Laughter - "God's lessons from a 1 year old"

I was playing with my 1 year old last night and we started laughing. We laughed and laughed and laughed for 20 minutes or more. It was absolutely contagious, even to the point that we would just look at one another and just start laughing. It was a glorious moment.

Later I would contemplate that 20 minutes as I was doing some thinking (discerning) about my journey to ordination. I thought about the purity of a 1 year olds laugh and how "in the moment" that child is. They have no expectations, no worries, no inner dialogue (ego) talking to them - just pure bliss. They are simply reacting to a stimulus in the simplest and purest way.

I thought about how at that moment, I had turned off all my adult noise - other thoughts simply melted away. I was focused for 20 minutes on just being in each moment laughing with my son. I was the most free that I think I have been in a long time. It brought to extraordinary levels my understanding of being in the moment with whomever you are with - being present to share God's gift of another.


I often am not present in the moment. God, through my son, had provided the most incredible lesson. One that I have tried to learn and practice many times, but do not do well - to be in the moment, focused, centered, present. To get that lesson from a 1 year old. A child who only knows the moment. What an incredible teacher he is! What a gift! What abundance as I am blessed beyond compare with teachers all around me.

So, who is the next teacher and what is the next lesson? Last night my teacher was my 1 year old, Ryan. Last week it was my friend Blair. Today, it might be a homeless person playing the guitar for change. Who has God blessed you with as a teacher today? Be present in each moment and you might just be suprised!

Abundance

I was reminded during the last couple of weeks that we are surrounded by abundance. It showed up in so many ways as to leave me in awe. It was the amazing conversation about foregiveness with our friend Blair. It was the off-handed question to a contractor that will save us thousands of dollars. It was the time spent with my 1 year old son who wanted to play peek-a-boo.

All of these things are abundance. It is not all about monetary abundance (read material wealth). It can be as simple as time with a loved one or as complex as the interaction of 5 people leading to just the right person showing up in your life at the moment you need them. If one opens oneself to this and does not set expectations around the outcome, it is incredible who or what will come into your life. I have seen this occur so many times that I know that it will happen in perfection.

Now, before anybody starts thinking that I have all this figured out and should be writing the next bestseller, let me tell you that I "forget" to trust this elemental truth all the time. My human (ego) need to feel like I am in control takes over. In fact the need to control rises in direct proportion to seriousness of the circumstances. I internalize the situation until I am about to burst and then when everything appears "lost", I give it back to God as my last desperate act. Until then I say God has it, but really I have a death grip on all of it.

This brings me back to abundance again. When I let go, the abundance that God already had me cloaked in is obvious. When I remove expectations, I see the abundance that is all around me. When I quiet my internal dialogue and slow down my busy life, abundance is there. When you truly open yourself up to God's abundance, abundance that is around you ALL the time, life becomes this amazing journey. You never know who or what will show up next. You just know that it will!

With blessings to all, good night and good luck!