When I was about 9 or 10 my dad built a sandbox in the backyard of our home. Nothing real big and certainly nothing fancy. But it all a young child needed to ignite his imagination. To this day I am not sure where this idea came from, but I was certain that I could dig my way to China. It was my understanding that China was on the opposite side of the earth. All I needed to do was dig straight down. With some effort, I was certain that I would have no problem reaching China. Curious about my excavation project, my dad asked about what I was doing.  I told him that I am digging my way to China. He explained in a loving way, that it would take me forever to do that. Feeling some disappointment, I let the hole I dug stay in place for a few days until I filled it in.

Although I had the intelligence and understanding of a 10 year old, I felt the unstoppable power of my determination.  The idea of digging my way to China ignited my curiosity and imagination. It was an impulse that arose from a space that all humans have. A place where our creativity arises from. From my experience, those creative impulses are a gift of Grace. A gift bestowed on us by the mystery that lives all things. They can’t be planned for. They don’t need to be earned. You need only to be available to receive these gifts. They seem to arise when Grace ignites the uniqueness of our being. And that expression unfolds in ways that allows our creativity to birth ideas that are spontaneous, creative and distinctively ours. 

The potency of the present moment.

It is my experience that whatever these moments of creative unfolding are, that they all happen in the present moment.  You can’t sit and wait for them. You can’t schedule a time for them to arrive. You can’t fit these moments into a busy life. There is no fitting. These potent moments of creativity can only arise in the present moment. The present moment is where everything arises from. The process of creation. Our lives. The lives of the people we are connected to.  The everything of everything is brought into existence in the present moment. A process of coming into being. I find it impossible to even begin to comprehend what that process is. I can only experience it. Bear witness to it and stand in awe and appreciate.

The other day, I was having a meaningful conversation with a friend of mine about the challenges of aging. A significant conversation since we are both in our late 60’s. He said, “I often feel there is control in doing, not in being”. His comment caused me to pause for a moment. We both agreed that as we grow older it is easy to be deterred by the challenges of life. To move out of living from a heart space, the space of the present moment into a space of anticipation, doubt and planning. For me, that is the realm of the ego. It is the job of the ego to make sure that we are distracted from the unfolding of the present moment. Distracted from the sacredness of life. Distracted from the creation of our own lives.

Please understand, I am in no way saying that I do not plan for the future of my life and that of my family. I certainly do. We all need to. I have a retirement plan. I have a will. I use a Goggle calendar to keep track of future obligations and plans. I am only suggesting to allow yourself to pause from time to time, to feel the rhythm of your life as it unfolds. To take a moment to pray or meditate. To be in nature. To bear witness to the unfolding of your life. To relax the impulse of “what if.” That is the space of pure being. The space of the divine. The space of unlimited creativity.