To Be Where We Are

“No one longs for what he or she already has, and yet the accumulated insight of those wise about the spiritual life suggests that the reason so many of us cannot see the red X that marks the spot is because we are standing on it. The treasure we seek requires no lengthy expedition, no expensive equipment, no superior aptitude or special company. All we lack is the willingness to imagine that we already have everything we need. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are.”― Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith

“To make bread or love, to dig in the earth, to feed an animal or cook for a stranger—these activities require no extensive commentary, no lucid theology. All they require is someone willing to bend, reach, chop, stir. Most of these tasks are so full of pleasure that there is no need to complicate things by calling them holy. And yet these are the same activities that change lives, sometimes all at once and sometimes more slowly, the way dripping water changes stone. In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life.”― Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith

To be where we are
Standing in the red X and knowing it
Sacred ground
Time standing still and moving swiftly
Pay attention
Tune in
Savor and steep
Gratitude, awe, wonder, delight don’t require perfect circumstances or smooth sailing
Consent to be fully where you are right now
God is sitting next to you in the dailyness
Awaiting your hello, gaze, embrace, trust
Lean in.

“Whoever you are, you are human. Wherever you are, you live in the world, which is just waiting for you to notice the holiness in it.”― Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith