I have been thinking a lot lately about working on being “present.” We live in such distracting times, and I sometimes ask myself how many seconds of each day that I actually spend focused on the present moment—truly listening to the words of the person across from me or noticing my own thoughts–without worrying about the mistakes I made yesterday, my plans for tomorrow or judging myself or someone else. I find it so challenging to practice this in regular, everyday life. I have been wondering whether it’s possible to “borrow” from my experiences of feeling more present in the times and places where it’s easier to access a settled mental state, somehow transferring that brain muscle memory to other mundane or stressful settings where it’s harder to focus.
For instance, there is something about being creative that can bring us to the present moment, focusing our energy on the here-and-now, shutting out the worry and the planning. Painting can have this effect for me at times. For some, it’s creating music or being creative in the kitchen. There is also something about a beautiful piece of art—whether it is visual or in some other form, like a moving song—that can bring our minds to the present moment, pushing away the distractions. Most of all, for me, simply being in nature can help quiet the mind…compared to a human work of art, what could be more beautiful than the creative work of the Master of the universe? I always feel this way when I stand in front of the ocean—you look out and you can’t see where the deep blue ends on the other side, and suddenly you know (tangibly) just how small you are and how limitless the Creator is, and it is hard to think about anything else in that moment. One of my favorite subjects to paint is the ocean.
So here’s a short poem about being present by the ocean, and maybe in everyday life…
To My Creator,
I long to be present
In Your world
Truly present
With all the senses You gave me
To feel the air in every breath
To see the green in every leaf
To taste the bitter warmth of my coffee
To smell its roasted aroma
To hear the crickets outside my window
But inside this unsettled mind
There is so much clutter
From everyday life
So I come here
By the sea
A break from everyday life
Where it is so much easier
To be present in Your world
To feel the wind on my cheeks
To see the glitter on the water
To taste the salty spray
To smell the crisp ocean air
To hear the crashing waves
The vastness of the sea
Swallows all the clutter
Of my everyday life
So let me take with me
A little bit of this place
By the sea
Hold it still in the mind
Bring it home
To my living room
To my kitchen
To my desk
To my car
To my siddur
Now just hold it there
Carve out a space among the clutter
Of my everyday life
A space to simply notice
The wonders of everyday life
To notice that I am here
In Your world
Present, truly present
With a friend
With a teacher
With my family
With myself
With You
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