, I sat down on my porch step completely out of breath and exhausted.  I took a long swig from my cold water bottle trying to slow my breathing.  As my body started to calm down, I began to notice the crickets chirping.  The surprising thing was that they weren’t chirping quietly at all.   They were nearly as loud as the cicadas that had been out earlier in the summer after a 17-year hiatus. I was amazed that I hadn’t noticed this chirping the entire time I had been outside.  

It dawned on me that I had been so intent on finishing the stump work that I had failed to notice the obvious.  Then it hit me---that is exactly what I do at mass and most of the time when I pray.  I am so intent on getting it over with that I fail to notice the obvious--- Jesus is pouring his love out for me if only I will stop for a moment and listen.   It is what I do in my daily interactions with other people.  I am so distracted by my to-do list or social media or whatever that I fail to notice and concentrate on the miracle of the person in front of me. 

People who knew St. John Paul II say that when he would talk to you, you felt like you were the only person in the world.  He tuned everything else out and gave his full attention.  Since my encounter with the crickets, I realized how poor I am at doing this and have tried my best to improve.  Whether it is in conversation with family or friends or in prayer with God, it’s something I’m working at every day but still have a long way to go.  Who knows, maybe someday, I will reach that John Paul II level of attentiveness.