The Importance of Living - and Working - Here and Now
Living in the here and now - in the present moment - may be one of the greatest challenges in our lives. Sometimes at work, when I'm really busy, I'm forced to attend to the here and now by the urgency of some matter that crosses my desk. In fact, a lot of my work requires me to concentrate on the task at hand, and so it's frequently easier for me live in the present when I'm at work than at other times.
On Sunday, we were talking about the importance of living in the present moment and how hard it can be for some of us. For example, if we don't control our imaginations, we may spend inordinate time and energy on future possibilities that may or may not come to pass. I think this is especially true for fears we may have of the future. A lot of problems or difficulties you imagine might happen usually don't happen. At least that's been my experience.
If imagination can sometimes take up too much of our time, so can memory. Just as we can imagine a future fraught with difficulties, so we can remember our past too much of the time. Dwelling on the past can be a special problem for Catholics who fret over sins of the past. Memories of past sins can linger in the back of our minds for years on end, erupting from time to time in great waves of guilt and fear of how God will judge us someday. (Of course, many Catholics today, sadly, barely know what sin is, and probably think they've never committed a serious sin in their entire lives.) But we Catholics who go to confession regularly should never need to remember the past in this way. If we sincerely confessed our sins, we know that our sins are forgiven, no matter how awful they might have been. Thinking about them isn't good for our souls. (If you have problems with this, you should seek the help of a good priest who can provide spiritual direction.)
When you think about it, memory (our thoughts about the past) and imagination (specifically in the sense of our thinking about the future) can take up a great deal of our time and effort on any given day, if we let it. One of the great characteristics of work, especially when our work requires strict attention and concentration each day, is that it keeps us in the present moment. My Dad - when he worked as a machinist at a work bench - used to complain when he either didn't have enough work assigned to him, or was given what he thought was "make work" to keep him busy. He enjoyed engaging his mind and body fully when he worked. His hobby at home was fixing watches, which requires care and concentration. I remember watching him hunched over the desk at home where he used to work with an magnifying loop fixed in his right eye as he worked on watches. I remember how I would never think of disturbing him what he was at work like this.
So if you have a job that's demanding and requires your full attention and concentration, be thankful. You don't have the leisure to let your mind wander into the past or the future, where it mostly doesn't belong. Of necessity, you're tied to the present moment. And, as it turns out, you get an added bonus: this can be really good practice for your spiritual life.
Just think about it. When you face the crosses of your life - either the many little ones or the sometimes big ones - you can easily become discouraged or defeated - unless you have a strong faith and trust in God. Isn't that true? It's especially true if you let your memory or imagination get the better of you. I just read an interesting way to describe the phenomenon of an uncontrolled memory and imagination causing unnecessary interior suffering: the shadow of the cross looms much larger than the cross we are called to carry.
That's why our work - no matter how hard or burdensome it might be for some of us - is such a blessing, if it keeps us tied to the present and prevents us from remembering the past or imagining the future in inordinate ways.
Next time, we'll look at what the Bible has to say about the worker whose work keeps him in the present moment day after day.
On Sunday, we were talking about the importance of living in the present moment and how hard it can be for some of us. For example, if we don't control our imaginations, we may spend inordinate time and energy on future possibilities that may or may not come to pass. I think this is especially true for fears we may have of the future. A lot of problems or difficulties you imagine might happen usually don't happen. At least that's been my experience.
If imagination can sometimes take up too much of our time, so can memory. Just as we can imagine a future fraught with difficulties, so we can remember our past too much of the time. Dwelling on the past can be a special problem for Catholics who fret over sins of the past. Memories of past sins can linger in the back of our minds for years on end, erupting from time to time in great waves of guilt and fear of how God will judge us someday. (Of course, many Catholics today, sadly, barely know what sin is, and probably think they've never committed a serious sin in their entire lives.) But we Catholics who go to confession regularly should never need to remember the past in this way. If we sincerely confessed our sins, we know that our sins are forgiven, no matter how awful they might have been. Thinking about them isn't good for our souls. (If you have problems with this, you should seek the help of a good priest who can provide spiritual direction.)
When you think about it, memory (our thoughts about the past) and imagination (specifically in the sense of our thinking about the future) can take up a great deal of our time and effort on any given day, if we let it. One of the great characteristics of work, especially when our work requires strict attention and concentration each day, is that it keeps us in the present moment. My Dad - when he worked as a machinist at a work bench - used to complain when he either didn't have enough work assigned to him, or was given what he thought was "make work" to keep him busy. He enjoyed engaging his mind and body fully when he worked. His hobby at home was fixing watches, which requires care and concentration. I remember watching him hunched over the desk at home where he used to work with an magnifying loop fixed in his right eye as he worked on watches. I remember how I would never think of disturbing him what he was at work like this.
So if you have a job that's demanding and requires your full attention and concentration, be thankful. You don't have the leisure to let your mind wander into the past or the future, where it mostly doesn't belong. Of necessity, you're tied to the present moment. And, as it turns out, you get an added bonus: this can be really good practice for your spiritual life.
Just think about it. When you face the crosses of your life - either the many little ones or the sometimes big ones - you can easily become discouraged or defeated - unless you have a strong faith and trust in God. Isn't that true? It's especially true if you let your memory or imagination get the better of you. I just read an interesting way to describe the phenomenon of an uncontrolled memory and imagination causing unnecessary interior suffering: the shadow of the cross looms much larger than the cross we are called to carry.
That's why our work - no matter how hard or burdensome it might be for some of us - is such a blessing, if it keeps us tied to the present and prevents us from remembering the past or imagining the future in inordinate ways.
Next time, we'll look at what the Bible has to say about the worker whose work keeps him in the present moment day after day.
Comments