If you’ve ever walked down the Las Vegas strip, you’ll know what I mean when I say, at every moment one’s senses are dazzled.
In bright, bold colors, and on big, flashy signs, there are millions of twinkling lights and sparkling images all vying for your attention.
But Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg speaks of a different kind of wow factor in her book, Nurture the Wow.
Drawing attention to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s concept of “radical amazement,” Ruttenberg invites us to bring a sense of awe into the little things we often take for granted — “flowers on the side of the road; the taste of ice cream in our mouths; … or … a really, really good stick on the ground.” [1]
Every day the world offers us a presence of packaged amazements of simulated wonder. But within these very same days, ordinary invitations also await, offering us “radical amazement” as we see the wonder of our everyday lives.
It’s all in what we notice … what we pay attention to … and what presence we choose to cultivate by leaning in and listening.
- See the birds of the sky … —Matthew 6:26
- Consider the lilies of the field … —Matthew 6:28
- Ask the animals, and they will teach you … —Job 12:7
- The heavens declare the glory of God. —Psalm 19:1
- For we are his workmanship … —Ephesians 2:10
As you sit with the prompt’s in today’s intermission and explore the soul work of presence, may we invite you to slow down, breathe and look around?
But mostly, may we invite you to notice the life and wonder of the very presence that surrounds you?
See God in it and be radically amazed.
“… sit down quietly and listen to all the sounds around you … you’ll see the miracles that happen to you when your senses come unclogged. If you really enjoy life and the simple pleasures of the senses, you’d be amazed.” [2]
– With Joy
[1]. Center for Action and Contemplation, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, Recognizing and Appreciating, July 27, 2023
[2]. Awareness, by Anthony de Mello, p.165-166.Source
Pause for Thought
“… observe what is going on within you and around you … The faces of people, the shapes of trees, a bird in flight, a pile of stones, watch the grass grow. Get in touch with things, look at them … This is a spiritual exercise …”
Source: Awareness, by Anthony de Mello, p.125-126.
Pause for Practice
The following practice is a contemplative prayer practice inviting you to sit deeply with something of interest you’re noticing. Through this loving gaze, offer up what you are seeing, thinking and feeling to God in holy conversation and prayer. In keeping with today’s theme of nature, allow something from the natural world to capture your attention, and then use that prompt to practice presence with God.
“Contemplation is a kind of seeing that is much more than mere looking because it also includes recognizing and thus appreciating. The contemplative mind does not tell us what to see but teaches us how to see what we behold.”
Source: Center for Action and Contemplation, Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation, Recognizing and Appreciating, July 27, 2023
Pause and Gratitude
The practice of gratitude is a well-studied, scientifically proven, and enormously effective method for improving mental health and appreciation in one’s life. Today’s Pause is a simple gratitude practice, inviting you to write down what you see and appreciate about your life, this day, or this very moment.
Don’t just focus on the obvious things; notice the ordinary. See the subtle. Pay attention to the wonder that’s just under the surface.
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P.S. Smile. There’s so much to smile about/h6>
