To be

     I recently had the pleasure of entering into semi-retirement. The decision was quite easy really. Besides being of a certain age, my husband and I have seen too many cases of friends, family and acquaintances who have become very sick or who have died. In other words, we know we are not guaranteed anything. As relative newlyweds, we have been spending as much time as we can simply enjoying each others company and building memories together that some people have had a lifetime building.  A real simply way of looking at this is that we want to simply 'be'.

      I don't have a vision of God in heaven sitting by a pool ordering Pina Coladas and reading the latest book on a kindle. That sounds like a slice of heaven to me though and it really sounds like just allowing yourself to "be". What I do see is that God is ever present.  God does not get get caught up in this or that because God is ever present in every situation in every time. God just is, God can simply 'be' who God is.

        We often need a vacation or a concerted effort to allow ourselves to simply 'be'.  Very often we can go through a day and miss most of stuff and/or people that happened around us during the day. We get absorbed into the stuff, we concern ourselves with what others are doing, wrapping ourselves in concerns  that really do not matter. That does not seem like what God wants our existence to be like.  

       The object of prayer, meditation, a journal and the gamut of exercises to get us in contact with our true selves and allow ourselves to 'be' is what God is at all times.  Since we are created in the image and likeness of God, we are trying to be as present, as loving, as whole as possible. We strive to simply 'be' our very selves. I suppose the way I see it, when God had that incredibly brilliant idea that what the world needed was 'you' and willed us into existence, God wished that our gift to humanity , to all of creation was that we would 'be' what God created us to be.  Our mission is to 'be' like God in every way. God wishes us to simply 'be' you and me.

Our Father in heaven,
   hallowed be your name. 

Your kingdom come.
   Your will be done,
     on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts,
     as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
     but rescue us from the evil one.