— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
You may be familiar with the social experiment by the Washington Post which put a man with a violin playing Bach pieces for 45 minutes in a metro central station in Washington. During that time, around 2,000 people went through the station. Only six people stopped and listened to the violinist. Nobody knew that the violinist was the famous Joshua Bell who even played with a 3,5 US dollar violin. The conclusion of the research was sited in a question: If many of us do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, how many other things are we missing?
Last year, I decided to start an unpaid leave from my job for nine months (the months representing the new person that will come after the “gestation”). I started the “Pause” in late September. A pause from many demands in my personal and professional live that created a lot of stress. A break from negative and uncomfortable feelings trying only to meet the standards and deadlines for our health projects and focusing my little energy in fulfilling the expectations from other people. I sometimes had the impression that I was losing connection to myself, to my small family, to my work colleagues and to the most important aspects of my life: “Joy and peace.” I feeling of “poisoning” myself and others.
I am grateful that my University line managers who approved my decision and I am very thankful to my Master colleagues who allowed me to keep some distance to the program and supported me to “fill my own tank” with refreshed energy.
A short summary of my break:
I had the opportunity to do a “training booth camp” in Spain to improve my physical and mental health condition (and losing some weight!). I have spent the last three months in Colombia, supporting my 85 years old mother, enjoyed a few weeks with my daughter travelling and spending time talking a lot about our lives, the lessons of the past and our illusions for the future… I also had the time to attend a 40 days mindfulness course with Tara Brach which I highly recommend. One of the initial sessions is called “Pausing for Presence.”
I hope that with this meditation, I could link and refer to the powerful verse (and beautiful song) of Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.”
The initial and concrete wellbeing results of my decision to slow down: I feel alive, I sense more the present, and feel more relaxed (without mentioning the nice feelings of supporting my mum (being far away from her). I observe more… I react less and I am starting to see with more clarity my next steps in my life learning from the past with a rational judgement and planning my future contribution to our societies with humble attitude.
In a world full of stress, desires, big egos and deadlines, often what we need is perhaps to rest in God´s loving company… I invite you dear readers to come into stillness, and feel the presence of God, enjoying more “the day that the Lord has made”… we could continuing making excuses that we will only pause when our conditions are perfect (the perfect environment and the perfect time) but even a short break in our “busy” and “important” life can make a great difference. The benefits are not only for you but also for your beloved ones… for those who deserve to receive your attention, capacities, and resources.
I keep “Breathing life” (title of the Ecumenical Racial Justice conference held in Freiburg last November). I keep trying to improve even more my wellbeing and I do hope that you also try to pause if you feel that the level of stress in unbearable … it is not relevant for how long you pause… only be still, rest and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. God is our refugee and strength.
Let´s continue together this journey called life… seeing … hearing… tasting… smelling and tasting more!
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 