I’ve spent November practicing those same lessons about Present that I shared in September and October. Truly, I cannot overstate the impact that reading Four Thousand Weeks and The Year of the Puppy when I did had on my life in general and these early days with Lucy specifically. So I was fully prepared to share (yet) another update about the present-focused days of life with a puppy … until I started my Advent reading yesterday.
My small group is reading Madeleine L’Engle’s Miracle on 10th Street this December and January. That’s the hardcover edition above; aren’t those pages beautiful?! I also have an updated edition on my Kindle, with a Foreword written by Diana Butler Bass. When I wrote last week about feeling pulled back to my morning time, maybe this is what was pulling me. She writes about Advent being the season to “observe and contemplate”, and I could simply say “be present”. and then she says
God is present from cosmic expanse to the chambers of our hearts, but we do not notice because the sacred is obscured under our distractions, fears, and despair.
Diana Butler Bass. Foreword. Miracle on 10th Street: and Other Christmas Writings, by Madeleine L’Engle, Convergent Books, 2019, pp. xi-xiii.
I realize I’ve spent these last 11 months focused on me being present. and perhaps I should spend this last one focused outward … noticing, as much as possible, without distraction (fear, or despair) … to see the presence of another.
It’s time. and I’m ready. and I think Lucy is, too.
Thank you as always to Carolyn for hosting these monthly check-ins and to all of you for your support. xxoo.
mere-et-filles 
It certainly is easy to get distracted-especially this time of year.
I think we have to learn how to pay attention and notice the world around us if we want to be present. It isn’t a hiding away but a learning how to engage.
You must have been thrilled to see Diana Butler Bass wrote the foreword for Miracle on 10th Street! I’ll go out on a limb and guess you are exactly where you’re meant to be for Advent this year… ♥
I’d hazard a guess that Lucy is pretty good at reminding you to be present for her!
love the photo of you and dear sweet Lucy!!
Dogs are perfect reminders to be present! XO
What an interesting thought about focusing outward. It was eye opening to me when I read Pema Chödrön’s meditation advice: meditate with your eyes open and notice what’s around you. Before that, I’d always thought meditation was about going inward and finding calm there. But this is about being able to stay centered while noticing and being a part of the world. It was such a good shift for me!
Being present CAN be difficult. It can also be so rewarding! That looks like a beautiful book for your group to read for Advent – enjoy!
I do love a beautiful edition of a book and the one you are reading is lovely. What a thoughtful post. Noticing and paying attention always reminds me of Mary Oliver. “I do know how to pay attention. . . “