Noted in my journal on Monday, March 14: “getting clarity about my OLW – 1) living here. now. AND 2) feeling good about it. The connection of these two ideas seems like the point. the AHA!! moment.”
When I (re) chose Present for my OLW, I knew deep down I needed to get myself back to that here.now place … and it was that second part, the “feeling good about it” part, that helped me understand the real “why” behind that desire.
That AHA!! moment came while I reflected on the 11th entry “Happy Enough” from Good Enough (Goodreads link), one of my Lenten devotions, that I read on Monday, March 14:
Blessed are you who hold hope with an open hand … not fixing your gaze on time’s far horizon or walking too far down memory lane. Blessed are you who know that sometimes you need to stay right here. At least for a minute. Blessed are you who look wide-eyed, maybe timidly, at the present moment, gazing at those things that are gently, actually within the reach of your fingertips. Blessed are you amid the ordinary details that define what life is for you, right now. … May they seem even lovelier, even more delicious because they become gifts offered anew. May gratitude fill you … May something rise in your heart that feels like a strange new kind of contentment. Because this isn’t what you had planned, but it surprises you that even here it can be good. … Blessed are you, finding that life is good because it is enough.
Good Enough, by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, pp. 65-66
I switched closing out my daily journal entries with five gratitudes, to listing five things right now, five little things, five moments, five ordinary details (I still haven’t settled on the title!) that are Right Now. things that are enough (and sometimes, even more than that).
Things like that dark early first cup of hot coffee with frothed milk, feeling the sun on my face on my morning walk, afternoon knitting time with an audiobook, how easy it was to get the boys to pose for those baseball photos, FaceTime with my sister, all the towels freshly laundered and neatly re-stacked in the linen closet, the bits of pink in my SSP shawl, ironing the drapes for Sara’s bedroom (while her dad helped her hang the rod).
Close readers maybe already noticed some of those blessings rising up in my recent posts. and I love seeing glimpses of my word in your posts, especially in this latest round of monthly updates (thank you again, Carolyn, for hosting us!). This practice is rich and offers so many connections, if we are open to seeing them.
p.s. whenever I sit down to write one of these “series” posts, I always revisit the most recent one – just to be sure I’m not too repetitive in ways I don’t want to be … and today I was met with that series of photos I took with Holly. They were the last ones “we” took together. and that whole hard (last) week just came flooding back. It didn’t even cross my mind to take a selfie with my word to accompany this month’s post. Maybe I’ll be ready to do that next month. For sure, this month, the “selfie” of my feet with all those spring blooms on a morning walk … feels good enough.
mere-et-filles 
I love your new take on how you’re closing out your daily journal entries, Mary. A sure way to be present! (versus ‘searching for’–which is sometimes how it can feel when we are listing our gratitudes, depending on the day!). There’s something prayerful, indeed, about what IS. (And, I don’t know about you, but in the shadow of tough times, isn’t ‘ordinary’ luxurious?)
Excellent reminder that we are enough, and what is around us is enough.
That is a lovely way to change up the gratitude list. I really love this “revisit” to present… I had never considered revisiting a word, hmmm, this makes me think!
It sounds like you’re on a meaningful path forward . . . with your word and with your life right now. XO
Being present is one of the best things we can do – for ourselves and others. Thanks for the reminder and thanks for those flowers!
beautiful post and I love how you set your intentions and focus on zeroing into what is salient to the here and now!
I think finding joy in the present is a good exercise for all of us, given that none of us can predict what the future will bring. I suspect if we made a regular practice of it, we’d find that there is a lot to be thankful for and happy about even in the seemingly mundane. I started a list of five little joys in my daily life as part of my journaling when the pandemic first started, and I’ve really found the practice to be good for my mood — especially at the end of the day, when I’m often physically and mentally worn out. Even when I’ve had an absolutely rotten day, being able to find some good in it has been so good for me.
It sounds like this word is helping you to adjust to a lot of change and that is a good thing, even if it feels difficult sometimes.
A very thoughtful post Mary and thank you for the reminder of being “present” … I need to do a better job of that.
What a thoughtful post Mary. I like the idea of writing down five “present” ideas/things/occurrences as part of a journaling practice. The selfie of your feet is just right for this time.