This past weekend my baby graduated from High School. Like other life passages, this one was bittersweet. I am inordinately proud of my daughter (actually, I am proud of both daughters) and all that she has accomplished; I know it is time for her to move on to the next phase. And yet I am stunned that I am the mother of people who are 20 and 18. How did this happen? 20 minutes ago, I was bringing Sarah to kindergarten and Katie to pre-school.
One needn’t have children at home to know that time goes by really fast. We know the children of our congregation, and wonder how the baby is now in elementary school and the 6th grader is a high school student. We can’t believe that we’ve been at our new job for 5 years. Or that the house we just moved in to has a garden we planted 10 years ago. How do we make the short time we have on this planet feel longer? One suggestion is to meditate for 15-30 minutes every day. Whether it is walking or sitting, silent or guided, the chance to go deep into ourselves gives us clarity and peace, a sense of the sacred below the secular. It has taken me years and years to be able to sit for 15 minutes in silence. But I treasure these times more and more as they bring into focus a sense of calm and presence. The days when I can do this are better than the days I cannot.
How do you stretch out your time? What brings meaning and depth to your lives? I hope that being involved at the UU Society of Rockport is one way this happens. I am grateful that my life with the congregation brings me joy and purpose, and a lot of laughs, too. If you haven’t laughed in a while, please come visit! We can sit together in silent companionship, or have a few laughs. Either way, I am here if you need me.
See you at 4 Cleaves Street!
Rev Susan