“What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?”
(W.H.Davies)
At the beginning of October, someone jokingly remarked to me that “there are only 11 Fridays to Christmas”!
That really took my breath away! We move so quickly from one season to another, one celebration to another. We talk of not having “enough” time. No sooner are we out of the holiday season than Christmas goods appear in the shops, after that almost immediately come the Easter eggs, then we are back to summer holidays! There seems to be a relentless “moving forward, moving on”.
The clock will “fall back” at the end of this month and we will have an “extra” hour. What will we do with that “extra” hour we have?!! Will it get lost in the “moving forward, moving on”? Could we ensure that it be a special time for us to “stand and stare”, to be present to ourselves, those around us and to creation? Could it be a time to praise and celebrate our God?
On thin ice, speed is of the essence.
But in the living of life,
Swiftness diminishes presence,
Short-changing experience of its due.
Survival may be achieved
But full life may pass us by.
Slow down, my soul,
Refuse the haste that kills.
Drink deeply the morning dew;
Touch tenderly the evening stars.
“The Color of Gratitude” Robert Morneau.
Sr Margo Murphy, RNDM