"...is..."
Psalm 1:1
As I walked today I returned to Psalm 1 and made it all the way to the second word, "is" before I considered this word of being.
My initial thought was simply that 'was' is past, 'will' is future and 'is' is the present. To be present now is to embrace the presence of the gift that simply is. The seat of possibility is right now. The shackles of the past are in the past and the future is unknown. We can, indeed we should learn from the past as the springboard into the possibility of the future by embracing the beautiful gift of the present.
I just walked by an old man sitting on a bench overlooking the Northwest Arm. He gave a warm smile and a hearty "Hello! What a beautiful day" as I walked by.
To be fully alive in the present is to be fully human. It is where humanity and the divine meet in the solitude of the present moment. It is where silence meets thunder. It is where the gentle breeze moves great mountains. The present humbly, persistently lures one into the Presence.
I thought about the fact that "is" is a verb. It is the third person singular present indicative of "be". I find it very interesting that "be" is a verb, which, of course typically expresses an action, a state or a relation between two things.
When I consider the present as "is" I am considering that which is ultimately grounded in an action. I think, from an linguistics perspective ( maybe even an epistemological perspective) the verb "is" spans action and being by bringing us into relationship with that which ultimately is, the eternal reality of God who calls us into relationship in the space and time of now. Being is action. When I am present to the moment I am an actor in a relationship. My "is-ness" is not only found in this openness to the Presence of my being but is lured forth as an actor in space and time to do that which I know I must do. "Is" is not passive. To be is the seat of action. "To be" cannot be separated from "to do" for being is relationship, it rejoices in the other. Time and space all collapse in the present. To be is a sacramental calling to participate in relationship.
What a blessing to simply be...present...
I just walked by an old man sitting on a bench overlooking the Northwest Arm. He gave a warm smile and a hearty "Hello! What a beautiful day" as I walked by.
To be fully alive in the present is to be fully human. It is where humanity and the divine meet in the solitude of the present moment. It is where silence meets thunder. It is where the gentle breeze moves great mountains. The present humbly, persistently lures one into the Presence.
I thought about the fact that "is" is a verb. It is the third person singular present indicative of "be". I find it very interesting that "be" is a verb, which, of course typically expresses an action, a state or a relation between two things.
When I consider the present as "is" I am considering that which is ultimately grounded in an action. I think, from an linguistics perspective ( maybe even an epistemological perspective) the verb "is" spans action and being by bringing us into relationship with that which ultimately is, the eternal reality of God who calls us into relationship in the space and time of now. Being is action. When I am present to the moment I am an actor in a relationship. My "is-ness" is not only found in this openness to the Presence of my being but is lured forth as an actor in space and time to do that which I know I must do. "Is" is not passive. To be is the seat of action. "To be" cannot be separated from "to do" for being is relationship, it rejoices in the other. Time and space all collapse in the present. To be is a sacramental calling to participate in relationship.
What a blessing to simply be...present...
Isaiah and Ashton know what it is like to simply "be"
No comments:
Post a Comment