The simple choice to “pause”

Glimmers November 26, 2014

Dear Friends,

I am pondering the dance between technology and a reflective life….

Have you found yourself missing steps or tripping over yourself as you keep up with your newest device? Or are you madly following a new set of instructions, as if learning dance steps in a crowded room, eyes locked on the instructor? What am I talking about? We all know that our day-to-day lives have changed with the increasing use of and dependence upon technology. And we have acknowledged that things can get lost when we take on this relentless relationship with our smartphone, computer and GPS. These amazing tools provide instant connection and information, and at the same time, they are distractions from the voice within… a sense of peace… or of Presence.

So before the added energy of the holidays take hold, let us take a minute and consider…the pause.

In fact, take a pause right now as you’re reading this November Glimmer.

Come on….no one’s looking….big breath in….let it out slowly….pause.

To pause, to linger, to tarry – do we even use those words anymore? Aren’t they lovely? Instead of seeing myself match steps with the dance teacher and avoiding the moving bodies around me, I imagine a quiet lane through a park or sleepy town. I experience myself meandering, (another lovely word) and taking in the sights and sounds as they appear. Big breath in…let it out slowly….

When I give myself permission to pause, I honor my inner world. When I choose to slow down and listen to the music from within, I am introduced to new dance steps that seem more organic, more me. Let us raise a glass to the holy pause. Let us embrace JRR Tolkien’s line “not all those who wander are lost,” as we take a big breath in…let it out slowly…

The dance between technology and a reflective life? My husband and I have discovered the pause button on our TV remote. We just do it! This simple act allows us to place one another as a higher priority than images on a screen. May we all learn to do that for ourselves, to pause and to welcome Mystery into our lives.

Thinking of you this day with love, Lisa

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