The Sacred Now

I have been re-reading the Chronicles of Elantra series of books (a fantasy series of books featuring humans, winged “humans”, lion-like humans, immortal dragons, shadow creatures, magic and more). I came across a snippet of dialog last night that struck me as true. It’s about

The Sacred Now

He lifted a hand and caught hers in it. “‘For now’ is all we ever have. We have the illusion of forever. We have the illusion of stability. We have the illusion of safety—but that’s all it’s ever been. It’s a story we tell ourselves.”

  “I want it to be a true story.”

  “Kaylin—you used to be good at now. Try to remember what it was like. We have now.” He exhaled. “And we build on it. Come on. It’s time to go home.”

  —  from Caste in Fury, by Michelle Sagara

I awoke this morning to a snow-covered lawn and wished that it was not snow-covered. Then I remembered this snippet of dialog that I copied to my notes last night.

I stopped complaining about the snow in my mind. Instead I looked out at the pond and saw the reflection of blue sky in the open water, tree trunk reflections drawn through the blue and a frosting of white on the log at the edge of the pond.

It was beautiful, just as it was!

I am determined to stop complaining about the weather and start looking for beauty in what is—in the sacred now.

Joy consists of being in the flow of what is and seeing it’s beauty, not wishing for things to be different somehow.

A Story of Generosity from Ukraine

I read a story from Ukraine that touched my heart this week. It was a story of compassion towards one’s enemy. It seems a young Russian soldier was captured by the Ukrainian armed forces. One of his captors offered him a cell phone to use, so that he could call his parents and tell them he was all right. The young man burst into tears of gratitude.

It is not clear that all captured Russian soldiers are being treated with such kindness. Still, I was so grateful to see this quality of mercy in at least some of the soldiers. Unfortunately, the relentless bombing and killing of civilians is creating a feeling of hatred towards Russia that may last for generations.

Today I am sending love and light to all who are suffering. May they find a sliver of light and beauty in the midst of their suffering. And may they feel the wonder of the sacred now.

May you walk in beauty.