German theologian Martin Buber said, “There is something that can only be found in one place. It is a great treasure, which may be called the fulfillment of existence. The place where this treasure can be found is the place on which one stands.”
Yes, the treasure of being present today.
And yet, why do so many of us feel there is some kind of deficiency in us? Like, we’re not where we should be, or even wish to be or we’re not achieving or doing enough. We’re not successful enough. We’re not smart enough. We’ve haven’t done that or gone there yet.
Blaise Pascal wrote, “By means of a diversion we can avoid our own company 24 hours a day.” But it’s not just diversion. It’s a kind of relentless pursuit of something elusive as if life is always just around the corner from where we are NOW. Many don’t know what they want in life, but they’re sure they haven’t got it, at least not yet. Maybe it’s a new location, a new job, a new relationship?
Jackson Browne talked about this “empty pursuit” in a song “The first time I went on my own, when the roads were as many as the places I had dreamed of and my friends and I we’re one.” Yet in a later song called “Running on Empty,” he says, “I look around for the friends that I used to turn to, to pull me through; looking into their eyes, I see them running, too.”
If we can just find ‘IT’ or that relationship then we’ll be happy. It is as if we live with an expectation that life should be a certain way or we should… I’m all for living in the present moment, just not this one. And yet, as Buber said “The great treasure of a fulfilled life is in the ground where we stand.”
Martin Buber asked,“Where is the dwelling of God?” Then he answered his own question,“God dwells wherever man lets Him in.” This is the ultimate purpose: to let God in. We can let Him in not only as our God, maker, savior and friend, but in where we stand today in the moment.
Have we lost the ability to savor the ordinary moments?
A few days ago due to a temporary handicap (crutches) I was riding an electric shopping cart in the grocery store with my son who suffers every day with chronic pain from Crohn’s Disease. That seemingly insignificant experience brought a joyful and grateful heart for the simpler things in life that we take for granted every day, like good health.
You can be in the present moment when you let God in.
For millions the hope for better health and healing can mean a whole lot more than several trips to your favorite vacation place.
We can easily miss divine opportunities that come our way.
They can be in the most unexpected places and times. Those great ‘treasure moments’ can be in the simplest encounters. In a conversation with the grocery store checker or the person you’re sitting next to in the doctor’s office or with a stranger at the DMV.
This world is a pretty messed up place and it can mess with our expectations we have of life. We all know that. We need to slow down and appreciate the people right in front of us.
Today, more than ever we need sanctuaries of care, places where we can feel safe and loved. But, we also need to be that place of refuge for friends, families and strangers. That treasured place is YOU where God can dwell and be seen by others.
