“There will be fabulous joy in the journey, as well as heart-wrenching pain...Life is difficult and messy: there is no point trying to mask that or pretend otherwise. But every situation you encounter is in need of one thing: a holy moment.” -Matthew Kelly, taken from Rediscover the Saints
Creating Holy Moments in an Upside-Down World By: Mary Beth Rice
“Scatter Joy” is written on a plaque on my desk. It caught my eye as I looked out the window to view the super-sized snowflakes tumbling out of the bright gray sky—Did I not share last week my hope of one more “summer snowman” worthy snow?! Thank you, God, for this beauty and lightness.
It is an early Saturday morning—the one after the week that turned us all on our heads; COVID-19 has thrown us all a curve ball with unknowns rolling out in surreal fashion. I feel as if the earth has stopped spinning on its axis and the pause button has been pushed on the TV remote. We are all wondering what to do or not do with our next breath.
My 19 year-old son’s campus room contents has landed in our foyer, the hand sanitizer has a new central location on the kitchen island, my mom’s retirement facility is on lockdown and my sister is quarantined to her home because of exposure to a work colleague who may have been exposed to someone who may have been exposed to someone that has this damn virus?! No doubt, more changes, postponements, cancellations and suggested new ways of daily living will be coming.
All of this brings to mind how we hold space for one another. I am contemplating new ways of loving and communicating with the people in my life. I love to hug and hold hands. How do we replace the physical touch and that type of intimacy with words, facial expressions...with mindful presence? Is this current situation an opportunity to deepen our human connection or a threat to ensure despair and loneliness? The answer is in our own choosing...
I sit in my flannel PJs, cup of coffee in hand, cats curled up in front of the fire, seemingly cozy and safe in my family-room cocoon. I offer up a prayer for those who don’t have this feeling of safety—false as it might be—and I wonder how we can take this stepping back from the world around us to make it somehow better, more loved. Instead of a focus on isolating to stay safe, to disconnect, to keep away, can we use the time of quiet stillness to pray, to reflect, to be creative in sharing joy and encouragement to others? How can we scatter some joy to offer some hope and lightness, diluting some of the fears and anxiety we all share?
In Matthew Kelly’s book, The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity, he challenges us to create “holy moments” in our daily round and defines them as moments when we are united with our God, connected to our Spirit. Holy moments can be prayer, the awareness of a beautiful moment in nature, a random act of love or kindness...a mindful loving conversation with a friend.
I find holy moments sitting on my back porch in that brief time before the sun comes up, watching the ever so gradual lightening of the sky. It is in breathing in the fresh air after a rainstorm or in listening to the cardinals chatting as they wake that those holy moments soothe me. I can create holy moments when I make time to text an inspirational quote or prayer to my family to begin our day, send a note of encouragement to a friend who is struggling, share a jar of homemade something or treat someone to some flowers. (See Joymaking for a simple idea to spread some love with spring flowers!)
My friend, Pat, beautifully wrote on his Facebook page: “Write through it, express yourself, bring hope and vulnerability to the moment. Help others to embrace the solitude that is upon us. Look to nature for inspiration. Turn off the TV and turn on your creativity!” He reminds us that despite the practice of social distancing, we can be united in hope and “in sharing the experience of the human condition, knowing we still rely deeply on each other to thrive.”
I am committed to the mission of scattering joy in the simplest of ways. I adopt it as my new mantra and hope some of you may write it on your hearts too!