Yesterday came with an unplanned stop. A new friend was staying at a hotel nearby. As we talked about linking up for a coffee, I extended an invitation with myself playing the role of host and barista. I always enjoy sharing my love of coffee, so the opportunity was one I was looking forward to. As we discussed logistics, he mentioned a third friend was catching up with him for lunch.
“Drag him along. It will be fun to chat, hang out and relax.”
As I think about my evening, the unplanned stop was a strategic gift. I was one who experienced the psalmist description of “those who went off with heavy hearts [and] will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing” (Psalm 126.6).
As I look towards today, life whispers a reminder of the opportunities today. Creating stops to experience relationship, dialogue, and space are gifts we can offer our souls. In the memories of stops gone by, I rediscover the following truths.
I need stops in my life! The idea that it is good for me to relentlessly pursue the immediate is a falsehood. I continue to struggle letting go. My desire to win is confused by my heart versus head definitions of what it means to win. The first is a process, the second a destination. Truth reminds me of finding life in the journey, not at the end.
Stops are about listening, seeing, and experiencing the moment. They are never driven by my doing. They are shaped and formed by my being. It is in be fully present, with others and with Divinity, that I rediscover the heart of living.
There are no rigid frameworks to stops. Letting go of the obsession with outcomes opens the door to experiencing life as and where it is. One can plan and structure. One can also spontaneously respond to the opportunities which present themselves. Both options work, and there are many in between. The common thread across every stop is the availability of one’s heart and attention to the present.
Carpe diem includes being still.
