Meditation Moment in Lent, Day 4: Give Up, Take On, Pray '24

Life moves at warp speed for many of us. So many have-to's, so many must-do's, so many want-to's, so many didn't do's...so many shoulds, coulds, woulds...so little time. How do we know how to prioritize what is most important?  How can we stop doing so much and find time to just be?"

Mystic/Trappist Monk/Author Thomas Merton (1915-1968) wrote:

We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time or no imagination left for being.  As a result men [sic] are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have ~ for their usefulness.

Dearest Holy Parent, today I will give up trying to be everywhere and do everything and live into everyone else's wants and expectations for my life. Today I will take on stealing time from my worldly life to spend with You, my God, as a way to build up my spiritual life. I pray for Your Presence as I start with just 5 minutes each day breathing deeply with intention, even if I have to do it hiding in the bathroom or behind the garage. I want to try to be more faithful in my prayer life. To that end, I will take small slow steps starting with stopping for deep breathing several times a day, and move to small, short prayers while breathing just to say, "Hello, God, this is me, I'm glad we're here in this moment together. I'll come back more often, I promise."  amen.

(another breath prayer can be something like, on inhale: Jesus be with me now; on the exhale: and I will be with you. Just go with whatever comes!)

Here's a link on how to do deep breathing properly: http://ptsd.about.com/od/selfhelp/ht/breathing2.htm

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